MIchael Jordan Biography - a phenomenal athlete with a
unique combination of grace, power, ar tistry and
improvisational ability, Michael Jordan has
single-handedly redefined the NBA superstar.
Despite not playing for three seasons from
1998-99 through 2000-01, Michael Jordan is still
probably the most recognizable athlete in the
world. He is not only the top player of his era,
but is quite possibly the best player ever to wear
the uniform of an NBA team. A legend on the court,
Michael Jordan added to his mystique with a
totally unexpected retirement just before the
1993-94 season. After a year spent playing minor
league baseball, he authored yet another amazing
chapter to his story by returning to the Chicago
Bulls late in the 1994-95 campaign with his
basketball skills intact. By the end of the
1997-98 season, he had won a record 10th scoring
title and led the Bulls to their sixth NBA
championship of the 1990s.
A summary of Michael Jordan's basketball career
inevitably fails to do it justice. The 6-6
Brooklyn native attended high school in
Wilmington, North Carolina, where he was cut from
the basketball team as a sophomore. He spent his
college career at North Carolina, playing for an
NCAA Championship team as a freshman and hitting
the game-winning shot in the title game. He was
named College Player of the Year by The Sporting
News in both 1983 and 1984 and won the Naismith
and Wooden Awards in 1984. After his junior year
he was chosen with the third overall pick in the
1984 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls.
Michael Jordan burst into the big time with a
fabulous first season, earning the NBA Rookie of
the Year Award in 1984-85 after averaging 28.2
points per game. An injured foot sidelined him for
64 games in his second campaign, but he came back
late in the year to score an NBA playoff-record 63
points in a first-round game against the Boston
Celtics. Starting with the 1986-87 season he began
a career-long onslaught on the NBA record book.
That year saw him average 37.1 points in the first
of seven consecutive seasons in which he led the
league in scoring (a feat matched only by Wilt
Chamberlain) and topped 30 points per contest. By
the time he announced his retirement in 1993, he
had earned three league MVP Awards, an NBA
Defensive Player of the Year selection, a pair of
NBA slam-dunk championship titles, seven berths on
the All-NBA First Team and six selections to the
NBA All-Defensive First Team. He also led the
league in steals three times. A nine-time All-Star
Game selection, he earned the game's MVP Award in
1988 after a 40-point performance.
More than just a scoring machine, Michael
Jordan also showed that he was a leader and a
winner by guiding Chicago to a trio of NBA
Championships. As a rookie, he joined a Bulls team
that had won only 28 games the previous season. By
1991 the club had topped 60 wins during the
regular season while marching to the first of
three consecutive titles.
If anything, Michael Jordan was even more
spectacular in postseason play. Prior to his
retirement he had averaged below 30 points per
game in the postseason only once (29.3 ppg in his
rookie year). In the 1985-86 postseason he poured
in an astounding 43.7 points per contest. He left
basketball temporarily in 1993 as a three-time
Finals MVP, and he owned a career playoff average
of 34.7 points per game, the best in NBA history.
He also had two Olympic gold medals to show for
his participation on Team USA in 1984 and 1992.
Michael Jordan shocked the NBA by announcing
his retirement prior to the 1993-94 season. He
spent the year playing minor league baseball for
the Class AA Birmingham Barons of the Chicago
White Sox organization, for whom he was a
competent if unspectacular performer. But Jordan's
hopes of reaching the major leagues seemed dim,
and with Major League Baseball embroiled in a
labor dispute as the 1995 season neared, he
focused his competitive fire back on the NBA. Late
in the 1994-95 NBA season he came out of
retirement and attempted to carry the Bulls to
another title. Jordan averaged 26.9 points in 17
regular-season games, then poured in 31.5 points
per contest in the playoffs. Despite Michael
Jordan's presence in the lineup, the Bulls didn't
have quite enough to get past the Orlando Magic in
the conference semifinals. Chicago lost to the
Magic in six games.
Jordan's championship quest was fulfilled the
following season as the team enjoyed one of the
most remarkable years ever posted by any club.
Jordan led the NBA with 30.4 points per game as
the Bulls charged to a record 72 victories during
the regular season, then stormed through the
playoffs with a 15-3 record. Chicago's combined
record of 87-13 for the 1995-96 regular season and
playoffs was the best in NBA history. Along the
way, Jordan captured the MVP awards for the
regular season, All-Star Game and Finals, joining
Willis Reed (1970) as the only men to win all
three honors in the same season.
Although he relinquished the MVP award to Karl
Malone in 1996-97, Michael Jordan again led the
Bulls to the NBA Championship with a satisfying
six-game victory over Malone's Utah Jazz, and was
named the NBA Finals MVP for the fifth time in his
remarkable career.
2001-02:
Returned from retirement for the second time in
his career, posting 19 points (7-21 FG, 5-6 FT),
six assists, five rebounds and four steals in 37
minutes to tip off the regular season at New York
on 10/30/01.
1997-98:
Named NBA Most Valuable Player for the fifth time
in 1997-98 and a unanimous selection to the
1997-98 All-NBA First Team....Named to the NBA
All-Defensive First Team for a record ninth time
in 1997-98....Named to the 1997-98 NBA
All-Interview First Team....Totaled a game-high 44
points (22-24 FT), 3 rebounds and 3 assists in a
111-109 victory over the New York Knicks on
4/18....Notched his 5,000th career assist,
recording a game-high 37 points, 4 rebounds and 4
steals, in an 87-78 win over the Orlando Magic on
4/11....Registered a game-high 40 points, 4
rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in a 109-94
victory over the Houston Rockets on 4/5....Named
NBA Player of the Week for the week ending 4/5,
averaging a league-high 35.7 ppg, 5.0 apg and 4.3
rpg for the 3-0 Bulls....Scored his 29,000th
career point, posting a game-high 41 points, 6
rebounds and 4 assists, in a 107-93 win over the
Minnesota Timberwolves on 4/3....Named NBA Player
of the Month for March, averaging a league-leading
28.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.5 apg and 2.07 spg for the
13-1 Bulls....Totaled a game-high 42 points, 8
rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals in a 102-89
victory over the New York Knicks on 3/8....Named
All-Star Game MVP for the third time, recording a
game-high 23 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 3
steals, in the 1998 NBA All-Star Game in New
York....Registered a game-high 40 points, 7
rebounds and 3 assists against the Utah Jazz on
2/4....Posted a game-high 45 points, 3 rebounds, 3
assists and 3 steals in a 106-100 victory over the
Houston Rockets on 1/18....Totaled a game-high 44
points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals in a 90-89 victory
over the New York Knicks on 1/9....Recorded
game-highs of 34 points and 9 assists and grabbed
9 rebounds in a 105-96 win over the Detroit
Pistons on 1/3....Registered a game-high 44 points
(15-22 FG) and 5 rebounds in a 114-100 victory
over the Milwaukee Bucks on 1/2....Named NBA
Player of the Month for December, averaging a
league-best 28.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg and 3.2 apg for the
11-3 Bulls Broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA record
by scoring in double-digits for the 788th
consecutive game, scoring a game-high 33 points,
against the Minnesota Timberwolves on 12/30 Posted
a game-high 47 points (18-26 FG, 11-13 FT), 4
rebounds and 3 steals in a 97-90 win over the
Atlanta Hawks on 12/27 Named NBA Player of the
Week for the week ending 12/21, averaging 30.3 ppg,
6.3 rpg, 3.7 apg and 2.00 spg to lead the Bulls to
a 3-0 week Scored a game-high 29 points, moving
past Moses Malone into 3rd place on the NBA
all-time scoring list, in a 100-82 victory over
the New York Knicks on 12/9 Named NBA Player of
the Week for the week ending 11/23, averaging 37.3
pppg (.500 FG), 4.7 rpg, 4.3 apg and 1.33 spg for
the 2-1 Bulls Totaled a season-high 49 points, 5
rebounds and 5 assists in a 111-102
double-overtime win over the L.A. Clippers on
11/21 Recorded 29 points, 17 rebounds and 4
assists in a 94-81 victory over the Orlando Magic
on 11/5.
1996-97:
Michael Jordan had another great season, leading
the league in scoring for the ninth time at 29.6
ppg, contributing 5.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and
1.71 steals per game and being voted to his
accustomed spots on the All-NBA and All-NBA
Defensive First Teams. Although the voters elected
Karl Malone of Utah as the league's MVP by a slim
margin over Jordan, he gained revenge by leading
the Bulls past Malone's Jazz in the NBA Finals and
capturing Finals MVP honors for the fifth time in
five trips to the championship series. The NBA's
Player of the Month for November, Jordan started
all 82 games and climbed past Alex English,
Dominique Wilkins, John Havlicek and Oscar
Robertson into fifth place on the all-time scoring
list with 26,920 points. Jordan, who has now
scored in double figures in 758 consecutive games,
tallied a season-high 51 points in an 88-87 win
over New York on Jan. 21 and got 50 points in a
106-100 triumph over Miami on Nov. 6. He scored at
least 40 points eight times and 30 or more on 44
occasions. Jordan, who matched his career high of
18 rebounds in an 89-87 overtime win over Seattle
on March 6, became the first player to post a
triple-double in NBA All-Star history when he got
14 points, a game-high 11 rebounds and a game-high
11 assists in Cleveland. During the weekend he
also participated in the ceremonies honoring the
"50 Greatest Players in NBA History."
Jordan averaged an NBA-high 31.1 points, 7.9
rebounds, and team-highs of 4.8 assists and 1.58
steals per game in 19 playoff contests, and
averaged 32.3 ppg in the NBA Finals against the
Jazz. Jordan hit a buzzer-beating shot to win Game
1 of the Finals, had 38 points in Game 2 and came
up with another 38 points, this time despite a
stomach virus, in Game 5.
1995-96:
Michael Jordan proved he was all the way back by
winning a record eighth scoring championship, one
more than Wilt Chamberlain, and leading the Bulls
to their fourth NBA championship of the 1990s. He
joined Willis Reed (1970) as only the second man
to win Most Valuable Player awards for the regular
season, All-Star Game and NBA Finals in the same
season. Jordan started all 100 games for the
Bulls-he was the only player to start all 82
regular season games for Chicago, and he also
started all 18 playoff contests. Though perhaps he
drove to the hoop a bit less than earlier in his
career and lacked a drop of his previous
explosiveness and reckless abandon, Jordan was a
far more effective and controlled jump-shooter and
three-point scoring threat and remained an
outstanding all-around contributor. Besides his
league-leading 30.4 points per game, Jordan
averaged 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.20 steals
in 37.7 minutes per game, ranking third in the
league in steals. Jordan scored 40 points or more
nine times, getting an NBA season-high 53 points
against Detroit on March 7. He also had season
highs of 16 rebounds at New Jersey on March 16 and
eight assists against New York on Dec. 6. In the
All-Star Game he played just 22 minutes but edged
out Shaquille O'Neal for MVP honors by scoring 20
points on 8-for-11 shooting and grabbing four
rebounds. Jordan led the Bulls in scoring in 17 of
18 playoff contests, with a high of 46 points in
Game 3 against New York. He also had 45 points in
Game 4 against Orlando and 44 points in Game 1
against New York. He averaged 30.7 points, 4.0
rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.83 steals in 40.7
minutes per game in the playoffs, including 27.3
ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.67 spg and 42.0 mpg in
the Finals against Seattle.
1994-95:
With baseball on hold because of a player strike,
Michael Jordan began to consider a return to the
NBA, and by late winter rumors were flying that he
would rejoin the Bulls in time for the playoffs.
Chicago was puttering along with a 34-31 record
when Jordan took the floor for the club on March
19 against the Indiana Pacers. He scored 19 points
in that game but looked a little rusty. Jordan hit
for 27 points three nights later against the
Boston Celtics, scored 21 against the Orlando
Magic on March 24, and then popped in 32 against
the Atlanta Hawks the following night. On March 29
he showed that his skills were undiminished with a
memorable 55-point performance against the Knicks
in New York. With Jordan back for the final 17
games of the regular season, the Bulls went 13-4
to finish at 47-35 overall. He led the team in
scoring in 11 of those games, topped the club in
assists four times, and led the Bulls in
rebounding on six occasions. He finished with
averages of 26.9 points, 5.3 assists, 6.9
rebounds, and 1.76 steals in 39.3 minutes per
game. Jordan struggled from the field, however,
shooting just .411. The Bulls drew the Charlotte
Hornets as opponents in the opening round of the
postseason. Jordan kicked off the playoffs by
scoring 48 points in Game 1, then followed that up
with a 32-point performance in Game 2. The Bulls
eliminated Charlotte in four games as Jordan
averaged 32.3 points per outing in the series. In
Chicago's second-round matchup with the Orlando
Magic he scored 38 points in Game 2, 40 in Game 3,
and 39 in Game 5, but the Bulls fell in six games.
In 10 postseason games he averaged 31.5 points,
6.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists, but he also coughed
up 4.1 turnovers per contest.
1993-94:
After winning his third straight NBA title with
the Chicago Bulls in 1992-93, Michael Jordan had a
tough offseason that reached its nadir when his
father, James Jordan, was murdered in North
Carolina. On October 6, just one day before the
start of training camp, Jordan stunned the
basketball world by announcing his retirement. He
left holding the highest career scoring average in
NBA history at 32.3 points per game. After much
speculation about his plans, Jordan returned to
the spotlight in a baseball uniform. He spent the
1994 baseball season playing for the Birmingham
Barons, an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox in
the Class AA Southern League. An adequate
outfielder, he hit .202 in 127 games, striking out
114 times in 436 at bats. Jordan belted 3 home
runs, collected 51 RBIs, and stole 30 bases. He
also led all Southern League outfielders with 11
errors.
1992-93:
The extraordinary had long since become
commonplace for Michael Jordan and the Bulls.
Chicago posted its fourth straight 50-win season
and took another division title in 1992-93 as
Jordan averaged 32.6 points to claim his seventh
straight scoring title and tie Wilt Chamberlain
for most consecutive scoring crowns. He led the
league in steals for the third time in his career,
and he earned a seventh straight appointment to
the All-NBA First Team and a sixth straight
appointment to the NBA All-Defensive First Team.
He scored 30 points at the All-Star Game, giving
him a career All-Star Game average of 22.1 points
per game, the highest in NBA history. Among a slew
of fine single-game performances, Jordan scored 54
points against the Los Angeles Lakers in November,
scorched the Washington Bullets for 57 in
December, victimized the Orlando Magic for 64 in
January, and then racked up 52 in March against
the Charlotte Hornets. He also reached a milestone
by scoring the 20,000th point of his NBA career.
In the postseason the Bulls got by the Atlanta
Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first two
rounds without a loss. After dropping the first
two games of the Eastern Conference Finals to the
New York Knicks, Chicago came back to take four
straight and win the series. The Bulls defeated
the Phoenix Suns in six games in the NBA Finals to
nail down a third consecutive title. Michael
Jordan was named Finals MVP once again after
averaging 41.0 points against the Suns to set an
NBA Finals record.
1991-92:
Chicago waltzed through the regular season in
1991-92, winning 67 games as Michael Jordan
reprised his previous season's performance. He won
a second straight MVP Award, was named to the
All-Star squad for the eighth year in a row, ran
his streak of All-NBA First Team selections to six
years and his string of NBA All-Defensive First
Team selections to five, and was once again the
league's leading scorer, at 30.1 points per game.
He started the season by scoring 40 or more points
in three of the Bulls' first four games, and he
led the club in scoring in 69 contests during the
year. The Bulls posted the best record in the NBA
by a margin of 10 games but had a tougher time in
the postseason than the previous year. After
sweeping the Miami Heat, they fought the New York
Knicks for seven games before taking the
semifinals series. The conference finals matchup
with the Cleveland Cavaliers lasted six contests.
The Bulls then faced Portland in the NBA Finals
and came away with a second straight title when
they downed the Trail Blazers, 97-93, in Game 6.
Jordan was the Finals MVP once again after
averaging 34.5 points in 22 postseason contests.
After the season, he played for the U.S. Dream
Team at the Olympic Games and claimed his second
gold medal.
1990-91:
Michael Jordan added the only important item
missing from his basketball resume when he guided
the Bulls to an NBA Championship in 1990-91.
During the regular season the Bulls won a
club-record 61 contests to take the Central
Division by 11 games. An All-Star and a member of
both the All-NBA First Team and the NBA
All-Defensive First Team, Jordan also won the
league MVP Award for the second time in his
career. With a regular-season scoring average of
31.5 points per game, he picked up his fifth
straight scoring title as he topped 40 points in a
game 11 times. He averaged 6.0 rebounds and 5.5
assists and ranked third in the league in steals
at 2.72 per game. The Bulls waltzed through the
postseason, sweeping the New York Knicks in the
opening round, cruising past the Philadelphia
76ers with only one loss in the conference
semifinals, and then sweeping the archrival
Detroit Pistons in four games in the Eastern
Conference Finals. After losing Game 1 of the NBA
Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Bulls won
the next four contests to claim their first-ever
title. Jordan averaged 31.1 points, 6.4 rebounds,
and 8.4 assists during the team's postseason ride.
He also earned the NBA Finals MVP Award.
1989-90:
Phil Jackson took over as head coach of the Bulls
for the 1989-90 season, and everything started to
click for Chicago. The Bulls put together a 55-27
record, the club's best showing since it had gone
57-24 under Dick Motta in 1971-72. Jordan was his
usual dominating self at both ends of the court,
leading the NBA in scoring (33.6 ppg) and steals
(2.77 per game). He set a personal best when he
scored 69 points in a 117-113 overtime win against
the Cleveland Cavaliers. He also emerged as a
legitimate threat from beyond the three-point arc,
posting a .376 percentage-100 percentage points
above his previous career high-while hitting 92
long-range shots, compared with 68 in his first
five seasons combined. A member of the All-Star
Team once again, Jordan was also picked for the
All-NBA First Team and the NBA All-Defensive First
Team. In the postseason the Bulls got past the
Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers in the
first two rounds but fell to the Detroit Pistons
in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Jordan averaged 36.7 points in 16 playoff games.
1988-89:
In 1988-89 Michael Jordan turned in possibly the
best all-around performance of his career. The
league's leading scorer once again at 32.5 points
per game, he finished 10th in the NBA in assists
with a career-high 8.0 per outing and also set a
career high by pulling down 8.0 rebounds per
contest. He ranked third in the league in steals
at 2.89 per game. On January 25 he scored the
10,000th point of his career. Named to the East
All-Star Team for the fifth straight year, Jordan
scored 28 points in 33 minutes of action. His
postseason honors included membership on the
All-NBA First Team and the NBA All-Defensive First
Team and selection as Player of the Year by The
Sporting News. The Bulls slipped a bit in the
regular season, posting a 47-35 record, 3 fewer
wins than the season before. But after squeezing
by the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games in the
opening round of the playoffs, the Bulls ousted
the New York Knicks in the conference semifinals
and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for
only the third time in team history. They fell to
the Detroit Pistons in six games. Jordan averaged
34.8 points in 17 postseason games. In the pivotal
Game 5 of Chicago's first-round series against
Cleveland, Jordan hit a memorable buzzer-beating
jumper over Craig Ehlo to bring the Bulls from a
100-99 deficit to a 101-100 victory.
1987-88:
The Bulls added two talented rookies in 1987-88,
drafting Horace Grant and trading for Scottie
Pippen. The new blood helped lift Chicago to a
50-32 record, the team's best result since the
1974-75 season. Michael Jordan led the club in
scoring in 81 of 82 regular-season games and
topped 40 points on 18 occasions. Equally
remarkable, he failed to reach 20 points only
three times during the year. He won every major
honor, including Most Valuable Player, Defensive
Player of the Year, selection to the All-NBA First
Team, selection to the All-Defensive First Team,
an All-Star Game MVP Award (after scoring 40
points), and the NBA Slam-Dunk Championship. He
led the league in scoring with 35.0 points per
game and in steals with 3.16 per contest. Chicago
advanced past the first round of the playoffs for
the first time in seven seasons, besting the
Cleveland Cavaliers in five games in the first
round before falling to the Detroit Pistons in
five games in the conference semifinals. Jordan
set a playoff record for field goals made in a
game with 24 against Cleveland on May 1, and he
established another mark in the same game by
attempting 25 shots against the Cavs in a single
half. In 10 playoff games he averaged 36.3 points,
7.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists.
1986-87:
In 1986-87 Michael Jordan began a string of
consecutive NBA scoring titles that would last for
seven seasons until his surprise temporary
retirement in 1993. He scored a career-high 37.1
points per game and became the first player since
Wilt Chamberlain to top 3,000 points in a season.
In November and December he went on a rampage and
rang up 40 points or more in nine straight games.
He poured in 58 points against the New Jersey Nets
on February 26, then toasted the Atlanta Hawks for
61 on April 16 in a game in which he sank an
NBA-record 23 points in a row. Jordan also became
the first player in league history to record 200
steals and 100 blocked shots in a season. He
played in the All-Star Game, won the Slam-Dunk
Championship, and was named to the All-NBA First
Team. Despite Jordan's all-world performance, the
Bulls still couldn't break above the .500 mark.
They slipped a notch in the Central Division,
finishing fifth with a 40-42 record, and drew
Boston in the first round of the playoffs. For the
second straight year the Celtics sent the Bulls
home with a three-game sweep. Jordan averaged 35.7
points but shot just .417 from the field in that
series.
1985-86:
Three games into the 1985-86 season, Michael
Jordan went down with a broken bone in his left
foot. He was sidelined for 64 games before
returning in mid-March. Without Jordan for most of
the campaign, the Bulls won only 30 games but
still managed to snag a playoff berth. In 18
regular-season games Jordan averaged 22.7 points,
2.9 assists, and 3.6 rebounds, all career lows. He
was voted to the All-Star squad but was unable to
play because of the injury. With a spectacular
three-game outburst in the Bulls' opening-round
playoff loss to Boston, Jordan showed that he had
completely recovered. In Game 2 he scored a
playoff-record 63 points in Chicago's
double-overtime 135-131 loss to the Celtics. He
averaged an astonishing 43.7 points for the
three-game series.
1984-85:
Won NBA Rookie of the Year Award and earned
All-Rookie First Team and All-NBA Second Team
honors....Led team that had finished 27-55 the
previous season to a 38-44 record and a playoff
berth for the first time since 1981....Voted a
starter in the 1985 All-Star Game....Scored seven
points in 22 minutes in that conest....Set a club
single-game rookie record by pouring in 49 points
against the Detroit Pistons on 2/12/85....Finished
the season with a scoring average of 28.2 ppg
(third in the league behind the New York Knicks'
Bernard King and the Boston Celtics' Larry Bird)
and set Chicago single-season records for points
(2,313), field goals (837), free throws (630),
free-throw attempts (746), and steals
(196)....After finishing fourth in the Central
Division, the Bulls faced the Milwaukee Bucks in
the first round of the playoffs and fell in four
games, although Jordan averaged 29.3 ppg in the
series.
COLLEGE:
Left North Carolina after his junior season after
averaging 17.7 ppg for his career.....Drafted
third overall by the Chicago Bulls (First pick:
Houston--Hakeem Olajuwon; second pick:
Portland--Sam Bowie)....Named NCAA College Player
of the Year in 1983 and 1984....Winner of the Dr.
James Naismith Award and the John Wooden Award in
1984....Unanimous First Team All-America selection
in 1983 and 1984....Member of 1982 NCAA Division I
championship team.
