Michael Jordan

The kid who got cut, then the shot

Michael Jordan's story starts with a famous setback: he did not make his high school varsity team as a sophomore. A few years later, as a freshman at North Carolina, he hit the game winning jumper in the 1982 national title game. That shot announced him.

Chicago took him third overall in the 1984 draft. He was Rookie of the Year, a scoring machine and, by the late 1980s, the most exciting player on the planet.

Two three-peats

Scoring alone did not win titles, and Jordan's early teams kept running into Detroit. Once Scottie Pippen and coach Phil Jackson came together around him, everything clicked. Chicago won three straight championships from 1991 to 1993.

Jordan then retired, tried professional baseball, and came back in 1995. The Bulls won three more in a row from 1996 to 1998, including a record 72-win regular season. He won Finals MVP all six times, and his final shot as a Bull won the 1998 title in Utah.

The 1991 Finals against Magic Johnson's Lakers was a passing of the torch. Jordan finally had his ring, and he wept holding the trophy. The second title came against Portland and the third against Phoenix, with Jordan averaging 41 points per game in the 1993 Finals.

The numbers

Jordan won 10 scoring titles and five MVP awards. He was also an elite defender, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 1988, the same season he won MVP. His career scoring average of about 30.1 points per game is the highest in league history.

He played two final seasons with Washington before retiring for good in 2003.

Numbers only tell part of it. The 1989 shot over Craig Ehlo, the shrug in the 1992 Finals and the flu game in 1997 became chapters in a legend fans still argue about every day.

Bigger than basketball

Jordan changed what an athlete could be off the court. His deal with Nike created the Air Jordan line in 1985, which grew into its own brand. Commercials, movies and a worldwide fan base followed.

Later he became an owner, holding a majority stake in Charlotte's franchise from 2010 until he sold it in 2023. For Fly Baller, Jordan is the blueprint: compete like crazy, dress like you mean it, and own the business when the playing stops.

← Bill Russell's 11 RingsLarry Bird →