Portal:Basketball/Selected biography/April, 2007
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball shooting guard. Widely considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he became one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was instrumental in popularizing the National Basketball Association globally in the 1980s and 1990s.
After a standout collegiate career with University of North Carolina Tar Heels, Jordan was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1984 and quickly emerged as one of the stars of the league, entertaining crowdss with his prolific scoring and swaggering persona. His leaping ability, most prominently illustrated by his thrice performing a slam dunk from the free-throw line at the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, earned him the nicknames Air Jordan and His Airness, but he also gained a reputation as one of the best defensive players in the sport; he ultimately placed nine times on the NBA All-Defensive Team.
In 1991, Jordan led the Bulls to the 1991 NBA championship, and the side thereafter three-peated, claimed the 1992 and 1993 titles; Jordan garnered honors as the NBA Most Valuable Player after the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons and was named the most valuable player of the Finals after each championship. Jordan retired abruptly in October 1993 and briefly pursued a career in baseball, contesting games for the Birmingham Barons, a Southern League affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, and the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League. On March 18, 1995, having failed to advance to Major League Baseball, Jordan announced his intention to return to professional basketball.
