Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Jordan left college and entered the NBA in 1984, he was selected third in
the draft (First pick: Houston--Hakeem Olajuwon; second pick: Portland--Sa
m Bowie) by the Chicago Bulls, a team that had won only 28 games the previ
ous season. Ironically, Jordan played in his first game as a pro against W
ashington on Oct. 26, 1984. Jordan became an immediate impact in the leagu
e and proved that he belonged among the elite players. He finished his roo
kie season as one of the top scorers in the league, averaging 28.2 points
per game, was named Rookie of the Year, and also made the All-Star team. J
ordan led the Bulls into the playoffs in every season, but didn't make the
NBA Finals until 1991, where he led the Bulls to their first of three con
secutive NBA Championships (1991, 1992, and 1993).
Jordan played in the 1992 summer Olympics with the original Dream Team,
perhaps the greatest team ever assembled. It was the first time NBA play
ers were allowed to compete in the Olympics. Michael Jordan averaged 12.
7 points per game as the USA Dream Team went 6-0 to win the gold medal,
Jordan's second in his career
There were some troubling events that followed his third NBA Championship.
Jordan's father, James Jordan, pulled over one night to take a nap on his
way home, and was murdered by a couple of armed robbers in North Carolina
. The NBA also began an investigation into allegations that Jordan had ill
egally bet on NBA games. He was eventually cleared. These events eventuall
y caused Jordan to lose his motivation and the sense of having to prove so
mething as a basketball player, and he felt it was time to step away from
the court.
Jordan sought a new challenge, to play professional baseball. He signed a m
inor league contract with the Chicago White Sox. He was assigned to the Bir
mingham Barons, affiliates of the Chicago White Sox, and played an outfield
er position. His presence in the minors grew large numbers in attendance, b
ut his batting was uncharacteristic of Jordan's athletic skills. In his fir
st summer with the Barons, he batted .202 with 114 strikeouts in 127 games.
Later in the year he batted .252 with the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Ariz
ona Fall League. By November of 1994, the Bulls had retired his number and
erected a life-size statue of him in front of the United Center.
On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced "I'm back!" He ended his short-lived c
areer with baseball and rejoined the Bulls near the end of the 1994-1995 r
egular season, eventually losing to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Confe
rence Semifinals. "He didn't look like the old Michael Jordan, " said Orla
ndo's Nick Anderson.
Jordan once again had something to prove to the world, that he was still t
he greatest basketball player to ever play the game, and that he would be
even greater in the season to come. Michael Jordan led the Bulls to an ast
onishing 72-10 record, the best regular season in the history of the NBA.
Jordan led the league in scoring with 30.4 points per game, was named the
All-Star MVP, the league MVP and the NBA Finals MVP, as they went on to wi
n their fourth NBA championship (1996). He was selected in 1996 as one of
the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance into the next two seasons,
winning two more consecutive championships (1997 and 1998), becoming the
first team in NBA history to repeat-the-threepeat (1991-1993, 1996-1998)
. Jordan earned All-Star MVP and league MVP honors in 1998, led the leagu
e in scoring in all three years of his comeback (1996, 1997, and 1998) an
d won six NBA Finals MVP awards for every Finals the Bulls have competed
in The breakup of the Bulls dynasty by Jerry Krause led to Jordan's secon
d retirement. Jordan stated he would not play basketball for anyone else
other than Phil Jackson, and mentioned he would like to spend more time w
ith his wife, Juanita, and their three children, Jeffrey, Marcus, and Jasmine.
Michael Jordan later joined the Washington Wizards as President of Basketba
ll Operations and part owner in January 2000. "I'm going to have my imprint
s and footprints all over this organization," said Jordan. "I look forward
to turning this thing around. Right now we're an underachieving team." Jord
an disappointedly witnessed his team win 19 games in the 2000-2001 season,
his first full season as President of Basketball Operations, after winning
only 29 games the season before. He completely overhauled the roster, hired
Doug Collins, a coach Jordan played for once before in his early years wit
h the Bulls, and began the Wizards rebuilding phase. But no one had expecte
d the turn of events that were leading into the 2001-2002 season.
There's no question that Michael Jordan is the greatest player to ever pla
y the game, he has single-handedly redefined basketball. No player in NBA
history has achieved so much in any amount of time. He is a five-time leag
ue MVP, a ten-time scoring champion, a six-time Finals MVP, and houses six
NBA championships. This time Michael Jordan left the game of basketball o
n his own terms. His comeback was to scratch an itch, and to teach the you
nger players how the game is played. He finished his career with 32,292 po
ints, and a career average 30.12 ppg, the best in NBA history. Jordan has
now officially passed the torch to the younger stars. "Now I can go home a
nd feel at peace with the game of basketball," said Jordan.