Michael Jordan is arguably the most well-known and quite possibly the greatest athlete to ever grace a basketball court. Born February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York, Jordan was raised in Wilmington, North Carolina. 

On a scholarship, Jordan attended the University of North Carolina. Despite an average first season, he still managed to hit the winning basket his freshman year to take the 1982 NCAA championship game. 

To begin his long list of awards and accolades, Jordan was named college Player of the Year for the 1984 season. In this same year, he played an integral role in earning the United States’ Olympic gold medal for basketball.

Unsurprisingly, Jordan left college early in 1984 to enter the NBA. He was chosen by the Chicago Bulls in the first round (third pick overall). Awarded the honor of Rookie of the Year in 1985, he also won a spot in the All-Star Game. It would prove to be the first of thirteen appearances. 

Unfortunately, in his second year as a Bull, Jordan broke a bone in his foot and only played eighteen games in the season. Upon Jordan’s return, coaches and managers insisted his playing time be limited. Jordan, however, was convinced of foul play, accusing General Manager Jerry Krause of intentionally trying to lose games for a better pick in the draft. Allegedly, this embittered relations between Jordan and Krause for the rest of his career.

Despite turmoil within the management ranks, Jordan returned his third year as a dominant force in the NBA. He became the only player besides Wilt Chamberlain to score over 3000 points in a season. Still, Jordan had not yet felt what it was like to win the NBA Championship. That thrill would come in the 1991 season. Michael Jordan and the Bulls beat Magic Johnson and the Lakers to finally win the coveted NBA Finals trophy. Jordan unanimously won the Finals MVP. The Bulls went on to win that honor again for the 1992 and 1993 season.

In 1993, Jordan announced the news that sent shock waves through the sports community. In his peak, he decided to retire from professional basketball. Naturally people conjectured as to what spurred this decision. There was his stated reason that he had merely lost the desire, as well as his father’s murder, and allegations of gambling debts. Regardless of his reasons, Jordan took the time off basketball to pursue baseball. Signing a minor league contract, Jordan joined the Chicago White Sox where he had an unimpressive but not catastrophic career. Jordan’s retirement proved to be more of a temporary hiatus. By 1995, he was back on the basketball court.

If anybody doubted that Jordan retained his talent, their fears were quelled when he led the Bulls to another three championship victories. By the end of his illustrious career, he had won six NBA championships and was named Finals MVP a record six times.

However, Jordan’s notoriety stems from more than just his skills on the field. He is also a savvy and wildly successful businessman and promoter. He launched his own line of clothing and served as spokesman for Nike, McDonalds, Gatorade and Hanes. He even dabbled in film. In 1996, Jordan starred in Space Jam, the Looney Toons family film. Danny DeVito provided his voice talents for the movie, and appearing in live action were Bill Murray,

Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and Larry Bird. Whether it was the arena of sports, television, film, or endorsements, Jordan knew how to promote, and he did it well.

Jordan was married to Juanita Jordan in 1989. While the couple filed for divorce in 2002, they were reconciled shortly after. They are still together, and have three children.