Biography of Michael Jordan Michael Jordan (MJ) is widely regarded as the best basketball player of all time. He was named NBA Most Valuable Player five times. He spent the most of his career with the Chicago Bulls, with whom he won six NBA titles. In addition to his role with the Bulls, Jordan was also responsible for bringing three more championships to Chicago: The first in 1991, and then again in 1996 and 1997. Overall, he won six NBA championships, four with the Bulls and two with the Washington Wizards.
Jordan was born on February 17th, 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was raised by his parents, Deloris and Michael Jordan, and his two siblings, LaVonda and David. His father was a high school football coach who later worked as a security guard while his mother stayed at home to take care of her children. When Jordan was seven years old, the Jordans moved to Wilmington, Delaware where his father got a better job opportunity. There she met another family who had just lost their son to a brain tumor; this experience inspired Deloris to work toward finding a cure for cancer.
From an early age, it was clear that Michael was good at basketball. When he was five years old, he already stood 3 feet 11 inches tall and weighed 45 pounds. At the age of 6, he started taking lessons from his older brother Larry, who was already 12 years old at the time.
Michael Jordan is largely regarded as the best basketball player in the game's history. He was well-known for his all-around excellent basketball skills, which included scoring, passing, and defense. With the Chicago Bulls, he won six NBA titles and was named NBA Finals MVP each time. After his retirement in 2003, he has continued to influence the game through his presence in commercials, on ESPN's SportsCenter, and at NBA events.
Beyond being one of the greatest players of all time, Michael Jordan is also known for changing the way athletes are treated by the sports industry. Prior to him, most professional athletes were not given much money, had their rights owned by their teams for many years after their careers ended, or both. But thanks to Jordan's efforts to get a contract worth millions of dollars, everyone else has since followed suit. Today, all major league baseball players and nearly all NFL players are signed to multi-year contracts with huge paychecks every year after their careers end.
In addition to his role in helping athletes earn more money, Michael Jordan has also been involved in politics. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and has been nominated for the National Football League's Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Besides playing basketball and acting as an ambassador for Nike, Michael Jordan is also a business owner who has opened several restaurants around the country with his wife and partner, Nicole Curran Jordan.
Michael Jordan is largely regarded as the best player in the game, and for good reason. "MJ" did everything possible in the game, racking up stats and accolades. Jordan was a perfect 6-for-6 on the game's grandest stage, the NBA Finals, when he also earned Finals MVP. He's only been passed by one other player in his career.
The question then becomes, who is the second greatest player of all time? It's hard to argue with the Michael Jordans of the world, but there are several candidates that come to mind. Kobe Bryant is one; he's not only considered by many to be the best player never to win the MVP Award, but he also has three NBA championships compared to MJ's six. Then there's LeBron James, who like Jordan, grew up watching Magic Johnson lead the Lakers to five titles in eight years: James now leads his own team to five rings himself.
These two players are two-thirds of the way to joining Jordan at the top of the heap, but they have their challenges. For one thing, they're both in their early 30s, so they still have plenty of basketball left in them. Also, they play different positions: James is a point guard while Bryant plays center. Finally, neither player has ever won an MVP Award, which would require either winning the award each year or being nominated every year without fail.
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