Michael Jordan played for the Bulls and Wizards for 15 seasons. In 1,072 regular-season games, he averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.3 steals. He was chosen to participate in 14 All-Star games.
When Michael Jordan was 36 years old, he signed with the Washington Wizards. At first, he was only going to play 16 games, but then his contract was amended to include another 16 games. This made him play 72 games that season. The next year, at age 37, he finished with 33 games missed due to injuries.
In his final season, at age 38, he led the Bulls to their second straight championship.
Michael Jordan was a guard with the Bulls and Wizards for 15 seasons. He played in 664 games during that time, including all 5 of the Wizards' playoff appearances. His best season as a Wizard was 1990-91 when he averaged 26.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game.
He joined the Washington team as a free agent in 1991 and immediately made an impact by scoring 42 points in a win over the New Jersey Nets. At the end of his first season with the Wizards, Michael was named to the All-NBA Team. In 1992-93, he helped lead the Wizards to their first ever NBA Championship after they defeated the Toronto Raptors 4-3 in the Finals.
After one more season with Washington, Michael signed as a free agent with Chicago in 1996. He finished his career with the Bulls, playing six more seasons before announcing his retirement in 2002. During his time with the Bulls, he won six championships in nine attempts.
When he retired from the NBA, Michael Jordan had scored 100 points in a game seven times, recorded five consecutive 50-point games three different times, and holds the record for most 30-point games in a season with 31.
There are 13 seasons. Jordan was a member of the Chicago Bulls for 13 seasons, taking a year and a half off to play baseball in the Chicago White Sox minor league system. He concluded his playing career with the Washington Wizards for two seasons before becoming the owner of the Charlotte Hornets.
During his time with the Bulls, he made the playoffs eight times, won three championships, and was named MVP three times. His jersey sales exceed $500 million dollars, making him one of the most popular athletes in America.
After graduating from high school in Park City, Utah, where he was a student athlete, Jordan went on to play basketball at University of Illinois. During his time at Illinois, he led the team to the 1988 NCAA Championship game before losing to Michigan State. After graduating from Illinois with a degree in marketing, Jordan entered the 1992 NBA Draft where he was selected first by the Chicago Bulls.
He is considered one of the greatest players in NBA history. His teams always played excellent defense, which helped him get plus-minus ratings of +917 during his career. He also has the second highest percentage of field goals taken in the paint ever (55%), only behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who had a percentage (60%) nearly 10% higher than Jordan.
Besides being an all-time great player, Jordan was also involved in some pretty controversial incidents during his career.
A score of 16 Michael Jordan's first regular-season NBA game, on Oct. 26, 1984, 30 years ago today, drew a lot of attention. It didn't quite foreshadow what was to come, as Jordan put up a comfortable 16 points, six rebounds, and seven assists in the Bulls' 109-93 win against the Washington Bullets. But it did prove that even at age 20, with a lot of experience playing overseas, he was able to carry over some of the skills he had developed while competing in so many international games.
The most memorable part of that first game came in the second quarter, when Jordan made the first of many spectacular plays that would become trademarks of his career. With the score tied at 10, Jordan stole the ball from Bullets guard Gary Grant and went the other way for an easy layup to give Chicago a 13-10 lead. From then on out, he was involved in every phase of the game, scoring or assisting on almost every Bull possession. He finished with 23 points on 9-for-11 shooting (all from behind the arc), seven rebounds, and seven assists. The Bullet's next best scorer was John Salley with eight points.
After that impressive opening performance, Jordan went on to have one of the greatest rookie seasons in NBA history. He averaged 28.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game, finishing first in MVP voting for the first time in his career.
He retired for the second time in January 1999, but returned to the NBA for two more seasons with the Washington Wizards from 2001 to 2003.
| Charlotte Hornets | |
|---|---|
| College | North Carolina (1981–1984) |
| NBA draft | 1984 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall |
| Selected by the Chicago Bulls | |
| Playing career | 1984–1993, 1995–1998, 2001–2003 |
He was a tremendous ball hog. Michael Jordan, like Kobe Bryant in today's NBA, was a tremendous ball hog, frequently taking as many as 30 shots per game in the 86-87 season alone. When you add in all the free throws he took (a career high 6.6 per game) it is easy to see why they called him "The Diesel".
During his first three seasons in Chicago, before he ever played a single game for the Bulls, MJ averaged about 40 minutes per game. In his final season with the Bulls, when he averaged nearly 50 minutes per game, he complained about being tired during games. It has been reported that he received up to $750,000 per year at this time so it isn't like there wasn't enough money to go around.
It is possible that if not for Jordan, the other players would have had fewer opportunities to score because they would have shared the ball more. However, with Jordan taking so many shots it is likely that he was still going to get his points no matter what. He did set a new NBA record by making his debut with the Bulls on October 31, 1995 and didn't miss a game until April 13, 1996 (injury-related suspension). If it weren't for Jordan, the record might have been broken much sooner.
Jordan unexpectedly left from basketball prior to the 1993-94 NBA season to play minor league baseball, but rejoined the Bulls in March 1995 and led them to three more titles in 1996, 1997, and 1998, as well as a then-record 72 regular season victories in the 1995-96 NBA season.
He returned to baseball after that last championship run, but came back to Chicago for good in 1999 and continued to be one of the best players in the game throughout most of the next decade. The 36-year-old Jordan had played his final game five months before his actual death in a plane crash on January 4, 2019.
He was survived by his wife, LaTavia Jenkins, and their four children: Michael Jr., Marcus III, Jasmine, and Sydney.
In addition to his family, Jordan's friends and colleagues mourned his death. Many athletes who competed against him say they are inspired by his work ethic and hope to emulate some of his accomplishments.
Michael Jordan has left us far too soon. He was an amazing player and even better person. I only hope I can carry on what he started and help my community become a little bit better place for everyone.
-- LeBron James
I'm truly saddened by the news that Michael Jordan has died. The world lost one of its greatest players and leaders today.
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