Michael+Jordan


 * [[image:http://www.desktoprating.com/wallpapers/sports-wallpapers-pictures/michael-jordan-wallpaper.jpg width="710" height="320"]]

Michael Jeffrey Jordan** born February 17, 1963 Michael Jordan was born to James R. Jordan, Sr. and Deborah Jordan in Brooklyn, New York. His family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, when he was a baby. Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, where he statred his athletic career by playing baseball, football, and basketball. He tried out for the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year, but was only 5 feet 11 inches, he was considered too short to play at the high school level and was cut from the team. The following summer, he grew four inches and trained a awful lot. Then earning a spot on the laney high school basketball team, Jordan averaged about 25 points per game his final two seasons he played high school basketball. When he was a senior, he was selected to the McDonald's All-American Team when he averaged a triple-double: 29.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 10.1 assists. The Jordan family was very disciplined. Michael learned when he was young to obey by his parents' rules. His father and mother, James and Deloris Jordan, taught their children to work hard and not waste their talent. Michael's father was a military man with a strong build on his household, and he pushed his sons hard in sports. Michael's parents continued to raise their expectations for their kids, letting them know that they would not expect nothin less but their best. Michael's relationship with his older brother, Larry Jordan, was very helpful in his childhood years. Larry was also a great athlete. He had the same strength, athletic ability and ambition as Michael, but Larry didn't have the body or height to compete at the same level as Michael. Michael competed very hard to win against his older brother when the bothof them played against each other. Every day in the Jordan backyard their was some kind of athletic combat between the two. Larry's domination over his younger sibling pushed Michael's determination to be better and win and finally, one day he did.



Jordan left college in 1984 to enter into the NBA draft where he was selected third by the Chicago Bulls. He finished his first season (1984-1985) as one of the top scorers in the league, when he averaged 28.2 points per game. He was also named rookie of the year and made the first of his nine All-Star games. Jordan finished the 1986-1987 season as the second player, after Wilt Chamberlain, to score more than 3000 points in a single season. He led the NBA in scoring for seven consecutive seasons (1987-1993), which tied Chamberlain's record, and he averaged more than 30 points per game in each season. He also became the Bulls all-time leading scorer and set a number of scoring records, including most points in a playoff game which was 63 points against the Boston Celtics in 1986; and highest scoring average for an NBA championship series 41 points per game in the 1993 NBA finals. He led the Chicago Bulls to their first NBA championship title in 1991 with Jordan, the Bulls won again in 1992 and 1993. plus he also had three league Most Valuable Player awards in 1988, 1991, 1992, Jordan won the All-Star game MVP award twice in 1988, 1996 and a record three-consecutive NBA championship series MVP awards in 1991-1993. Jordan also was a member of the United States Olympic basketball team known as the Dream Team, that won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.



Michael Jordan said that he had lost his desire to play professional basketball, so therefore Jordan announced his retirement prior to the 1993-1994 season. Early in 1994 Jordan returned to professional sports, But not as a basketball player but as a baseball player. He signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox in the American League, he reported to spring training and was assigned to the team's minor league system. That summer he batted .202 with the Birmingham Barons, a class AA affiliate of the White Sox. As the the year progressed he batted .252 with the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League. Jordan ended his retirement from the game of basketball by comming back to the Bulls near the end of the 1994-1995 NBA regular season. In the 1995-1996 season he had another great year, leading the NBA in scoring with 30.4 points per game and being named league MVP. The Bulls also became the first NBA team to win 70 games in a season with 72 wins, and they went on to win the NBA championship title. Jordan was named MVP of the NBA finals becoming the first player to win the award four times.