Micheal Jeffery Jordan, an American basketball player and the greatest basketball player to play the game in this generation. Micheal Jorndan was born on February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York City, NY to father James R. Jordan and Deloris Jordan. He was the forth of five children that the Jordan’s had. Micheal has an older and younger sister and three brothers. It was soon after Micheal was born that the Jordan’s moved to Wilmington, North Carolina. By the time Micheal was attending middle school at Trask Middle school, he was already receiving acknowledgment for his football, basketball and baseball skills. Micheal was awarded “Mr. Baseball” in 1975 by the Dixie Youth Baseball Association as well as Outstanding Athlete by Trask Middle School..
At this age he was not very focused on school and grades. Now looking back at Micheal’s early achievement it is not a surprise that he became the greatest basketball player of all time. When Micheal began high school at Emsley A. Laney High School he started to become more academically focused and maintained a B+ average. It is not a surprise that Micheal was good at football, basketball, and baseball. By Micheal’s 10th grade year, he was standing at about 5’9”. At Laney High that year they had a 6’8” Center named Leroy Smith whom Jordan lost the Varsity spot to.
Being who Jordan is, this did not sit well with him, but he decided to stay focused and do his best. Mike as he was called in high school did have a few games where he scored forty points. Not making the varsity team that year made him mad, but he decided to work harder beating everyone to the gym in the morning and having to be run out of the gym in the evening. Micheal must have been eating his Wheaties because he grew a total of 5” before the start of his Wyman 2 Junior year in high school. He made the varsity team that year and went on to average 25 points per game. His teammates called him “Peanut” and”Shagnut” and these names were not given to him because they liked him. Jordan started to really become noticed his Junior year scoring 35 points his first Varsity game.
After his junior season Micheal was invited to a special recruitment camp where he was a standout out to the college scouts. He really stood out to North Carolina Coach Dean Smith. Jordan was signed onto UNC Chapel Hill before his senior season. Micheal was the first high school player to average a triple double and led Emsley A. Laney High School team the State Championship but was unable to get them the State Title. Jordan was selected to play in the McDonald’s All American game. With 11 seconds left in the game he hit a pair of free throws bringing his team up to a 96-95 finish for the win. He scored 30 points that game which still holds the record today and he was named McDonald’s All-American HS MVP.
In 1981, University of North Carolina offered him a scholarship and he signed his letter of intent to be a Tar Heel. Micheal was only the fourth freshman to earn a starting position at University of North Carolina. MJ would go on his freshman season to score the game winning shot verses in the NCAA Championship game against Georgetown Hoyas with a final score of 63-62. The game winning shot would be considered one the first of many highlights left by the GOAT. Some achievements he made during college was being named as College Player of the Year for season 1983-84. After giving it careful consideration in 1984 Micheal decided to leave college basketball and pursue a dream of his to play in the NBA. MJ was drafted to play for the Chicago Bulls.
Before heading off to play for the Chicago Bulls in 1984 MJ had an opportunity of a lifetime when he was selected to play in the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, CA representing the United States of America. Playing under Coach Bobby Knight, Jordan played a key part in leading the USA Olympic Basketball team to an 8-0 finish bringing home the Olympic gold. Jordan had another opportunity to play in the 1992 Barcelona Games where he hit a record high of 37 steals. The 1992 Wyman 3 Barcelona USA Olympic team was known as the “Dream Team.” Micheal Jeffery Jordan is a legend in the game of basketball and the greatest of all time. People who know him attribute this to his incredible desire to win at literally everything he does. He looks to beat you in playing a game of FISH with the same intensity as he does on the basketball court. It is said that he tried to cheat on a game of FISH playing a teammates grandmother. He expects everyone to rise to his level. He is the man who is willing to work harder than everyone else around him and was often viewed as a coach on the court to his teammates.
At times this was a problem for his teammates because they did not know how to take him. He would often try to break people down to build them up. Some could handle it and others could not. MJ was only trying to test their grit. He played to another level and with a determination like non other. He went on to win 6 NBA Championships with the Bulls and two Olympic gold medals. He was named an All-Star in the NBA League 14 times and made 13 All- Star appearances. Out of 15 seasons he lead the Bulls to 13 Championship appearances. Everybody wanted to be like Mike. Micheal Jordan’s work ethic and dominance on the court was something everyone in the world watched and Nike as well as many other brands realized that people would buy into his dominance. Micheal went on to become a marketing gold mine for many brands and the main one being NIKE.
Many people do not realize that before NIKE all MJ would wear was Adidas. MJ changed the appearance of young men bringing the trend of baggy shorts and a legendary NIKE Jordan shoe and clothing that is thriving today more than ever as if MJ is still on the court. Micheal Jordan has had an amazing career in basketball and a short, but meaningful career in Minor League Baseball. It is evident that Micheal tackles every aspect of his life looking to win. He is living proof when you set your mind to something and out work others around you the sky is the limit.
