Michael Jordan soared through the NBA through the 1980’s and 1990’s achieving multiple awards and goals. “Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That’s truly about the game, and in some ways that’s about life too” (Brainyquote.com). Michael Jordan has been through tragedy with the murder of his father and triumph throughout his lifetime and it only made him stronger and smarter at life. His competitive mindset drove him to be one of the greatest players of all the time and he his impact will never be forgotten for many times to come.
Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York (EBSCO). His mother (Deloris Jordan) and father (James Jordan) pushed their kids very hard in school and in life. Michael had two brothers and two sisters making him the youngest in the household (EBSCO). Michael and his family moved from the rough streets of Brooklyn to Wilmington, North Carolina months after Michael was born (Biography). Michael´s parents were very good to him. They breeded a strong work ethic in Michael and encouraged him to stay out of trouble and avoid substances such as alcohol, drugs, and kept him from anything bad like street gangs (EBSCO). He played several sports growing up as a boy, but he really loved the game of basketball and his dads sport baseball. In the fall of 1978, Michael didn´t make the basketball team at Laney high school his sophomore year because he was too small and had no lack of effort (EBSCO). That hurt jordan and as the result of that, jordan started working hard and learning more about the game of basketball. He ended up making the team his junior year when he grew three inches. He was the star of the basketball team his two seasons averaging 25.4 points, 12 rebounds, and 5.3 assist per game (livestrong.com). Jordan got invited to a Five-Star basketball camp where all the greatest high school basketball players went to and Michael knew he had to prove himself. Michael shocked the college scouts, killing national recruits that he went up against him and he had the attention of North Carolina’s coach Dean Smith. Jordan led Laney high school to a No. 1 state ranking in his senior season, but fell short winning a state title, losing to their rival New Hanover 56-52 (livestrong.com).
In 1981, Michael earned a scholarship at the the university of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or UNC (North Carolina’s Michael Jordan). There, he studied geography and was a basketball player. Michael had a great start his freshman year averaging 13.5 points and four rebounds per game (Michael Jordan). In the National championship, Jordan left his mark by hitting the game winner against the Georgetown Hoyas. By the 1983-1984 season, Jordan was awarded the college basketball player of the year, he stayed at UNC for two more seasons and after his junior year Jordan continued his dream of becoming an NBA player (sneakerfiles.com). In the summer of 1984, Jordan made his first Olympic debut playing in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, which his team won gold (Biography.com). Michael went third in the 1984-1985 NBA draft and began to prove that he belonged in the NBA immediately. They compared Mike to the superstar Julius Erving, because of his leaping ability and his showtime moments (World Biography). His first year in the NBA he was named All-Star team and also won Rookie of the Year. His second season was a bumpy year, a broken foot sidelined Mike for 64 games of the 1985-1986 season. He returned just in time to play Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics in his first playoff game and scored an astonishing 49 points and a 63 points in the next, setting a playoff record (World Biography).
Michael had the same success in the following season, he started in the All-Star game with a number of 1.5 million votes. Jordan has been the first player since Wilt Chamberlain to score 3,000 points in a single season, but him and the bulls didn’t go past the first round until Jordan’s 1988 season (World Biography). Michael Jordan was improving, being named Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player becoming the first player to lead the league in points and steals (Britannica). The Bulls made a strong team in 1991, adding players like Scottie Pippen, Bill Cartwright, Horace Grant, and John Paxson. This team would go on to win the 1991 NBA finals beating the Los Angeles Lakers and everyone knew that Michael Jordan and the Bulls would not stop there. The next year, the Bulls made it to the Finals again and beat the Portland Trail blazers, repeating as NBA champions (World Biography). Jordan was also joined by many great athletes and formed an unstoppable force the “Dream Team”, which played in the summer olympic games in Barcelona, Spain winning a gold medal easily (Britannica).
