Michael Jordan Research Paper

It was in the first grade that Sammy Jordan was lifted up by his dad to be eye to eye with the rim and shoot the basketball. From that moment on, Sammy loved the game. He lived and breathed basketball. Every Saturday night Sammy and his dad would pop a squat on the couch, turn on the TV, and watch their home town team the North Carolina Tar Heels play. Sammy Jordan’s dream has always been to play for the University of North Carolina and then be drafted into the National Basketball Association.

Throughout basketball history, there have been many amazing players to be a part of the NBA. The NBA, also known as the National Basketball Association, is not only the foremost men’s professional basketball league in North America, but is also widely considered to be the top-ranking men’s professional basketball league in the world. One of the most controversial topics in the history of NBA today is whether Michael Jordan or LeBron James is the best player to ever be a part of this association. James began his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers and currently plays for the Miami Heat. Jordan played for the Chicago Bulls for most of his career; however, he played for the Washington Wizard’s from age 38 to 40. According to the New York Times, Jordan announced his retirement in Chicago on January 13th of 1999 (D8). Although LeBron James is one of the best players to be currently active in the league, Michael Jordan is known to be the best player in NBA history. Both player, without a doubt, have left a mark in the history of NBA, Michael Jordan, indisputably, is the best player to ever play in the NBA with his unstoppable defensive and offensive ability along with the determination and leadership he provided for his team.

In the course of competing in the NBA Jordan, preformed consistently. Once Jordan’s team made it to the finals, his team dominated, specifically him. On the website “Michealjordansworld.com”, a site dedicated to sharing accurate information about Jordan, the chart listed shows that in the course of six years Jordan has averaged 33.6 points per final game. This demonstrates Jordan’s elite abilities on the court.

After reading this book, you will likely believe that Jordan is the greatest basketball player to ever play in the NBA. Not only did he have in court issues but he had off court issues as well. His father died and Jordan was very distressed. But Jordan overcame this time of grief and sadness. Jordan won 6 titles.

Leading the Bulls to another three-peat Jordan retired a second time in 1999 ending his career on a high note. Labor disputes between NBA players and team owners, and the eventual breakup of the Bulls dynasty were the reasons he called it quits. After a brief hiatus from basketball Jordan returned to the NBA in 2000 not as a player, but as part owner and president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards. His record as the president of the Washington Wizards was horrendous. His time running the Wizards began in 2000, and he had the final say in personnel matters, such as drafting mega-bust Kwame Brown with the number one pick in 2001. Seeing the rise of young stars like Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, and Tracy Mcgrady, and the decline of his status as a player Jordan decided he wanted to return to the court. The next year he began comeback number three. After two disappointing seasons with the Wizards Jordan retired for the last time in 2003. Assuming he would get his job back as the team president, but after doing such a terrible job at team management and evaluating talent team owner Abe Pollin dismissed Jordan. In his three-plus seasons as an executive and player with the Washington Wizards, Jordan's teams were 110-179.

Michael Jordan, in his prime, was thought of as one of the greatest basketball champions of all time. A shooting guard, standing at six-six, Jordan was able to out play anyone in his position. He started his career at the University of North Carolina, where he helped his team win a national championship. He then was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the 1984-85 season. While playing for the Bulls, Jordan received many awards such as, MVP, five championships, Olympic gold medals, slam dunk contests, and many more defensive and offensive awards. Jordan simply dominated the nineties and left the game as a NBA Finals winner in 1998.

He is a 14 time all star, 3 time stealing leader 11 times first team all NBA, 1984-1985 rookie of the year, 1 time defensive player of the year, a 5 time MVP, 10x scoring champion, and 9 time all defensive first team selection. There is a bunch more that he has one, but those are the most important. Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 17, 1963 and is 55 years old. His dad, James Jordan and his mom Deloris Jordan were the parents of 5 children, Michael, James, Deloris, Larry, and Roslyn Jordan. Michael Jordan is the 4th oldest of them.

As a result or his hard work, "he finally earned his berth on the varsity squad and--with his burning ambitions in tow--he became one of the most widely-recruited high school athletes in the country ("Michael Jordan")." During the summer before Jordan's senior year, he attended the Five-Star Basketball Camp. There he met Dean Smith, the coach of the University of North Carolina's Tar Heels. Smith encouraged Jordan to come to the school. A few months later Jordan signed his letter of intent and received a full scholarship. The Tar Heels had an outstanding season and went on to play in the NCAA championship against Georgetown University. Jordan hit the game winning shot making his name know around the country. For the next two seasons, He averaged a reputable 17.7 points per game. In 1984, Jordan traveled to Los Angeles to compete with the U.S. Olympic basketball team. With Jordan's help, the team won a gold medal. Soon after Jordan entered the NBA draft and was picked third by the Chicago Bulls. The bulls were the laughing stock of the NBA, but that would soon be changed (Mattern 82-28).

Michael Jordan constantly showed his greatness, persistence, hard-work and dedication throughout his career. Jordan averaged about 28.2 points per game in the beginning of his basketball career. Article restates “limits, like fear, are often an illusion” (Jordan). Michael Jordan had to put fear to aside while playing basketball in order to be the best in the game. Being a new face in the league and already reaching those kinds of standards made him one of the most

Michael Jordan. MJ, Air Jordan, His Airness, Money, Black Cat, the list goes on. Call him what you want, but one thing is for sure; he is one of the greatest and most influential athletes of all time. Not only did he leave his mark on basketball forever, but he also sparked the the globalization of American sport. Growing up in a small, middle class town, Jordan defied all odds in order to make it as a player. He was cut from his high school team as a sophomore and dealt with racism soon after, yet finished his NBA career with six championship rings (LaFeber 30). But how did Michael Jordan become the icon that is pervasive today?

On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced that he would be playing basketball again. He ended his short baseball career and rejoined the Bulls near the end of the 1994-1995 regular season, eventually losing to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Michael built the Chicago Bulls from the ground up and transformed them into the unstoppable team that people saw during the late 80’s and early 90’s. The Bulls of the 90’s were a team that, regardless of your team loyalty, you had to watch Michael Jordan. His achievements during that time set a bar that was unreachable for other players. From the time he retired the 2nd time, sportswriters have been looking for someone to replace him someone to fill in for Michael.

He dedicated his life to the game of basketball and to the Chicago Bulls. There is no question that Jordan leaving hurt the team. If he had not, the Bulls would have been NBA champions seven or eight times depending on the period of his departure, and he would have gotten two more NBA finals MVP awards instead of Hakeem Olajuwon. Overall it is safe to conclude that my statement of Michael Jordan’s time off affecting the team poorly is now an ideal

Aside from the early cut, Michael Jordan’s only obstacles were a broken foot, a death in his family, and the flu. In his second season, Michael Jordan missed most of the games due to his fractured foot. Although the Bulls wanted Jordan to sit the entire season to ensure his foot healed correctly, he insisted on playing in the team’s first-round playoff series against the Boson Celtics. The year 1993 was an especially difficult and tragic year for Jordan. During the playoff season, the media made public his large loss of money due to a gambling problem. Then on Jul 23, his father, James, was found dead in North Carolina after an attempted robbery (Michel Jordan).

Transition: In 1993, tragedy struck Jordan's seemingly perfect life. On July 23, 1993, his father, James, was murdered off Interstate 95 in North Carolina. Two locals had robbed him, shot him in the chest and threw his body in a swamp.