Michael Jordan

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Lore & Background

Jordan played college basketball with the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982. As a junior in 1984, he was named the national college player of the year and was selected by the Bulls with the third overall pick of the 1984 NBA draft. With the Bulls, he emerged as a league star known for prolific scoring, defensive prowess and vehement competitiveness. His leaping ability, demonstrated by performing slam dunks from the free-throw line in Slam Dunk Contests, earned him the nicknames 'Air Jordan' and 'His Airness'. Jordan won his first NBA title with the Bulls in 1991 and followed that with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a three-peat. Citing physical and mental exhaustion from basketball and superstardom, Jordan abruptly retired before the 1993–94 NBA season to play Minor League Baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization. He returned to the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three more championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998, as well as a then-record 72 regular season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. Jordan retired for the second time in 1999, then returned for two NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards. He was selected to play for the United States national team during his college and NBA careers, winning three gold medals—at the 1983 Pan American Games, 1984 Summer Olympics, and 1992 Summer Olympics—while also being undefeated.

In Their Own Story

In 2022, Ott left the Nets to join the Los Angeles Lakers as an assistant coach under Darvin Ham. Two years later, in 2024, he returned to a familiar face when the Cleveland Cavaliers hired him as an assistant under head coach Kenny Atkinson, reuniting with the coach he served alongside during his Brooklyn tenure. This reunion highlighted his reputation as a reliable staff member capable of adapting to different coaching philosophies. His trajectory shifted dramatically on June 6, 2025, when the Phoenix Suns named him their twenty-third head coach in team history. This promotion marked the culmination of nearly two decades of development, moving from managing student-athletes at Penn State to leading an NBA franchise.

Reader's Guide

Jordan's individual accolades include six NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, 10 NBA scoring titles (both all-time records), five NBA MVP awards, an NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, 10 All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, 14 NBA All-Star Game selections, and three NBA All-Star Game MVP awards. He holds the NBA records for career regular season scoring average (30.1 points per game) and career playoff scoring average (33.4 points per game). He is one of only eight players to achieve the basketball Triple Crown. In 1999, Jordan was named the 20th century's greatest North American athlete by ESPN and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press' list of athletes of the century. Jordan was twice inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, once in 2009 for his individual career, and in 2010 as part of the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team ('The Dream Team'). The trophy for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award is named in his honor. One of the most effectively marketed athletes ever, Jordan made many product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1984 and remain popular. Jordan starred as himself in the live-action animated film Space Jam (1996) and was the focus of the Emmy-winning documentary series The Last Dance (2020). He became part-owner and head of basketball operations for the Charlotte Hornets (then named the Bobcats) in 2006 and bought a controlling interest in 2010, before selling his majority stake in 2023. Jordan is a co-owner of 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. He is the wealthiest athlete of all time with official records, and one of the world's richest celebrities, with a $4.3 billion net worth as of 2026. In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded Jordan the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Did You Know?

• Michael Jordan was born in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City.
• He was named the 20th century's greatest North American athlete by ESPN.
• Jordan's leaping ability earned him the nicknames 'Air Jordan' and 'His Airness'.
• He won three gold medals with the United States national team, including two Olympic golds.