Echoes of the Legendary Air Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born on February 17, 1963. He played 15 NBA seasons where he won six championships with the Chicago Bulls. He also won five MVP awards and 14 All-Star game appearances in his 20-season stint. In 2010, he became majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets which he bought former owner Bob Johnson for $180 million. Jordan is known acclamation as the “greatest basketball player of all time.”
Jordan went to the University of North Carolina (UNC) and was the third overall draft pick in 1984 by the Chicago Bulls. Jordan played shooting guard and small forward with numbers 23, 12 and 45 respectively. He averaged 30.1 ppg (points), 6.2 rpg (rebounds) and 5.3 apg (assists).
Before Jordan was drafted by the Bulls, he went to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles for Men’s basketball where he won an Olympic Gold Medal as an amateur. Eight years later, Jordan won a Gold Medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics for Men’s Basketball where he played with “the Dream Team.” Jordan is one of only three Men’s Basketball players who have won both Gold Olympic Medals as an amateur and professional player.
Michael Jordan also debuted and played in the Minor League Baseball league for the Birmingham Barons, the Chicago White Sox Double AA team. Jordan hit 3 home runs, had 51 RBIs and a batting average of .202.
In 1992, Nike premiered a commercial at Superbowl XXVI featuring Jordan and Bugs Bunny playing basketball. This led to the live action 1996 animated film, Space Jam, starring Jordan and Bugs Bunny.
Jordan was named the first NBA player to become a billionaire as the Jordan Brand generated $1 billion in sales for Nike in 2014. He was also named Charlotte Business Journal’s Person of the Year in 2014.
In 2017, Jordan became part owner of the Miami Marlins MLB team. Jordan has also authored several books that have been focused on his life, career in basketball and world views.
Personal Life
Jordan’s first wife, Juanita Vanoy, were married from 1989-2006 and he married his second wife, Yvette Prieto in 2013. Jordan has five children, three with Vanoy and twin girls with Prieto. Marcus Jordan was born in 1990, where he played basketball but never went to the NBA, despite being talented like his father. Jeffrey, the older brother, born in 1989 also played college basketball but again never went pro. His first daughter, Jasmine, did not play basketball but she is highly involved in the family business as a Nike executive. Jasmine is a mother herself as of 2019, making MJ a grandfather. The twins, Victoria and Ysabel were born in 2014.