Early years
Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Deloris (née Peoples), who worked in banking, and James R. Jordan, Sr., an equipment supervisor. His family moved toWilmington, North Carolina, when he was a toddler.[6] Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, where he anchored his athletic career by playing baseball,football, and basketball. He tried out for the varsity basketball team during his sophomoreyear, but at 5'11" (1.80 m), he was deemed too short to play at that level. His taller friend,Harvest Leroy Smith, was the only sophomore to make the team.[7]
Motivated to prove his worth, Jordan became the star of Laney's junior varsity squad, and tallied several 40-point games.[7] The following summer, he grew four inches (10 cm)[2] and trained rigorously. Upon earning a spot on the varsity roster, Jordan averaged about 20 points per game over his final two seasons of high school play.[8][9] As a senior, he was selected to the McDonald's All-American Team[10] after averaging a triple-double: 29.2 points, 11.6rebounds, and 10.1 assists.[11]
Jordan was recruited by numerous college basketball programs, including Duke, North Carolina, South Carolina, Syracuse, andVirginia.[12] In 1981, Jordan accepted a basketball scholarship to North Carolina, where he majored in cultural geography.[13]As a freshman in coach Dean Smith's team-oriented system, he was named ACC Freshman of the Year after he averaged 13.4points per game (ppg) on 53.4% shooting (field goal percentage).[14] He made the game-winning jump shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown, which was led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing.[2] Jordan later described this shot as the major turning point in his basketball career.[15] During his three seasons at North Carolina, he averaged 17.7 ppg on 54.0% shooting, and added 5.0 rebounds per game (rpg).[8] He was selected by consensus to the NCAA All-American First Team in both his sophomore (1983) and junior (1984) seasons. After winning the Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984, Jordan left North Carolina one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA Draft. TheChicago Bulls selected Jordan with the third overall pick, after Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) and Sam Bowie (Portland Trail Blazers). One of the primary reasons why Jordan was not drafted sooner was because the first two teams were in need of a center.[16] However, the Trail Blazers general manager Stu Inman contested that it was not a matter of drafting a center, but more a matter of taking Sam Bowie over Jordan, in part because Portland already had a guard with similar skills to Jordan,Clyde Drexler.[17] In 2005 ESPN, citing Bowie's injury-laden college career, named the Blazers' choice of Bowie as the worst draft pick in North American professional sports history.[18] Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in 1986.[19]
Professional career
Early NBA years (1984–1987)
During his first season in the NBA, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting.[14] He quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas,[20][21][22] and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the heading "A Star Is Born" just over a month into his professional career.[23][24] Jordan was also voted in as an All-Star starter by the fans in his rookie season.[2] Controversy arose before the All-Star game when word surfaced that several veteran players, led by Isiah Thomas, were upset by the amount of attention Jordan was receiving.[2] This led to a so-called "freeze-out" on Jordan, where players refused to pass him the ball throughout the game.[2] The controversy left Jordan relatively unaffected when he returned to regular season play, and he would go on to be voted Rookie of the Year.[25] The Bulls finished the season 38–44,[26] and lost in the first round of the playoffs in four games to the Milwaukee Bucks.[25]
Jordan's second season was cut short by a broken foot in the third game of the season, which caused him to miss 64 games.[2] Despite Jordan's injury and a 30–52 record (at the time it was fifth worst record of any team to qualify for the playoffs in NBA history),[27][26] the Bulls made the playoffs. Jordan recovered in time to participate in the playoffs and performed well upon his return. Against a 1985–86 Boston Celtics team that is often considered one of the greatest in NBA history,[28] Jordan set the still-unbroken record for points in a playoff game with 63 in Game 2.[29] The Celtics, however, managed to sweep the series.[25]
