"All I knew is that I never wanted to be average. I had dreams, but I didn't know where my dreams would lead. But dreams are like that. Put all the work in, and then let the future emerge. Dreams are realized by effort, determination, passion, and staying connected to that sense of who you are."

 

"Whether it was competing with my siblings or trying to get attention from my parents, I wanted to show what I was capable of accomplishing. I wanted results, and I was driven to find out the best way to get them."

 

“I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying. And that is why I succeed.”

- Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan was born February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York City, the third son of James and Delores Jordan, who moved the family to Wilmington, North Carolina when Michael was young. He went to Ogden Elementary School and then Trask Junior High School. Michael has two older brothers, one older sister, and one younger sister.

FROM BEING CUT AS A SOPHOMORE

... TO ALL-AMERICAN AS A SENIOR

Michael Jordan was a poor student through his early years at Emsley A. Laney High School and received several suspensions. But he evolved into a A+ student and a three-sport star in football (at quarterback), baseball, and basketball.

Michael was cut from the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year because at 5 ft 9 in he was deemed underdeveloped. But, over the summer he grew four inches and practiced even harder. During his next two seasons he averaged 25 points per game. He began focusing on basketball, practicing every morning before school with his high school varsity coach. In his senior season at Laney High, Jordan became the only high-school player to average a triple-double: 29.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 10.1 assists. He was selected to the McDonald's All-American Team as a senior.

FROM UNIV. NORTH CAROLINA TO THE NBA AT AGE 21

Jordan earned a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he majored in geography. As a freshman in coach Dean Smith's team-oriented system, Jordan was an exciting, but not dominant, player.

But, Michael went on to be selected the NCAA College Player of the Year in 1983 and 1984, the winner of the Dr. James Naismith Award and the John Wooden Award in 1984, and the unanimous First Team All-America selection in 1983 and 1984.

After winning the Naismith College Player of the Year award in 1984, Michael left school early to enter the NBA Draft, and was selected by the Chicago Bulls. When Jordan suffered a serious foot injury in 1986, he spent his time not only rehabilitating his foot but also in school, where he finally obtained his bachelor's degree in geography.

... AND FROM STELLAR CAREER

TO MARKETING WIZARD & NBA TEAM OWNER

"M.J." ended his NBA career of 15 seasons with a regular-season scoring average of 30.12 points per game, the highest in NBA history. He won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls (during which he won all six NBA Finals MVP awards), won 10 scoring titles, and was league MVP five times. In 1999, he was named "the greatest athlete of the 20th Century" by ESPN, and was second only to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press list of top athletes of the century.

Jordan is one of the most marketed sports figures in history. He has been a major spokesman for such brands as Nike, Gatorade, Hanes, McDonald's, Ball Park Franks, Rayovac and MCI. Nike created a signature shoe for him, called the "Air Jordan." With hands-on input from Michael, the innovation of designer Tinker Hatfield spurred the basketball shoe industry to new heights. Subsequently Nike spun off the Jordan line into its own company named appropriately the "Jordan Brand."

SO, WHAT MADE MICHAEL GREAT?

... THE DRIVE FROM WITHIN TO ACHIEVE HIS DREAMS!

Since retirement, Jordan has kept busy playing in charity golf tournaments, spending time with his family in Chicago, promoting his "Jordan Brand" clothing line, and riding motorcycles ... a passion which he could not indulge in as a player due to NBA contract restrictions. And, Michael Jordan is now the majority owner of the NBA Charlotte Bobcats.

But, since being retired, Michael has also written a book called, Driven From Within, - a title and book that helps explain what really made Michael Jordan one of the greatest athletes of all time. As he put it in his book,

"Whatever I was going to do in life, I knew I wanted to do it my way. I just wanted the freedom to express myself. It wasn't about trying to be different for sake of being different. I just wanted to follow what I felt.

My father put a challenge in front of me. I knew what he expected, but I expected even more. My thoughts were way beyond the idea of preparing myself for a job so I could be like the guy down the street.

I had dreams. They were my dreams, and I had no fear of them."