Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. Considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time, he became the most effectively marketed athlete of his generation and was instrumental in spreading the appeal of the National Basketball Association around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. He is currently a part-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.
A remarkable force at both ends of the floor, “M.J.” ended his 15 NBA seasons with a regular-season scoring average of 30.12 points per game, the highest in NBA history (marginally ahead of Wilt Chamberlain’s 30.06). 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. He was named to the All-NBA First Team 10 times, All-Defensive First Team nine times, and led the league in steals three times.
Since 1983, he has appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated a record 49 times, and was named the magazine’s “Sportsman of the Year” in 1991. He has appeared on the cover of SLAM Magazine a record nine times, including the magazine’s 50th and 100th issues. 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. His leaping ability, vividly illustrated by dunking from the foul line and other feats, earned him the nicknames “Air Jordan” and “His Airness.”
