Michael Jordan Biography

Fast Facts

• Was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009
• Won two Olympic gold medals in 1984 and 1992 as a member of the U․S․ basketball team
• Majored in cultural geography while attending the University of North Carolina
• Although he was a baseball fan during childhood, he began playing basketball because his older brother Larry, whom he idolized, was playing
• Left the University of North Carolina in his junior year when he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1984 NBA Draft
• Quote: "I built my talents on the shoulders of someone else's talent․ I believe greatness is an evolutionary process ․․․ Without Julius Erving, David Thompson, Walter Davis and Elgin Baylor there would never have been a Michael Jordan․ I evolved from them․"
• Became the owner and executive of the Washington Wizards in 2000 and played for them for two seasons
• Retired in 1993 to play baseball with the White Sox-affiliated Birmingham Barons before returning to the NBA
• Was cut from his high school varsity basketball team
• Had a clause in his contract called the "love-of-the-game clause" that allowed him to play basketball at anytime during the off-season, unlike most other NBA players
• Starred in the film "Space Jam" in 1996, which mixed live action and animation to team him up with the likes of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck