Michael Jordan was once judged too short for his school's varsity team
As a high school sophomore in Wilmington, North Carolina, Michael Jordan tried out for the varsity basketball team and was turned down; at 5 feet 11, coaches thought him too small. He starred for the junior squad instead, grew four inches over the summer and trained relentlessly. He also picked the number he made famous: 23.
Born in Brooklyn in 1963, Jordan moved with his family to North Carolina as a child. He accepted a scholarship to the University of North Carolina, majoring in cultural geography because he fancied a career as a weather forecaster. As a freshman in 1982 he hit the winning jump shot in the national championship game against Georgetown, a moment he later called the turning point of his career. After being named national player of the year in 1984, he left a year early, returning later to finish his degree.
The Chicago Bulls took him third in the 1984 draft. Portland passed on him for Sam Bowie, a choice ESPN later called the worst draft pick in North American professional sports. Jordan was an instant sensation, and some veterans resented it so much that they reportedly froze him out of the ball in his first All-Star Game. He still won Rookie of the Year. In 1986 he scored 63 points in a playoff game against Boston, then a record, and a year later joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only man to pass 3,000 points in one season. Soaring dunks from the free-throw line earned him the nickname Air Jordan.
Titles followed in 1991, 1992 and 1993. Then, exhausted by fame, he quit to play minor league baseball for the Chicago White Sox organisation. Returning in 1995, he led the Bulls to three more championships and a then-record 72 regular-season wins. He also won Olympic gold in 1984 and with the 1992 Dream Team.
His record is dotted with firsts and bests: six Finals MVP awards and ten scoring titles, both all-time records, plus five league MVPs and the highest career scoring average in both regular season and playoffs. The league's MVP trophy now bears his name. Off court, he powered Nike's Air Jordan sneakers, launched in 1984, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.
Source: Michael Jordan
