How long did Michael Jordan play basketball? Well, we know the basics: 15 seasons, 5 All-Star Game MVPs, 25,000 career points, and so on. But what do you really know about this legendary player? You can read more about him below. Until now, we’ve been focusing on his success on the court. But what was his life like before the NBA? Did he ever dream of playing for another team?
15 seasons
The most successful player in NBA history, Michael Jordan won six NBA championships and five MVP awards. His career also included 10 scoring titles. He was the highest paid player in the league for two of those seasons, and also signed endorsement deals with brands including Hanes, Coca-Cola, and Gatorade. But his most lucrative partnership was with Nike, which he made more than a billion dollars from. In 2010, he purchased the Charlotte Bobcats.
In the NBA, MJ played every game of every season and was a world sporting icon. His incredible resume is impressive, with 14 All-Star appearances, 10 Scoring titles, 11 All-NBA selections, six NBA championships, and six Finals MVP awards. Although Michael Jordan played 15 seasons in the NBA, he was only drafted nine times. This means that he played more than twice as many games as any other player.
After the death of his father, Michael Jordan showed off his talent on the court. In his third season, the Bulls broke the record for most wins in the NBA and Michael Jordan won the MVP award and the finals. He also played in the All-Star Game and was named most valuable player in the All-Star Game. And he made the NBA Finals his homecoming, earning the title for the third time in five years.
Michael Jordan’s legacy continues even today. His career continued well beyond basketball. He led the United States to Olympic gold in 1984 and also won NBA titles for the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards. And he was a part of the 1992 Dream Team that won the basketball gold medal in Barcelona. He was eligible for the 1996 Olympics, but opted not to compete. His success in the NBA, including his ownership of the Charlotte Hornets, helped make him a household name.
His career achievements are incredible. He was a prolific scorer and won six NBA Finals MVP awards. In addition, he won five Scoring Titles and 10 All-NBA first-team designations. His record-breaking ability in the NBA was unmatched, as his accomplishments were ranked number two in the NBA by Associated Press and ESPN. Besides his many accolades, Jordan is widely considered the greatest athlete of the 20th century.
5 All-Star Game MVPs
One of the best players of all time is Michael Jordan. Not only was he an All-Star Game MVP five times, but he was indispensable during All-Star Weekend. He was just 24 years old and had won zero championships and one playoff game before that game. In 1988, he played in his fourth All-Star Game, and he led the East team to victory over the West. He scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, which won him the MVP award for that year.
Michael Jordan played basketball for 5 All-Star Games, including the 1999 All-Star Game. He was the only player to win more than one MVP award in the same game. In fact, he won 5 MVP awards, more than any other player in history. In 1997, he was the first player to win the MVP award in an All-Star Game, and he did it four more times.
In the following season, Jordan’s team was eliminated from the playoffs, and he stepped up his game. The Wizards won more games by Jan. 24 than they did all season before, and they can tie the NBA record for most All-Star Game MVPs. If Jordan wins the MVP award on Jan. 24, he will have won 5 MVPs during his career. But he will never win it all.
One of the criticisms of LeBron is that he plays in a weak league. That’s true when LeBron plays, but MJ never complained about how top-heavy the team is. Recruiting LeBron would have required management to cater to his every whim. So, Lebron is not as untouchable as he thinks. However, he still has 5 All-Star Game MVPs, so his accomplishments are impressive.
Another critic of Michael Jordan is his ball-hogging style. He averaged 30 shots per game in the 86-87 season and missed the playoffs due to this. His ball-hogging style was a large reason for the Chicago Bulls’ elimination. In the finals, he shot 63% worse. And he had fewer rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks.
Michael Jordan is the only player who played in five All-Star Games. His five All-Star Game MVPs are all the MVPs he won in his career. He had better teammates than LeBron and did not miss a single playoff game. However, he did not make the playoffs until his third season. And he didn’t lead the statistical categories in the finals until his fifth year. In the end, LeBron wasn’t a clutch player.
In his early years, Michael Jordan spent most of his time playing college basketball. He went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and played for the Tar Heels for three years before returning to finish his degree. He also played baseball for the Chicago White Sox but never made it to the major league. He later returned to basketball and became a basketball legend. The NBA is lucky to have such a legend.
25,000 career points
In the history of the NBA, only a handful of players have reached the coveted 50,000-point plateau. Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, and Kobe Bryant are the other players who have reached that milestone. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain also made the list. But the next active NBA player to accomplish the feat is Kobe Bryant. With a career scoring average of more than thirty points per game, he may be the first player to surpass the 25,000-point mark.
In the 1980s, Michael Jordan played for the Chicago Bulls and was the league’s leading scorer. In 1982, he led the ACC in scoring as a sophomore. His sophomore and junior seasons were recognized as college basketball’s best. The following season, he was named college player of the year by the Sporting News. However, after winning the NCAA championship, Michael Jordan left the University of North Carolina and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls, just ahead of Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon. In 1984, he was a member of the United States Olympic basketball team, where he scored a record-high 25,000 points.
After winning the 1993 NBA championship, Michael Jordan turned his focus to another sport. He joined the Chicago White Sox minor league baseball team. The professional performance was at best. However, the time away from basketball helped him regain his love of basketball. He announced his retirement from the NBA in October of the same year. The saddest part of his retirement was the death of his father on Father’s Day. As a result, Jordan spent the 1994-95 season trying to find a new direction in his life.
Aside from playing basketball, Michael Jordan also had great success on the court. He became the first player to lead the league in both scoring and steals and was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1988. In 1988, Jordan was also named MVP of the NBA’s All-Star Game. The following season, he surpassed Wilt Chamberlain’s record of twenty thousand career points.
As of May 2012, LeBron James became the youngest player in NBA history to reach the 25,000-point milestone. He was the third overall pick in the 1984 NBA draft. After his retirement, he earned about $80 million annually from endorsement deals. At the time of his death, Jordan owned a part of the Washington Wizards, making him only the third African American to own a team in the NBA. He also bought a stake in the Washington Capitals hockey team.
While most basketball players can’t reach that feat, Michael Jordan played for a decade and a half before he signed with the Miami Heat. His remarkable career spanned over a decade and he won four gold medals and one silver. As a result, his career has been defined by many records. He holds the record for most points scored in a single game, most titles won by a single player, and the highest career scoring average.
