Michael Jordan's ESPN Top 10

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York) is a retired American professional basketball player and active businessman. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

After a stand-out career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as one of the stars of the league, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line at Slam Dunk Contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness." He also gained a reputation as one of the best defensive players in basketball. In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat." Though Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the 1993-94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998) as well as an NBA-record 72 regular-season wins in the 199596 season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but he returned for two more NBA seasons in 2001 as a member of the Washington Wizards.

Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include five MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances and three All-Star MVP awards, ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA record for highest career regular season scoring average with 30.12 points per game, as well as averaging a record 33.4 points per game in the playoffs. In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press's list of athletes of the century. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame on April 6, 2009 and will be inducted in September 2009.
Jordan is also noted for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular today. Jordan also starred in the 1996 feature film Space Jam. He is currently a part-owner and Managing Member of Basketball Operations of the Charlotte Bobcats in North Carolina.

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• Jordan
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• His
• Airness
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• Chicago
• Bulls

[MrGingerade]

@Rdy2goXTR

No, Kobe is not the new MJ. Kobe Bryant is the new Kobe Bryant.

There will never be another Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant is a great player, and fun to watch, but he's no Michael Jordan. The only MJ, is MJ. Now there's too many comparisons, "John Wall is the next LeBron James?" no, Michael Jordan is the iconic basketball player, he is what no one else is, and what no one else can be, he's Michael Jordan.

[LetsRide20]

@binka21 Griffin is not even good enough to shine MJ's shoes....

[mynameisvoit]

number 4 is the most overrated play of all time

[jump12man]

Guys there will never be a next anybody no next Jordan no next Nash no next scalabrine scruples game is unique wether their hall of gamers or bench warmers

[jiac1125]

#4 legendary layup Jordan with the right left switch. hangtime , hang glide......- Curren$y Airborne Aquarium.

[ricky100593]

@veramann haha, and did u just say kobe could score 35 points in a quarter???

[ricky100593]

ur missing the point; what ur saying is that the best players should be ranked based on who scored the most points in a single game. according to ur logic, the best player of all time would be wilt, kobe would be second, david thompson would be third, and then it would be elgin baylor, david robinson, and mj at four, five, and six. does that sound right? mj at six? david thompson at three? david robinson at five? u tell me

[veramann]

@ricky100593 The same is true for Wilt C. He scored 100 points in a game and dominated his era. He also averaged 50 ppg in one season 23 rpg in his career but people can't accept that he was the best.

[TheKutter808]

Jordan is the greatest Kobe won't be him and will never reach his level

[ricky100593]

@veramann the player who scored the most points in a single game isnt necessarily the best player. david thompson scored 73 points in a game and i bet u dont even know who that is.