Today marks the 61st anniversary of the birth of Michael Jordan, the greatest player in basketball history and a living legend whose legacy lives on from generation to generation. Learn the details of his life.
(Editor’s note: This article was originally published on February 17, 2019)
Michael Jordan turns 61, and his legacy continues from generation to generation, keeping his legend more alive than ever.
ESPN presents 61 facts you should know about Michael Jordan on what would have been his 61st birthday.
1- Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born on February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York.
2- In high school he played basketball, football and baseball.
3- As a sophomore in high school, he was kicked off the basketball team because of his short height (1.80 m).
4- He received a scholarship to the University of North Carolina.
5- He was named first-year college player of the year.
6- On September 12, 1984, the Chicago Bulls signed Michael Jordan with the third overall pick in that year’s draft.
7- On May 16, 1985, he was named NBA Rookie of the Year.
8- He played for the Chicago Bulls from 1984 to 1993 and 1995 to 1998.
9- He has won six NBA championships (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998).
10- In Phil Jackson’s book Eleven Rings, Michael Jordan states that the second triplet is more complex than the first. “I think we needed Phil more on the second treble than we did on the first treble.”
eleven- He has won the NBA Finals MVP six times (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998).
12- On February 14, 1990, he wore jersey No. 12 in one game and scored 49 points in a loss to the Magic. He wore that number because his jersey was stolen from the locker room.
13- He is a 5-time NBA MVP (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996 and 1998).
14- He was the fourth of five siblings: James Ronald, Deloris, Larry, Michael and Roslyn.
fifteen- In ninth grade, Jordan was suspended from school for three days for crossing the street to buy candy. His mother took him to work and left him in the car to do his homework while she watched him through her office window.
16- In 1984, the Nike brand created Air Jordan, Michael Jordan’s exclusive shoe.
17- The first Air Jordan shoes were red and black, which violated the NBA rule that no black shoes could be worn. Jordan was fined every game he wore the shoes, with the fine paid by Nike.
18- He won two Olympic medals with the original Dream Team in 1984 Los Angeles and 1992 Barcelona.
19- His father was murdered in 1993, which led to his first retirement and forced treatment.
twenty- He started playing professional baseball in memory of his father, a player in the 1960s. After playing 17 games with the Chicago White Sox, he was demoted to the minor league Birmingham Barons. Then he decided to return to basketball.
twenty one- In Game 6 of the 1998 Finals, Jordan hit a 17-foot shot from the top of the arc against Byron Russell.
twenty two- According to a 2015 Harris Poll, Michael Jordan is considered the greatest athlete of all time, followed by Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali.
twenty three- He wears No. 23 because he admires one of his older brothers, Larry, who wore No. 45 when he was at Laney High School. Michael wanted to be half as good as he was and was admitted.
twenty four- On January 16, 1993, Michael Jordan created a legendary performance by scoring 64 points against Shaquille O’Neal’s Orlando Magic.
25- On March 28, 1995, he scored 55 points against the New York Knicks and conquered Madison Square Garden.
26- He won the dunk contest twice, in 1987 and 1988.
27- Including the regular season and playoffs, he scored 60 points in five games
28- One of his most memorable games was the “Flu Game” against the Utah Jazz in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on June 11, 1997. The series was tied at 2-2. It was impossible for Jordan to miss the fifth game. He led Chicago 90-88. Jordan, who was in poor condition, scored 38 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 Blocked shots, including a 3-pointer with less than a minute left, gave the Bulls the lead, but they didn’t lose the game.
29- In 1995, after his first retirement, he announced his return to the Bulls in a statement, saying, “I’m back.”
30- He appeared on the cover of the video game NBA 2K16, which had a special edition that year.
31- In 2015, the jersey he wore in his final regular season game with the Chicago Bulls sold for $173,240.
32- He was married to Juanita Jordan from 1989 to 2007, and lost $168 million after their divorce.
33- His last salary with the Bulls was $33.1 million in the 1996-1997 season.
3. 4- His original $33 million contract with the Chicago Bulls (the most expensive single-season contract in the NBA) was auctioned in 2014.
35- In 2015, NBA Laker model Jerry West stated that he chose Michael Jordan to replace him as the model to become the NBA icon.
36- In 1996, the movie “Space Jam: Game of the Century” starring Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes cartoon was released.
37- Although the film was a commercial success, raising over $230 million worldwide, more than 114,000 readers on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) website gave the film a rating of 6.3 on a scale of 1 to 10 ).
38- He is married to Cuban-American model Yvette Jordan, with whom he has twin daughters named Victoria and Ysabel.
39- In 2001, he signed a $1 million contract with the Wizards and pledged to donate 100% of his salary to the victims of 9/11.
40- From 2001 to 2003, he played for the Washington Wizards.
41- He scored 51 points (December 29, 2001), becoming the oldest player (38 years old) in NBA history to score 50 points.
42- When Jordan was inducted into the Hall of Fame on September 11, 2009, his crying face became a famous meme. That night, he burst into tears during his inaugural speech in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was a rare moment when Jordan allowed himself to see a vulnerable side of himself.
43- There is a bronze statue of him at the entrance of the United Center in Chicago, which is 3.65 meters high and weighs 900 kilograms. On it you can read the motto: “The best ever. There will be the best”.
44- On April 13, 2003, he played his last game in the NBA, a game between the Wizards and the 76ers.
four-five- In addition to wearing the number 23 jersey, he also wore the number 45 jersey after his first return in January 1995, as the number 23 jersey has been retired for him.
46- He played 1,072 regular season games with the Bulls and Wizards, averaging 30.1 points, 5.3 assists and 6.2 steals per game.
47- He retired after scoring 32,292 points, trailing only LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Kobe Bryant on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
48- On September 11, 2009, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame along with David Robinson and John Stockton.
49- He was named the best player in NBA history.
Fifty- In 1991, he was named one of the 50 most beautiful people by People magazine.
51- In 2010, he purchased the Charlotte Bobcats for $275 million.
52- The Charlotte Hornets uniforms he owns feature the Jumpan logo, a trademark he registered jointly with Nike.
53- As part of their recent collaboration with Michael Jordan, Gatorade and Jordan Brand have launched the “Be Like Mike” collection. The collection includes four different Gatorade Jordan models, two of which will be available starting on December 16th.
54- In 2016, he received the Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.
55- Along with Derek Jeter, he acquired the Major League Baseball Miami Marlins in 2017. Your investment is only a handful. The team was purchased for $1.2 billion.
56- On the occasion of its 56th birthday, the NBA held the All-Star Game in Charlotte, the home of the Hornets and its hometown.
57- According to Hakeem Olajuwon, the Rockets have discussed potentially trading Clyde Drexler and Ralph Sampson, the No. 2 pick in the draft, with the Trail Blazers. This would give the Rockets a “Big Three” of Jordan, Olajuwon and Drexler, which would be a potential dynasty.
58- Portland, looking for a center, declined the trade and selected the No. 2 pick. Although Bobby Knight recommended him and asked him to play center, the Trail Blazers decided to select Sam Bowie.
59- In September 2022, the jersey he wore in the first game of the 1998 NBA Finals “The Last Dance” season was sold at Sotheby’s auction house for $10.091 million. It was the highest amount ever paid for sports memorabilia.
60- Days before his 60th birthday, he announced a $10 million donation to Make-A-Wish. This is the largest individual donation received in the organization’s 43-year history.
61- Michael Jordan has agreed to sell his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnarr at a valuation of approximately $3 billion, league sources said. The transaction ends Jordan’s 13-year history as the majority shareholder.