Today, Michael Jordan is part owner and managing member of basketball operations for the Charlotte Bobcats in North Carolina. He is divorced from his wife Jaunita; the couple have three adult children, Jeffrey, Marcus and Jasmine. Juanita is reported to have received a $168 million settlement, making it the largest celebrity divorce settlement in history on public record, according to celebrity magazines.
Michael Jordan, born in 1963 in Brooklyn, New York, grew up in North Carolina. He began his stellar basketball career at the famed University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1982 he led the team to a National Championship. This achievement landed Michael Jordan and his teammate Sam Perkins on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine in 1983; it wouldn’t be the last. In 1984 he became a professional basketball player, joining the Chicago Bulls NBA team.
From the start, Michael Jordan was a star of the league, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His jumping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line, earned him the nickname “Air Jordan”. He also earned 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 up with titles in 1992 and 1993; fans called the triple achievement a “three-peat”. To read more about Michael Jordan’s championships with the Chicago Bulls, read sports magazines like Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Magazine, Sports Weekly and The Sporting News.
Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the start of the 1993-94 NBA season to pursue a baseball career. He joined 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 1995-96 season. Jordan retired for the second time in 1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons in 2001 as a member of the Washington Wizards.
Jordan’s individual accolades include five MVP awards, 10 All-NBA first-team designations, nine All-Defensive first-team honors, 14 NBA All-Star appearances, three All-Star MVP awards, 10 NBA titles. scoring, three stealing titles, six NBA titles. Finals MVP awards and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.
He also holds the NBA records for highest career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.4 points per game). In 1999, ESPN named him the greatest American athlete of the 20th century, and he was ranked second to Babe Ruth in the Associated Press’s list of athletes of the century, which was published in many magazines.
Jordan is also notable for its product endorsements. During his career, he was one of the most marketed athletes of his generation. This recognition was instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.
At the height of his career, he was a major spokesperson for brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, McDonald’s, Wheaties, and Hanes, to name a few. A couple of his most famous commercials include the “Like Mike” commercials for Gatorade and a commercial for his signature shoe, Nike’s Air Jordan, with legendary film director Spike Lee.
