The greatest player in NBA history – and if you don't believe us just ask the president – turns 50 today, and in his honor we present a by-no-means-exhaustive list of 50 of the most memorable moments of his first fifty years.
1. Despite what you may have heard, there were no mangers involved
50 years ago today, Michael Jordan is born in Brooklyn, New York. Shortly thereafter, the Jordans move to Wilmington in North Carolina. Not a bad state for a future basketball legend to be raised in.
2. Alternate Universe Michael Jordan: NFL MVP?
Young Michael plays football, baseball and basketball at Emsley A Laney High School. The last two end up being his significant sports, although if you believe in the "many worlds" theory of reality, there's probably a world in which Jordan retired from the NBA in an attempt to become a Bo Jackson-esque running back.
3. The snub that wasn't a snub
Jordan will always claim that high-school coach Pop Herring cut him from the varsity team, a snub that fueled his drive to succeed for the rest of his career. Except, it turns out, not really. When journalists finally uncover the full story, it turns out that like many of the legends around Jordan, that wasn't exactly how it happened. In any case, the perceived snub is told as a "never let anyone get in the way of your dreams" inspirational story to every American kid who went to school in the late 1980s and early 1990s – despite its being mostly bunk.
4. Michael Jordan: high-school star
After becoming the star of the junior varsity team, Jordan finally does make that slot on his school's varsity roster. During his last two years at high school he averages 20 points a game. Alternate Universe running back Michael Jordan disappears from our timeline, à la Marty in Back to the Future.
5. McDonald's All-American
After averaging a triple-double his senior year, Jordan becomes a McDonald's All-American Team selection. Inspired, he not only establishes himself as a player to watch, he also learns a lot about the benefits of shamelessly attaching his talents on the basketball court to a corporate sponsor.
6. University of North Carolina
Jordan accepts a scholarship to the University of North Carolina, where basketball is sorta a big deal. There he takes one of the dorkiest photosyou'll ever see a sports immortal take. This is why most basketball players now only spend one year in college and then declare for the draft – there's far less opportunity to get caught in embarrassing pictures.
7. NCAA Championship Game winner
Underneath Dean Smith, Jordan becomes the ACC Freshman of the Year and, more notably, hits this game-winning shot for the Tar Heels in the 1982 NCAA Championship Game, against Patrick Ewing's Georgetown Hoyas.
8. Jordan declares for the draft
In 1984, in his junior year, Jordan wins Naismith and Wooden College Player of the Year Awards and declares for the NBA Draft, to the relief of every other school in the NCAA.
9. Jordan slips to the Chicago Bulls
The best and worst day of Sam Bowie's life. The Portland Trail Blazers pick the center after the Houston Rockets select Hakeen Olajuwon. Jordan falls to third in the draft, where excited Chicago Bulls executives eagerly snatch him. Luckily, the Trail Blazers learn their lesson and vow to never again select an oft-injured big man over a dominant, once-in-a-lifetime Hall of Fame caliber player. Oh wait...
10. Jordan's first gold medal
Fun fact: Michael Jordan's accomplishments are so vast that this writer completely forgot that he had won not one but two Olympic gold medals. Before Jordan led a group of NBA ringers through the 1992 Olympics, he averaged 17.1 points per game with Bob Knight's 1984 US Olympic basketball team. alongside with Ewing, Sam Perkins, Chris Mullin and Wayman Tisdale. This is mostly notable for the fact that Jordan and Bob Knight somehow failed to killed each other.
11. Jordan makes his NBA debut
On 26 October 1984, Jordan made his debut with the Bulls – scoring 16 points in a 109-93 win against the Washington Bullets. Of course, Jordan would eventually play his last NBA game with Washington.
12. All-Star Game 'Freeze Out'
Jordan never really had a true rival – his peak did not overlap with those of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and he went out of his way to humiliate whoever the media anointed as his next challenger. If we're talking about enemies, Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons had it in for Jordan for much of his career, even organizing a "freeze out" in Jordan's All-Star Game debut, in 1985, in which none of the veteran players would pass to him. It was an act of disrespect that doubled as a perverse sort of respect. Or possibly vice versa.
13. Playoff debut... and quick playoff exit
Jordan wins Rookie of the Year in 1985 but makes a quick playoff exit as the Bulls, who make the postseason despite having a losing record, lose in the first round to the Milwaukee Bucks. This marks the beginning of a period in which many people believed Jordan was a very good regular-season player who didn't have what it takes to succeed at a championship level. Future events call this belief into question somewhat.
14. Sixty-three points against the Celtics
One of Jordan's greatest postseason games ends in a loss. In his second year in the league, the Bulls fail once again, swept by the 1986 Boston Celtics. Jordan's 63-point performance in game two of the series is used for years to show that basketball is a team sport and that the greatest individual achievement possible might not be enough. In Boston, it's mostly used as an example of how Larry Bird and the Celtics were awesome. Bird saw the future, though: "I think, it's just God disguised as Michael Jordan"
15. Jordan joins Wilt
In 1986-87, Jordan is second in MVP voting having joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only player to score 3,000 points in a season. The Bulls win 40 games and advance to the playoffs – just to get beat by the Celtics. It should be noted that the Celtics had the good fortune to have their best years before Michael Jordan became Michael Jordan. We'll see a few teams later on that had no such luck (in other words, look away, Utah fans).
16. The greatest sidekick in NBA history
In 1987-88, Jordan leads the league in scoring again and is named league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year. More importantly, he finds the Robin to his Batman, the Luigi to his Mario, the Keef to his Mick: Scottie Pippen. With the duo together, the Bulls defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers, finally advancing into the second round of the playoffs... only to lose to the "Bad Boy" Pistons.
17: The 1988 Slam Dunk contest
There are people who say that Dominique Wilkins got hosed in the 1988 Dunk Contest, when he came second to Jordan, only because the game was being judged in Chicago. You be the judge:
18. Air Jordans
Michael Jordan and Spike Lee from their series of iconic commercials for the Air Jordan 3
Michael Jordan in action in the 1992 Olympic basketball final, in which the Dream Team defeated Croatia 117-85. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Former NBA legend Michael Jordan smokes a cigar. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images
As Jordan starts to build the Bulls into a contender, he also begins revolutionizing the concept of athlete endorsements. Mostly notably, Jordan and Nike team up to create the holy grail of athletic footwear of the early 90s: Air Jordans. The fact that Spike Lee is not only a New York Knicks fan but the New York Knicks fan and is acting as Jordan's minister of propaganda tells you everything you need to know about Jordan's growing appeal.
19. The shot
One of the greatest moments in NBA history: Jordan's buzzer-beating shot over Craig Ehlo to defeat the Cavaliers in game five of the first round of the 1989 Eastern Conference playoffs.
20. 1988-89: Pistons defeat Bulls via the Jordan Rules
Yet again the Pistons hold off Jordan's Bulls. At this point the entire Pistons game plan revolves around the "Jordan Rules", double- and triple-teaming Jordan whenever he gets the ball. This is seen to be the most frustrating postseason defense on a superstar player ever – remember, this is before Hack-a-Shaq.
21. 1989-90: Jordan meets the Zenmaster
As the "getting the gang together" portion of the Bulls story continues, Phil Jackson comes in to become head coach. The Bulls defeat the Bucks and the 76ers but lose to the Pistons for the third consecutive season, in the Eastern Conference Finals. Again, people wonder if Jordan will ever be the kind of player to lead his team to an NBA Finals victory. (Note: This is right about the time in the story that LeBron James might want to start taking notes.)
At this point, NBA commissioner David Stern is probably seriously considering redrafting the rules to make it against league rules for Detroit Pistons players to guard Michael Jordan in any way, shape or form.
22. First championship
Stern's theoretical decree becomes unnecessary in the 1990-91 season as Jordan becomes simply unguardable. Jordan becomes the league MVP, finally vanquishes those pesky Pistons, defeats the Los Angeles Lakers, wins the first championship for the Chicago Bulls, wins finals MVP and ascends into godhood. That last bit is only kind of a joke.
23. The Jordan Rules: The Inside Story Of A Turbulent NBA Season With The Chicago Bulls
Author Sam Smith writes an insider's look on the Bulls' championship season that suggests that Jordan is a terrible guy to his team-mates. The public response is shocked disbelief – although time will eventually reveal Smith to be right.
24. Second championship
In the 1991-92 season, the media sets up Clyde Drexler of the Trail Blazers as Jordan's rival. This proves to be an incredibly unfortunate turn of events for Mr Drexler, as Jordan makes it a point to humiliate him and Portland in the NBA finals as the Bulls win in six games. Jordan again wins MVP honors
25. Jordan meets Jackson
The two MJs were as dominant in their spheres as anyone we've seen before or since, so it's not shocking that Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson would team up. What is shocking is just how incredibly lame this meeting, on the set of the video for Jam, ends up being. As graceful as he was on the court, Jordan is not a dancer. At least, unlike his upcoming crop of peers, he never really got serious about rapping.
26. Jordan meets Stuart Smalley
I don't know what's funnier about this classic Saturday Night Live bit: Jordan saying that he doesn't have to be the best basketball player, or the knowledge that the other guy in the clip is now a US senator.
27. Dream Team
What does it say about Jordan that the 1992 Dream Team, maybe the greatest collection of basketball players of all time, counts only as one more small part of his long history? In any case, Jordan stands out as the team's best player as they demolish all opponents at the Barcelona Olympics, and then signs autographs afterwards.
28. Three-Peat
In 1992-93, Jordan loses the regular-season MVP to Phoenix Suns big man Charles Barkley. This proves to be an unfortunate turn of events for Mr Barkley, as the Bulls defeat the Suns in six games. Jordan, who averages 41 points per game and wins an NBA record third finals MVP in a row, generously allows team-mate John Paxson to hit the game-winning shot this time.
29. 'I want to be like Mike'
Meanwhile in the world of advertising, Gatorade has been unleashing the irritatingly catchy "I want to be like Mike" campaign as young people everywhere seek the magic combination of skills, drive and (most importantly) brands that will allow them to follow Jordan's footsteps. This also, unfortunately, leads to the 2002 Lil' Bow Wow vehicle "Like Mike", which reveals a) how Jordan became a mythical, almost supernatural figure by the time he was exiting the game and b) that family-friendly basketball comedies are the worst genre of movie in existence.
30. Death of his father
In the midst of what might be the great stretch of successes an athlete has ever had, Jordan experiences the greatest tragedy of his life. On July 23, 1993, James R. Jordan Sr is murdered by two teenagers in Lumberton, North Carolina. Jordan retires from basketball.
31. Baseball career
Jordan surprises everyone by pursuing his baseball dreams, joining the Chicago White Sox minor-league system. His ultimately failed attempt to remake himself as a baseball player, hitting .202 with the Birmingham Barons, is one of the first signs that Jordan might, in fact, not be some sort of demigod but actually a human being who was really good at basketball. (The best examination of Jordan's attempt to make it as a major league ballplayer is Ron Shelton's ESPN 30 for 30 documentaryJordan Rides the Bus.)
A funny detail about Jordan's minor-league career? His manager with the Barons? That would be Terry Francona, who later would manage the Boston Red Sox to a first championship in 86 years. Maybe Jordan does have some mojo that works in mysterious ways.
32. The whispers
It may or may not be true, but there's no way to talk about Jordan's baseball hiatus without mentioning one of the greatest conspiracy theories in American sports history. The story goes something like this: NBA commissioner Stern suspends Jordan because of his issues with gambling, but comes to an agreement in order to prevent humiliating the biggest star the league has ever seen. Jordan is allowed to "voluntarily decide to retire to pursue a baseball career" for the length of the suspension and then resume his NBA career. In any case, reports of extravagant gambling begin to surface around this time and color public perceptions to this day.
33. 'I'm Back'
With those two words, Jordan announces his return to the NBA on 18 March 1995:.
34. The Number Switch...
Jordan returns to the Bulls a few days later, but the Bulls had already retired his number, 23. Since they had a ceremony and everything, Jordan adopts 45 instead. As 45, he puts 55 on the Knicks in his return to Madison Square Garden, but his new number doesn't seem to fit him. After losing game one of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Orlando Magic, Jordan reverts back to 23... delighting Illuminati fans across the country.
35. ...ends up not helping
The Magic win the series. Hey, even legends have to shake off rust.
36. Jordan meets the Worm
In 1995, Jordan had the maverick captain (Phil Jackson) and the under-appreciated sidekick. By action-movie standards, they were clearly missing the morally ambiguous eccentric unafraid to do the dirty work.Enter Dennis Rodman. The Worm is bold and flashy, especially when making his androgynous fashion statements, but he's exactly the rebounding presence the Bulls need to return to their glory days. Rodman helps Jordan win championships, Jordan helps Rodman into the Hall of Fame and the affections of Madonna. A fair trade.
37. The Father's Day Game
In 1996, Jordan wins his fourth championship as the Bulls defeat the Seattle SuperSonics, and again wins NBA finals MVP honors (to go with his regular-season MVP and All-Star Game MVP). Appropriately enough, Jordan wins his first championship since his father's death on Father's Day, leading to an emotional breakdown on the court.
38. Space Jam
Off the court, Jordan and the forces of commerce pull off their ultimate victory over their foe – "good film-making" – with the 1996 release of the half-animated, half-live-action film Space Jam. Space Jam, one of the least enjoyable blockbuster hit movies ever made, complete with a lead actor who cannot act, expensive special effects that seem incredibly cheap and one of the most insipid songs of the 1990s, still manages to be a huge commercial hit. The success of the supposed comedy proved that even after the baseball hiatus, Jordan is still big enough to sell the public anything. Thankfully, he sticks to 30-second shoe commercials, as opposed to feature-length ones, for the remainder of his acting career.
39. The Flu Game
In 1996-97, the Utah Jazz's Karl Malone beats out Jordan for the MVP. This proves to be an unfortunate turn of events for Mr Malone. The Bulls end up defeating the Jazz in the NBA finals, in six games. The most memorable game of the series, quite possibly the most memorable game of Jordan's career, comes in game five, with the series at 2-2, when Jordan scores 38 points to lead the Bulls to victory despite being visibly sick. The "Flu Game" becomes such a big part of Jordan lore that his game-winning, buzzer-beating jump shot in game one becomes something of an afterthought. The Bulls win back-to-back championships and the NBA Finals MVP goes to... well, guess...
40. The Pacers take the Bulls to seven games
Jordan's 1997-98 season, his final season with the Bulls, provides the kind of ending that every player wishes they could have. It's telling about Jordan's previous playoff successes that their Eastern Conference finals series against Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers is memorable for the simple fact that the Pacers push the Bulls to a seventh game. The Bulls win and, once again, have to face off against Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz in the NBA finals. The Bulls take a 3-2 lead heading into game six, in Utah on June 14, 1998. The Bulls are down by one, with 10 seconds on the clock, when Jordan gets the ball...
41. Boxers or briefs?
42. Sixth championship
Back in Utah, down by one, with 10 seconds on the clock, Jordan ends his career with the Chicago Bulls like this:
43. Second retirement
On 13 January 1999, with Pippen and Jackson leaving the team, Jordan once again announces that he is retiring from the NBA – in what should have been the most perfect retirement in sports history. Most sports fans today prefer to just end Jordan's career right here, wiping out their memories Endless Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-style. But Jordan, like most athletes, finds it difficult to stay uninvolved with basketball.
44. Michael Jordan: Washington Wizards executive
On 19 January 2000, Jordan returns to basketball to become part-owner and president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards. Unfortunately for Wizards fans, this leads directly to Kwame Brown.
45. Jordan comes out of retirement
The circumstances around Jordan's second unretirement, on 25 September 2001, are strange and uncomfortable. Rumors that Jordan would come out of retirement had been floating around right before the terrorist attacks of 11 September. When Jordan makes his decision to return and play for the Wizards, he adds that he will donate his salary as part of a relief fund for victims of the attacks. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Jordan's ultimately disappointing comeback with the Wizards seems like something of a much-needed distraction, even if the distracting element involved being underwhelmed by Jordan's declining skills. In hindsight, Jordan's Wizards career is something like the The Godfather Part III of sports, not terrible but a mediocre and unnecessary continuation of a career that already had the perfect ending.
46. 2002-2003: the last season
In 2003, Jordan played his last All-Star Game, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabar as the greatest scorer in the exhibition game's history. (Another Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant, who has clearly modeled his career on Jordan's, would later surpass his point total.) Fun fact: The Miami Heat, in one of the strangest number retirements in sports history, retired the number 23 in Jordan's honor despite the fact that Jordan never played for them. I'm guessing if the Heat knew the number of the all-time greatest that would be playing for them shortly, they would have held off on that one.
47. Jordan's last game
On 16 April 2003, Jordan plays his last NBA game, scoring 15 points in a loss against Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. The game ends with "We Want Mike" chants and a long standing ovation, with the unspoken hope among all watching that Jordan doesn't ruin these great memories by coming out of retirement yet again.
48. Jordan joins the Charlotte Bobcats
In 2006, apparently thinking that he had learned enough from his days with the Wizards, Jordan buys a minority stake in the struggling Charlotte Bobcats. Unfortunately for Bobcats fans, this leads directly to Adam Morrison.
49. Hall of Fame speech
Some people use their Hall of Fame speeches as a way to have their last laughs, and it's not shocking that the ultra-competitive Jordan indulges in that tradition during his 2009 Basketball Hall of Fame induction. Jordan's speech tears down all perceived slights and remains one of the few on-camera moments where Jordan's public persona has slipped and he has shown the general public the less-lovable person he was on the court. Jordan is so fueled by slights that he has to create them out of the thinnest possible material. Nowhere is this more obvious than at the Hall.
50. Michael Jordan: worst owner ever?
It's somewhat fitting that a player who made history on the court would also make it off the court, becoming the first former NBA player to become the majority owner of a franchise, in 2010. Unfortunately, Jordan's Bobcats go 7-59 in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, a 0.106 winning percentage "good" for worst in NBA history. The best player in NBA history might end up being the worst owner in NBA history. You have to hand it to His Airness – he doesn't do half-measures.
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