31 Mind-Blowing Facts We Bet You Didn’t Know About Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan, being the first name in the list of greatest basketball players of all time, can even be considered an inspiration for millions of young basketball players. His phenomenal ability and fierce competitiveness is what the current players try to achieve. Here are some little known facts about the American former professional basketball player, which will make you love him more:

1. Jordan was acclaimed as the greatest basketball player of all time, who retired with the NBA’s highest scoring average of 30.1 points per game. During his basketball career, he earned six NBA Championships, while tallying 32,292 points.
2. He was born Michael Jeffrey Jordan on February 17, 1963, in New York City to Deloris, a banker employee and James R. Jordan Sr., an equipment supervisor at a General Electric plant. He is fourth in a family of five with two older brothers, Larry Jordan, James Jordan Jr., an older sister, Deloris Jordan, and a younger sister, Roslyn Jordan.
3. He has been married twice. He married Juanita Vanoy in September 1989, before parting ways in 2002, and finally marriage stood annulled on December 29, 2006, with alimony of $168 million. He married for second time on April 27, 2013, to his long-time girlfriend Yvette Prieto and has six children from both his spouses.
4. He attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina, but as a 5’ 11’’ skinny sophomore, he was considered too short for varsity basketball team. However, he made the team in the following summer when he grew to 6’ 3’’ and averaged more than 25 points per game.
5. Jordan accepted a basketball scholarship to study cultural geography at the University of North Carolina where he averaged 13.4 points per game to be named Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the year. The high point was the winning basket on a 16-foot jumper with 18 seconds for 63-62 victory in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown.
6. He spent three years with Tar Heels, averaging 17.7 points with 5.0 rebounds per game, while making it to NCAA All-American First Team as a sophomore and junior year. He was named College Player of the Year by ‘The Sporting News,’ as a sophomore and received the Naismith and Wooden Award in his junior year.
7. Jordan apart from Ewing and Mullin are the only American basketball players to have won Olympic Gold Medals, both as an amateurs and professionals. He led the USA to gold medal in 1984 Los Angeles Games, with a team high of 17.1 points per game.
8. He was drafted as third overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls and ended up being voted ‘Rookie of the Year,’ while averaging 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists in 82 game.
9. As the phenomenal rookie of the Bulls, he received lot of attention and also appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the heading ‘A Star is Born,’ in December. This raked up controversy among some senior players, which led to ‘freeze-out’ on Jordan throughout the All-Star game.
10. The trend towards the baggy shorts was started with him wearing the shorts of his beloved North Carolina basketball uniform under his Bulls uniform. He is also known for his trademark style of dangling his tongue out of his mouth as he levitated towards the basket, picked up from observing his dad at work.
11. In 1986-87, season he set his personal season record of 3,000 points. He became the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to score 3,000 points and the only player to record 200 steals and 100 blocked shots in a season.
12. Starting with 1986-87 season, when he averaged 37.1 points, he led the league in scoring and topped 30 points per contest. Jordan also scored 40 or more points in nine consecutive games and 23 straight in one game to set an NBA record.
13. He ended the 1987-88 season, averaging 35.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists in career high 40.4 minutes play time per game. Jordan won every major award including the Most Valuable Player of the league, ‘All-Star MVP,’ and ‘Defensive Player of the Year,’ with 1.6 blocks and a league, career high 3.16 steals per game.
14. Jordan led Chicago Bulls to its first NBA Championship in June 1991, defeating L.A. Lakers, in 4 games to 1, and was crowned the Most Valuable Player of Finals. He also achieved a career high 69 points in the game against Cavaliers, on March 28, 1990, while being judged as the Best Performing Player of the season.
15. He was member of much hyped ‘Dream Team,’ which won the 1992 Olympics Gold Medal and averaged 14.9 points per game, despite frequent blowouts.
16. Jordan led Bulls to its third consecutive championship titles, in 1993, defeating Phoenix Suns, in four games to two. He averaged 41.0 points during the six games series and was named the finals Most Valuable Player, for the third straight year, the first player to do so.
17. In 1993, it was revealed that Jordan had wagered hundreds of thousands of dollars on high-stakes golf, and card games and made big money bets at casino in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Monte Carlo. He was warned against association with felons.
18. On July 23, 1993, Jordan lost his father when his was murdered during armed robbery in North Carolina, highway rest area. In 1996, he founded a James Jordan Boys & Girls Club and Family Life Centre, in memory of his late father.
19. On October 6, 1993, he announced his retirement sending most shocking statement across the globe, while being at the peak of career. He said, he has lost all desire and didn’t have anything to prove to anyone.
20. According the wishes of his late father, he signed a Minor League Baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox on February 7, 1994 and recorded a batting average of .202 with 3 home runs, 51 runs batted in, 30 stolen bases, 114 strikeouts, 51 base on balls and 11 errors.
21. On November 1, 1994, as a tribute to Jordan, a 12-foot bronze statue was erected outside the new United Center, the home to Chicago Bulls. His famous retired No. 23 jersey, sits on a 5-foot high black granite base inscribed with his achievements.
22. On March 19, 1995, Jordan returned from 17-month retirement for a game against Indiana Pacers, registering 19 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals in 43 minutes of play time. He was forced to quit baseball following a strike and he wanted to avoid becoming a potential replacement player.
23. Jordan is the only player in NBA history to lead a team to the championship with only one teammate averaging double figures in scoring. In the Bulls playoff run, Scottie Pippen averaged 19 points while other teammates averaged 8 points per game.
24. On June 14, 1998, Jordan and Bulls won their record sixth NBA Championship, while defeating Utah Jazz, in four games to two. He scored 45 points and was adjusted finals Most Valuable Player, for record sixth time.
25. On January 13, 1999, he briefly retired for second time only to return on January 19, 2000, as part owner and president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards.
26. Jordan for the second time in his career came back from retirement as a member of the Washington Wizards, in 2001. He played a total of 142 games in two seasons, averaging 21.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists with 1.5 steals per game.
27. On April 16, 2003, he made his final appearance playing against Philadelphia 76ers, scoring 15 points in 28 minutes of play. He received three-minutes standing ovation from one and all. Subsequently he was fired as the Wizards president of basketball operations.
28. On March 17, 2010, he became the first ex-player and first Afro-American to be a majority owner of NBA team, when NBA’s Board of Governors approved Jordan’s offer of $275 million bid to buy the Charlotte Bobcats.
29. In May 2019, Jordan became a grandfather, when his daughter Jasmine Jordan, gave birth to a baby boy, out of her wedlock with former Syracuse basketball star Rakeem Christmas.
30. The two-time ‘Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame,’ winner, Jordan, was 10 time NBA scoring leader, with 31, triple-doubles. He has accumulated 32,292 points, with 6,672 rebounds, 5,633 assists, and 2514 steals in 1072 games over a period of 15 seasons.
31. Michael Jordan Net Worth: $2.1 Billion