Michael Jordan: Legends in Sports
Read Michael Jordan: Legends in Sports Online
Authors: Matt Christopher
Tags: #Biography, #Adventure
Copyright © 1996 by Matt Christopher Royalties, Inc.
Revised edition copyright © 2008 by Matt Christopher Royalties, Inc.
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced,
distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
Little, Brown and Company
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Visit our website at
www.HachetteBookGroup.com
First eBook Edition: December 2009
Matt Christopher® is a registered trademark of Matt Christopher Royalties, Inc.
ISBN: 978-0-316-09401-6
To my daughter, Pamela
Contents
Chapter One: 1963–1981
From “the Rack” to the Tar Heels
Chapter Two: 1981–1984
“Mike’s a Good Player.”
Chapter Three: 1984–1985
Rookie of the Year
Chapter Four: 1985–1987
Getting “Bull”-ish on the Court
Chapter Five: 1987–1990
“There’s Michael Jordan and Then Everybody Else.”
Chapter Six: 1990–1991
Champions!
Chapter Seven: 1991–1992
A Couple of Scars
Chapter Eight: 1992–1993
The “Dream Team” and Beyond
Chapter Nine: 1993–1994
The News That Shocked the World
Chapter Ten: 1994–1995
Playing Hardball
Chapter Eleven: 1995
“I’m Back!”
Chapter Twelve: 1995–2001
One Last Shot?
Chapter Thirteen: 2001–2003
Jordan’s Finale
Chapter Fourteen: 2003–2005
Beyond Basketball
Chapter Fifteen: 2004–2007
Mike’s Bikes
Chapter Sixteen: 2004–2007
Teeing Off
Chapter Seventeen: 2006–2007
Back to the Court!
Michael Jordan’s Year-to-Year NBA Statistics
The #1 Sports Series for Kids: MATT CHRISTOPHER
®
INTRODUCTIONAir JordanMichael Jordan defied the law of gravity.
At least that’s what opponents, teammates, and fans claimed. From the time he first burst upon the scene as a freshman at
the University of North Carolina to his final game with the Washington Wizards, he soared high above the rest. Of all the
basketball players in the world, few have come close to his level of talent.
So what was it about Michael Jordan’s play that made him so special? The answer is simple: Every time he touched the basketball,
there was a good chance he would do something with it no one had ever seen done before.
Get him the ball at the top of the key and maybe he’d launch himself from the free throw line, lift the
ball high above his head, and make a thunderous jam through the hoop.
Feed him a pass near the basket and he might leap up and seem to hang in the air as defenders tried — unsuccessfully — to
knock the ball from his hand. Then, as he finally started to come down, he’d casually flip the ball underhand toward the basket,
where it would kiss the glass and fall through for two more points.
Perhaps he’d take the ball to the hoop himself — not for a simple lay-up, however. Instead, as defenders tried to stop him,
he’d start on one side of the basket, jump, spin 360 degrees through the air, come out on the other side, flick the ball over
his head, and catch nothing but net.
The great plays weren’t ever the same twice. But the look after the plays became one that any basketball follower would recognize.
Sweat glistening off his shaved head. Mouth wide open. Tongue curled around his lower lip. It all added up to classic Michael
Jordan.
But you’d better not blink because the whole thing would only take seconds from start to finish. Then Michael Jordan would
be in motion again, a look of
wild surprise upon his face as the crowd roared and his opponents rolled their eyes and shook their heads. Often, he would
flash a quick smile as if to say, “How about that?” and then glance up toward his family in the stands before sprinting back
up court, ready to do it all once more.
He didn’t get the nickname Air Jordan for nothing, after all.
But Michael Jordan wasn’t born with the ability to play basketball better than any other human being on the planet. When he
first started playing, he couldn’t dribble the ball without bouncing it off his foot. His shots didn’t even make it to the
basket. And dunking a basketball? That was just a dream!
So how did Michael Jordan become so good?
He knew people aren’t born great athletes; they make themselves great athletes. Through hard work, practice, and determination,
the best athletes learn to take advantage of their physical gifts and develop them to the fullest. Great players love competition
and always strive to become better.
That is how Michael Jordan became perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time. He was blessed with tremendous physical
skill, true enough, but he
also worked extremely hard throughout his career to develop the talent he was born with. Each time he failed, he tried again
and tried harder. Each time he succeeded, he gave himself another goal to strive toward.
“I never felt the desire to rest on what I had accomplished,” he once said.
Considering what he accomplished, and the indelible mark those accomplishments have left on the sport of basketball, those
are powerful words. Almost as powerful as the man who said them.
CHAPTER ONE1963–1981From “the Rack” to the Tar Heels
Michael Jordan credits his parents, James and Deloris Jordan, with teaching him the value of hard work. Both of Michael’s
parents were born on small farms in Wallace, North Carolina. Their parents — Michael’s grandparents — were sharecroppers:
farmers who paid the rent on their small plots of land by sharing the crops they produced with the landowners.
While Michael’s parents always had enough to eat, both families were poor. Sharecropping is hard work. Michael’s parents both
dreamed of a better life for themselves and their future children.
James and Deloris met in high school after attending — what else? — a basketball game. The first time they met, James told
Deloris, “I’m gonna marry you someday.” A few years later, he did.
Most fans already know that Michael Jordan grew up in North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina before
turning professional and playing for the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Few people realize, however,
that Michael Jordan was born not in North Carolina but in Brooklyn, New York.
After he graduated from high school, James Jordan served in the air force for several years, then went to work for General
Electric. The Jordan family grew quickly, and soon the young couple had three children — James Ronald, Deloris, and Larry.
In 1963, James brought his young family to Brooklyn so he could attend a General Electric training school. Michael was born
on February 17, 1963, while the family was living in Brooklyn.
With four children to raise, James and Deloris worked hard to provide for their family. As soon as James completed the training
course, the Jordans returned to North Carolina. A year later, Michael’s younger sister, Roslyn, was born. As soon as the children
were old enough, Michael’s mother went to work in a bank to help support the family.
When the Jordans first returned to North Carolina, they lived in a small rented house. But James Jordan wanted better for
his family. He and his wife saved their money and purchased a six-and-a-half-acre plot of land in Wilmington, North Carolina.
James decided to build a home for his family. He spent evenings and weekends constructing a small but comfortable brick house.
Sometimes he took his children with him. The young Jordans helped their father carry bricks and mortar and learned the value
of hard work firsthand. Brick by brick, they saw the result of their labor.
James Jordan taught his children to play hard, too. When he was in high school, he had played guard on his school’s basketball
team, and he loved many sports. So James encouraged his children to play sports and games of all kinds. He thought it was
much safer for the boys to be playing sports than running around Wilmington looking for trouble.
There was always some kind of game going on at the Jordan house. If James Ronald and Larry weren’t in the yard playing football
or throwing a baseball back and forth, they were crowded around the
kitchen table playing checkers or a board game. Deloris Jordan later told people that the only time the boys stopped competing
against each other was when they ate dinner.