MichaelJordan

Michael Jordan is an American basketball player who is most often described as the greatest of all time. From 1984 to 1998 — with a single interruption — he wore the colors of the Chicago Bulls at shooting guard and lifted the league championship trophy six times.

Although Jordan wrapped up his major playing career more than two decades ago, his name still stands as a byword for success. The sneakers released under the Air Jordan label bring in billions of dollars every year, and Jordan himself long ago evolved from an athlete into a self-standing business empire and a global cultural symbol.

The future star was born on February 17, 1963, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Michael's parents were people of average height — his father stood under 5'11" — and he was the fourth of five children. When the boy was three, the Jordan family left restless Brooklyn for the quiet port town of Wilmington in North Carolina.

Michael's first great passion was not basketball at all but baseball: by the age of twelve he had reached the final of a junior-league championship with his school team, was crowned state champion and named the tournament's most valuable player. Later his father built a court in the backyard, and the youngster gradually switched to basketball.

At fifteen Michael was only around 5'9", so he relied on stamina and worked relentlessly on his jump. In time he grew to 6'6" (198 cm) and 216 lb (98 kg). One famous story is telling: at first he was left off his high school's varsity roster. The snub became fuel — Jordan pushed himself so hard that he averaged around 28 points a game and ultimately proved the coach wrong.

His older brother Larry already played on the team wearing number 45. Michael chose 23, reasoning that he wanted to be at least half as good as his brother. He stayed loyal to those digits for almost his entire career. After shining at the 1981 McDonald's All-American Game, he received offers from several prestigious universities and chose the University of North Carolina, where he began studying cultural geography on an athletic scholarship.

Over three college seasons Jordan collected American basketball's top individual honors — the Naismith and the John Wooden awards. He starred at the Pan American Games, and in 1984 he became an Olympic champion in Los Angeles as part of Team USA.

Leaving college a year early, the Brooklyn native entered the 1984 NBA Draft. The Chicago Bulls picked him only third overall — behind Hakeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie. Jordan made his rivals remember that "mistake" for a long time. In his very first season he steadily scored around 30 points a game and was named Rookie of the Year; barely a month into his career he landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated under the headline "A Star Is Born."

In his second season Jordan was sidelined for most of the year with a foot injury, but he returned in time for the playoffs and dropped 63 points on the Boston Celtics — a postseason record that still stands today. It was then that Larry Bird uttered his famous line that they had faced "God disguised as Michael Jordan."

In 1988 Jordan pulled off a unique double, becoming both the league's Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year in a single season. In all, he claimed the scoring title ten times, seven of them in a row. With the arrival of coach Phil Jackson and his team-first system, the Bulls turned into a machine: from 1991 to 1993 they completed their first "three-peat" — three straight championships.

In 1993 tragedy struck: Jordan's father, James, was murdered by carjackers. Shattered by the loss, the athlete announced his retirement for the first time and, unexpectedly, switched to baseball, playing for the Birmingham Barons, a Chicago White Sox farm club. He said he was fulfilling his father's long-held dream of seeing his son become a baseball player.

So began the second three-peat of 1996–1998. Two moments were etched into its history: the 1997 "Flu Game," when Jordan scored 38 points while badly ill, and "The Last Shot" of 1998 — the game-winner against Utah with seconds left that earned Chicago its sixth championship ring. Jordan never lost in the NBA Finals: six appearances meant six titles and six Finals MVP awards.

Jordan effectively turned basketball into a show: his hang time, his handles and his dunks filled arenas and lifted interest in the league to a new level. One telling example is the free throw he made with his eyes closed against Denver, dedicated to Dikembe Mutombo, who stood a head taller yet could never block Jordan.

After his second retirement Jordan could not stay away from basketball: in 2000 he returned to the league as a co-owner and general manager of the Washington Wizards, and from the fall of 2001 he once again took the floor in the club's jersey. He donated his player's salary to those affected by the September 11 attacks. It was there, as a veteran, that he became the first 40-year-old to score 43 points in a single NBA game.

The last game of his career came in 2003 against the Philadelphia 76ers. As the match wound down, the arena gave the departing legend a nearly three-minute standing ovation. It is a curious footnote that over the years "His Airness" not only worked miracles — by the numbers he missed more than 9,000 shots, including 26 that could have won games but never did. Jordan himself regarded those failures as the foundation of his success.

ESPN has ranked Jordan the greatest basketball player of all time. Books and documentaries bear his name, and in 2009 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Fans often called their idol "the god of basketball," and the nickname stuck far beyond the borders of the United States.

A separate — and arguably the most profitable — chapter of Jordan's life is tied not to the hardwood but to sneakers. It was the Jordan Brand that made the player a billionaire and permanently changed the entire athletic-footwear industry.

How the "Jumpman" Was Born

In 1984 the league newcomer signed an endorsement deal with Nike: around $500,000 a year plus royalties. As early as 1985 the first Air Jordan I appeared in the black-and-red colors of the Bulls. The famous Jumpman silhouette was based on a photograph in which Jordan is frozen mid-leap with his legs spread wide. Today that logo is one of the most recognizable sports symbols in the world.

1984first contract with Nike

$5,000per-game fine the league charged for the "illegal" shoes — which Nike turned into advertising

1997Jordan Brand spun off as a separate Nike division

~5%royalty Jordan earns on every pair of Air Jordans

>$5Bannual revenue of the Jordan Brand

$2.4Bearned from Nike, Hanes and Gatorade campaigns

AJ I 1985 AJ III Jumpman debut AJ XI cult model designer Tinker Hatfield collabs with fashion & music a new model almost every year

The Ban That Made History

The first Air Jordans were banned by the league: their bold black-and-red coloring broke the uniform rules, which required white to be present. Jordan stubbornly kept wearing them on the court, Nike dutifully paid the $5,000 fine per game — and at the same time shot advertising with a provocative line about the "banned" sneakers. The scandal only fueled demand: the shoes sold out instantly, and the marketing move went into the textbooks.

A Business Empire Beyond Footwear

Jordan has long earned far more than a salary and the Jordan Brand. Shrewd investments made him one of the wealthiest athletes on the planet: he owns roughly 60% of the insurance company Equitrust, with assets of more than $26 billion. In 2010 he became the first former player to buy a controlling stake in an NBA club — the Charlotte Hornets — and in 2023 he sold that stake for about $3 billion.

The brand's legacy has taken on a life of its own: Jordan's game-worn jerseys, autographs and sneakers have become collectors' items that fetch hundreds of thousands — even millions — of dollars at auction. In 2024 Forbes valued the legend's fortune at $3.2 billion, and by 2026 the figure had grown to roughly $4.5 billion — which, according to several outlets, makes Jordan the highest-paid athlete in history when adjusted for inflation.

Jordan appeared on screen more than once. He featured in the music video for his namesake Michael Jackson's song "Jam," where the two stars played basketball — the word "jam" neatly playing on both a musical improvisation and a powerful dunk. And in the fantasy animation "Space Jam" the basketball player portrayed himself, teaming up with Bugs Bunny and actor Bill Murray against invading aliens.

Later Netflix released the documentary series "The Last Dance" about the golden era of the Bulls, and in 2023 the feature film "Air" about the alliance between Jordan and Nike came out, with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon serving as writers, producers and lead actors. Jordan himself was played on screen by Damian Delano Young.

Juanita Vanoy

The player's first wife was Juanita Vanoy: the couple married in 1989. They had three children — sons Jeffrey and Marcus and daughter Jasmine. In 2002 Juanita filed for divorce, but the spouses reconciled at the time. They finally parted at the end of 2006 by mutual consent, and Juanita received a then-record settlement of around $168 million.

Yvette Prieto

A few years later Jordan proposed to the Cuban model Yvette Prieto, who is sixteen years his junior. The wedding took place on April 27, 2013. Before the ceremony the couple signed a prenuptial agreement that sharply limited any potential payout in the event of divorce. In February 2014 the couple welcomed twin girls, Isabel and Victoria.

In 2019 Jordan became a grandfather for the first time — his eldest daughter Jasmine gave him a grandson. Countless fan pages are devoted to the legend's sporting biography, where admirers gather the best moments of his games.

In early 2025 the legend's son Marcus made the news: he was detained on several charges, including driving under the influence. In the end the case was resolved without criminal prosecution — with a fine and community service.

That spring the outlet Sportico named Jordan the highest-paid athlete of all time, estimating his total earnings at roughly $4.15 billion when adjusted for inflation. In 2026 he retained his lead in that ranking, and his fortune, according to media reports, grew to $4.5 billion. Having stepped back from active affairs, Jordan has taken up golf and Sudoku, yet he still follows basketball — in the fall he was spotted at a Monaco match in the UEFA Champions League.