Biography and success story of Michael Jordon. Michael Jordan - The Greatest Basketball Player of All Time

Boundaries, like fears, most often turn out to be illusions

This statement does not belong to a philosopher at all, but to the legendary basketball player Michael Jordan. This athlete knows firsthand what the fear of defeat is and how to overcome it.

Jordan admits that he has made many mistakes in his life, lost more than 300 matches, made thousands of bad shots, 26 of which decided the fate of the game. However, the athlete believes that it was thanks to his losses that he became a champion.

What is the secret of this paradox?

The answer lies in the “sour lemon” rule, voiced by the notorious Dale Carnegie: “If fate hands you a lemon, try to make lemonade out of it.”

Likewise, our today's hero Michael Jordan considers his weaknesses to be the main driving force that pushes him to new victories. It was the desire to overcome his fear that led Jordan to success. It's very simple - if you are afraid, then overcome yourself again and again until the fear of failure disappears.

Michael Jordan, by his own admission, “ hates his weakness and turns it into strength" This transformation would have been the envy of all medieval alchemists. They were just trying to get noble gold from mercury and sulfur, but here the metamorphoses will be more complicated - transforming their fear into perseverance, and gaining strength from weakness.

This ability not to be afraid of new mistakes is what makes a person, in sports terminology, a winner and champion. Coaches like Jordan are called " winning players" They always strive to give their best.

Being a true fighter, Jordan admits that he can forgive people for failure, but not for giving up trying

In this statement, Michael agrees with, who argued that in the world there are many more not defeated, but surrendered - people who have given up trying to succeed. So if a person is a fighter, then he will be a leader in sports, in the automotive industry, and in any other field.

In 2013, Michael Jordan celebrated his 50th birthday. An athlete who has already completed his professional basketball career still has stable cash flow.

Last year alone, flying Michael earned $80 million thanks to advertising companies with Nike and other companies. According to the ranking of athlete marketing appeal, which takes into account fame and perception, Jordan takes first place, and no new sports star has yet managed to eclipse his fame. His name is known even to people completely far from sports, and Michael actively takes advantage of this. According to the calculations of the ubiquitous Forbes, Jordan's fortune has already exceeded the mark of $650 million and continues to grow!

Jordan's achievements are impressive and undeniable. All of them can be assessed - after all, sport, like no other area, gravitates towards quantitative assessments and accurate calculations

The number of points, rebounds, assists and steals per game, the percentage of shots taken, the number of winning matches - all these parameters will tell specialists a lot. Jordan's hard work and dedication led to Michael 5 times recognized as the most valuable player in the National Basketball Association (NBA), 6 times became NBA champion 3 times was recognized as the most valuable player in the NBA All-Star games, 6 times- Most Valuable Player of the NBA affiliates.

Jordan is a two-time Olympic champion and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009. And the title of “the best basketball player on the planet” is worth a lot! Among other things, Michael Jordan started new era basketball - a game that, with his arrival, became a real show of speed and beauty.

Watch this video, which contains 40 of the best basketball moments with the participation of the great master:

However, Jordan did not have the prerequisites for a career as a basketball player from birth. Michael's parents had neither tall, nor an athletic build.

What then helped Jordan achieve success?

The future standard of basketball player was born February 17, 1963 in NYC. He was the fourth of five children to Dolores and James Jordan. It's funny that Michael's parents met after a basketball game. Maybe this was a sign of fate?

When Jordan was very young, the family moved to North Carolina. His father got a job at General Electric, and his mother found a job at a bank.

Michael often played baseball with his father, which was his first sporting hobby. Soon, however, he fell in love with basketball, the most popular game among local African American youth. He spent all his free time on the basketball court in the courtyard of his house with his older brother Larry. Subsequently, on the school basketball team, Jordan will choose his player number "23"(Larry had a “45”), explaining that he dreams of being at least half as good at playing as his older brother.

Would you believe it if I said that Michael had poor discipline at school, and at home he tried to shirk his household responsibilities? Jordan’s love for basketball was able to put an end to his natural laziness, otherwise the world would have received another “four-legged friend lover.”

Passion for what you love can not only defeat laziness, but also move mountains! Michael said this about this: “I don’t do anything half-heartedly because I know it will have negative consequences.”

At school, when Jordan asked to join the senior basketball team, he faced rejection. Michael was given a turn away from the goal, or rather from the basket, because the boy did not reach basketball height, and was also rather weak in terms of training.

Our hero did not fall into depression, but began to act. “Obstacles should not stop you. Find a way to overcome these barriers."– Jordan formulates his credo.

Over the next summer, Michael worked diligently to improve his level of play, and to compensate for his lack of height, he further honed his jumping technique. So he jumped – now Jordan’s fans call him nothing more than “ air Jordan", or His Airness. Michael Jordan is a two-time dunk champion.

By the way, in the video below you can watch these throws that brought him victory in the competition:

The height of his vertical jump is 1.2 m! If you add to this value Michael’s height - 1.98 m (the boy has grown a little since his school days), you will understand why the athlete can easily reach the basketball basket, located at a height of 3.05 m from the level of the playing court.

Jordan has achieved his goal - he is accepted into the high school basketball team. During basketball practice, Michael wondered why the coach was not happy with him. He works like everyone else! In response from the mentor, he heard: “ If you want to become the best, you must train more than others " He learned this rule 100%, and since then he has never tried halfway, because it “only leads to half the result.”

And so it happened that even from his school days, Michael Jordan entered the court with the only goal - to win

In addition to working hard at basketball, Jordan takes up his studies in high school. Michael is so successful on the school playground that he is vying with each other to be invited to their teams by a number of senior educational institutions. Jordan makes his choice in favor of the University of North Carolina, which provides him with a sports scholarship.

In 1981, Jordan became a star on the Tar Heels varsity team, coached by Dean Smith. This coach was named US College Coach of the Year four times and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.

In the first year of his performance, Jordan was awarded the title best newcomer, and in next year, having successfully scored the decisive goal, leads his team to the victorious title.

Soon, Michael becomes overwhelmed with student league games, and he decides to try himself in the NBA draft. As a result of this annual event, when NBA teams select promising newcomers, Jordan became a member of the team in 1984. Chicago Bulls».

This was not without difficulties and “grinding in” with other players. However, Jordan, like no one else, understood perfectly well that talent could win a match, but team play and intelligence would bring victory to entire championships. Jordan generally had a good style of play, and was a kind of “ gentleman player": never acted rudely or used prohibited techniques.

However, the athlete still violated some rules. The NBA fined Jordan for wearing red and black Nike sneakers on the basketball court because those colors are banned by the basketball league. The most popular manufacturer sportswear and shoes, he developed Air Jordan sneakers especially for the athlete, and Michael, while practicing 2.5 million contract with the company, I was happy to put on sneakers for the game.

Jordan's career with the Chicago Bulls was going well. How does the basketball player himself explain his success?

“I never thought about what would happen if I missed the decisive shot. To think about it is to expect failure.”

And here is another proof of its benefits positive thinking!

In 1993, Michael Jordan announces retirement from basketball career. He learns about the death of his father, who died at the hands of criminals, and 3 months later, with the wording “he has no desire to play anymore,” he leaves the Chicago Bulls. In 1994, he tried to play professional baseball, but did not achieve much success with the Birmingham Barons team.

Soon followed the sensational news of Jordan's return to big-time basketball. After all, the athlete felt that not all heights had been conquered: “Everyone dreams of being the next Michael Jordan. I have to prove that I'm still Michael Jordan."

And although he failed to lead the team to the finals in the year of his return, Jordan was able to make up for lost time by winning 3 championship titles in a row in the next 3 years.

Certain events, people, hobbies, or environments make us feel incredible emotions. One of the most popular and exciting sports competitions is basketball. Fans love football, hockey and other sports no less active rest. They all have one thing in common - the desire to win and feel brotherhood with other like-minded people. Not only the athletes themselves, the “legends,” love risk, adrenaline, motivation, but all fans and supporters also expect similar emotions that bring them closer to their idols. Thus, Jordan Michael is rightfully considered one of the most legendary people on the planet. This is a truly brilliant basketball player, delighting fans over many years of his career.

Carier start

Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a famous basketball player originally from America, who managed to amaze the whole world with his talent and become a “legend” of the sport. His role in the game is as an attacking defender. He was part of the NBA for a long time and delighted all basketball fans with excellent matches.

The celebrity's career began after graduating from university. Jordan Michael joined the team called the Chicago Bulls in 1984. He amazed spectators and fans with his high jumps, the athlete seemed to be flying towards the ring, for which he was nicknamed “His Airness”.

Jordan's life before fame

I would like to mention a few facts from Jordan's life. He was born in 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. The parents of the future celebrity never played sports and were of average build. In total, there were five children in the family, of which Michael was the fourth. Interesting fact is that Jordan Michael was always too lazy to exercise. He preferred to lie on the couch or hang out with the boys, but after moving to middle school, something changed. Since then, the rising star has been involved in a variety of sports, but most of all, of course, he liked basketball.

As a child, Michael was not very tall, so already with early years he began to focus on the jump. He trained him, trying to compensate for his shortcomings. Jordan became a brilliant player thanks to his older brother, who constantly trained with Michael.

Making a Superstar

Already in high school, Jordan Michael was considered an excellent basketball player. He was not tall, but his speed and diligence compensated for this deficiency, which soon turned out to be only teenage problem. When the athlete entered the 11th grade, his height was 186 cm, and the guy was easily accepted into the basketball team. The first number the talented young man played under was 23. Michael showed excellent results, choosing the position of heavy forward. All this worked and brought success only because Jordan constantly trained - every morning before school. His parents believed that it was because of basketball that he studied so poorly, but that was the last thing that worried the future superstar.

Having attended a training camp at the University of North Carolina, Jordan earned a couple of points in his favor. All the coaches present were delighted with the talent and skills of the young basketball player. After this match, Michael was invited to the University of North Carolina, although the young man himself preferred the University of California in Los Angeles.

What makes Michael Jordan successful?

With age, Michael Jordan's games became more and more interesting and exciting. No one could repeat or convey the skill of the basketball player; he amazed with his speed, incredible jump range and ability to play in a team. Throughout his studies at the university, Michael honed his skills and became stronger, more successful, and was predicted to have an excellent future, which soon became so.

In 1984, Jordan participated in Olympic Games, in which he scored an average of 17.1 points per match. It was Michael who was recognized as the best in this type of competition. Since then, the basketball player's number of fans has increased several times. Michael Jordan - the athlete's growth, his achievements and personal life have become of interest to society and the whole world as a whole. It’s not surprising, because in fact the man became popular. His height fascinated many girls, as he was 198 cm.

Professional career

The brilliant and professional career of the famous Jordan began in 1984. This period is the first season in the NBA, which means a lot for every athlete. As a result of the games, Michael scored 28 goals, which was a very good result. Gradually, the athlete began acting in commercials. Michael Jordan, whose photo appeared on the covers of dozens of the best magazines in the world, had a successful start and extended his contract for several seasons. He also took part in the 1992 Olympics, where Team USA took first place and received gold medal. On this day, Jordan stood on the podium, wrapped in the flag of his country. And fans from all over the world rejoiced for their idol.

Michael Jeffrey Jordan is an American basketball player and model, he was born on February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. During his career, the athlete was recognized as the most valuable player of the National Basketball Association five times, and became a champion six times. In 2009, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and Michael was also elected the best basketball player on the planet. He is a two-time Olympic champion and a legend in his sport.

Sports childhood

IN early childhood Michael was afraid to even dream of basketball fame. All his relatives were short, and no one achieved success in sports. But the parents of the boy and his four siblings met after a basketball game. Dolores and James moved to North Carolina shortly after the birth of their son. There, his father began working for General Electric, and his mother got a position in one of the local bank branches.

Michael was not always a hard worker. At school he could have become an excellent mathematician, but he preferred to study with C grades and ignore homework. While his brothers and sisters helped their parents around the house, the boy dodged work in every possible way. Teachers complained about him because of disruptions to lessons and poor discipline.

As a teenager, the future champion became interested in baseball. He constantly played with his father in the backyard, and at age 12 he reached the finals of the Little League Championship with his team. The athlete was later recognized as a state champion and most valuable player.

Quite unexpectedly for everyone, the young man became interested in basketball. His older brother Larry also chose this sport; perhaps it was he who inspired Jordan by his example. The father arranged a playground in the yard for his sons so that they could train. Due to his short stature (175 cm), fifteen-year-old Michael had to perfect his jumps for a long time, and at first school coaches simply ignored him. This angered the guy, so he worked several times harder than the other players. In each match he received 24 points.

At the same time, the young man was involved in athletics, American football and baseball. By the 11th grade, he managed to grow up and build up muscles. As a result, Michael became a member of the team, which already included his brother at number 45. The athlete chose number 23, citing the fact that he wanted to play at least half as well as Larry.

Studying at the University

Thanks to Jordan's sporting achievements, representatives of the most prestigious educational institutions in America noticed him. He received several offers, and in the end the young man chose the University of North Carolina. In 1981, he became a student and at the same time joined the Tar Heels university team. His coach was Dean Smith, who repeatedly won student championships.

At first, Michael felt uncomfortable in the role of an attacking defender, but over time he began to like the new role. Already in his second year, he became the best newcomer and was able to lead his team to victory in the championship. In three seasons, the basketball player managed to show the best results in the Pan American Games, receive the Naismith Award and join the Chicago Bulls national team. As part of it, he went to the Olympic Games, where the team won another victory.

In 1984, Jordan fulfilled his dream - he became an NBA player. That same year, he signed a contract with Nike for $2.5 million. Air Jordan sneakers were designed especially for the basketball player. For all this, the student dropped out during his final year. In 1988, he was recognized as the most valuable player of the association, and in 1991 the team won the championship at the final championship.

Tragedy and career end

Over the course of several years, Michael managed to receive many sports awards and win championships in many competitions. In 1992, he joined the Dream Team, accompanied by Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley.

Together with the national team, he participated in the 1993 Olympics, held in Barcelona. But in the same year it happened terrible tragedy- unknown persons shot and killed Jordan's father. In memory of James, his son decided to retire from basketball and devote himself to baseball. He simply did not have the strength or desire to play his favorite sport. But baseball did not become an outlet, so two years later the athlete returned to the team.

In January 1999, Michael decided to retire from basketball again. This time he returned a year later, but in the role of manager and co-owner of the Washington Wizards club. Since September 2001, he has been on the field as part of this team. The basketball player donated all the proceeds to people who suffered as a result of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Eight years after terrible event basketball player entered the Hall of Fame. After that, he decided to finally quit his career, since he had already achieved everything he wanted.

Later, Jordan became interested in golf and motorsports, but did not strive to achieve serious success in these sports. Most often, he participated in charity competitions, and in 2004 he became the owner of the Michael Jordan Motorsports team. The athlete also repeatedly starred in commercials, worked as a model, and even appeared in one of Michael Jackson’s “Jam” videos. In 1996, he played himself in the film Space Jam.

Personal life

The basketball player married Juanita Vanoy back in 1989. Two years later, he purchased a luxurious estate in Highland Park for his family. Together with his wife, Michael raised two sons and a daughter, for their sake he was even going to leave big-time sports for the second time. In 2002, Juanita unexpectedly filed for divorce, but in the end the couple managed to come to an agreement.

In 2006, Karla Kneifel sued Jordan, claiming that she was his mistress and was raising his son. The claim was rejected, and the athlete’s paternity was refuted after an examination. But this situation completely ruined family relationships, and the couple divorced at the end of the year. The woman received $168 million in compensation. Five years later, Michael married Cuban model Yvette Prieto again. He bought a mansion in Florida for his beloved; in 2014, his wife gave birth to twin girls.

Jordan can be called a unique athlete in some way, because he remembers all his failures and is even proud of them. It was thanks to them that the basketball player was able to rise so high, because he never succumbed to weaknesses. He has worked very hard since his school days. Before and after his studies, the champion trained regularly and had a ring hanging in his bedroom.

Michael always gave his all, because “half the effort leads to only half the result,” in his words. Such amazing performance is due to the fact that he was doing what he loved. Nothing could stop the athlete, even though there were various obstacles on his way. It is noteworthy that he always played honestly, distinguished himself good manners on the basketball field and in life. Jordan tried to avoid being rude to opponents or other team members, realizing that only together they could achieve impressive results.

Michael Jordan

Once upon a time there lived a little boy. Since childhood, he wanted to play basketball, and when he grew up, he was accepted into the team of the Elmsie Leni school in Wilmington, North Carolina. One day, the local university team, on the eve of the upcoming state championship, decided to take on a promising newcomer. He was almost sure that the choice would fall on him, but coach Fred Lynch told him:

“Listen, they chose Leroy Smith. I know that you play no worse than him, but you are still small, and Leroy is much taller than you. So sorry...

But the guy was stubborn and did not give up his dream. “I decided that this should not happen again,” he told himself. – I have to become the best. The very best. To be first. And I started working on my technique with renewed vigor. I gave two hundred percent and worked like I had never worked before.” His name was Michael Jordan...

On April 20, 1986, another playoff game took place between the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics. No one doubted the victory of the Bostonians. Of course, because, among other things, Larry Bird himself played for the Celtics - winner of the title “Most Valuable Player of the Regular Season” for the last three years. After the match, Larry did not hide his feelings:

– 63 points is fantastic. We lost, but what could we do, because God himself played against us in the guise of Jordan...

The future king of basketball, “His Airness” Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born on February 17, 1963 in New York. Two years after Michael's birth, the Jordan family moved from New York to North Carolina, to the small town of Wilmington. Michael grew up in a large black family. His father, James Jordan, worked as an electrician, his mother as a bank employee. The family was not completely poor, but the parents’ income was only enough for the bare necessities. Until the age of 16, future multimillionaire Michael Jordan didn’t even have a bicycle.

As a child, Michael experienced several moments when, as they say, “just a little more and...” As a matter of fact, the troubles began even before he was born. While Dolores Jordan was giving birth, her mother died unexpectedly. The woman was so worried about the death of a loved one that doctors seriously feared a miscarriage. Michael was nevertheless born, but in the very first minutes of his life he scared his relatives and doctors to death - blood gushed out of the newborn’s nose like a fountain. They took him out, but little Michael's troubles did not end there. The boy was barely more than a year when he fell face down on his parents' bed and nearly suffocated. A little later, after the Jordans moved to North Carolina, on a rainy day, Michael was hanging around the car that his father was repairing. Suddenly a gust of wind blew electrical wire. The discharge was so strong that the child who found himself next to the wire was literally thrown two meters away from the car. Michael experienced another terrible shock at the age of eight. While swimming, he and a friend were caught by a strong undercurrent. The guys were drawn to the bottom. “I was lucky, I managed to escape and swam to the shore,” Michael recalled, “but my friend did not return. I just didn’t have the strength to save him.”

In the biographies of many American black athletes one can find episodes related to racist attitudes towards them. Michael was no exception. One day he argued with a classmate over a place in school bus. The white girl called him a “dirty nigga” and spat in his face. He could not stand it and responded by throwing a bottle of lemonade at the offender. For this he was expelled from school. The only consolation was that his parents told him: “Michael, you did the right thing...”

Fortunately, Michael's childhood was not all about tragedy, accidents, and hatred from his classmates. When he was five years old, he first saw on TV how strong, tall guys play basketball. “I saw basketball for the first time and wanted, just like NBA professionals, to learn how to shoot the ball into the hoop from above.” However, the father wanted his son to become a baseball player. And Michael wasn’t tall enough; heredity took its toll – Jordan’s ancestors on his father’s side were short. Until the age of 12, the boy played baseball, basketball and American football simultaneously. And yet, at first, baseball came first; at the age of 12, Michael received the title of best player in the children's league, and his photo was published in local newspapers. Jordan himself cannot even remember exactly when he decided to devote himself to basketball. “Michael just played for fun and didn’t think at all about a possible career,” recalled Elmsie Leni School coach Fred Lynch, under whose guidance Michael began to play basketball seriously. “But two things always distinguished him from his peers. Firstly, I immediately noticed that Michael is a natural athlete. A real athlete. He hated to lose and, every time he entered the court, he gave his best every time. And secondly, he always knew that he could count on support from his family. Parents came to all games with his participation. And they always found something to praise him for, even if our team lost the match, and Michael himself looked unwell.”

Perhaps the psychology of the future great basketball player was changed by two incidents, after which he decided that basketball was his path to success in life. Firstly, the situation described at the very beginning of the article, when Michael was not accepted into the university team. And secondly, one day the guy had to experience what hard, thankless work and a meager salary for this work are like. Michael's father got him a job at a hotel as a helper. He changed light bulbs in rooms, cleaned swimming pools, painted fences. And when he received several hundred dollars in his hands, he told his parents with bitterness in his voice: “I will never do such work in my life!”

Due to his small stature, the coaches kept Michael on the junior team for a long time. However, his desire to break into the main team was so great that he set out to defeat Nature itself. And he achieved his goal! Small stature? This is not a problem for a person with such a character - doing special exercises Michael has grown by more than 10 (!) centimeters in a year. “When Michael was in the 9th grade, he was about 180 cm tall,” said Fred Lynch. “He wanted to be on the court in the starting five, but he couldn’t play as hard as the high school players. And Michael had a desire to succeed. Over the course of the year, he proved with his work and his play that he is exactly what he is. best player school team. And a couple of years later, Jordan became not only the best player in the school, he was recognized as the best player in the state of North Carolina and one of the ten best high school athletes in America.” It is interesting that over the years, Michael has not changed his winning mentality, not only in basketball, but in any other game. He proved this more than once on the basketball court, but Jordan's character is most clearly illustrated by a curious incident told by Chuck Daly, coach of the US Olympic team that competed at the Games in Barcelona. In the capital of the Olympics, the American team settled in a hotel next to which there was a golf course. On a day off from playing, two big golf fans, Chuck Daly and Michael Jordan, decided to play a few rounds. The coach won, but Michael demanded revenge. Chuck Daly agreed and asked to reschedule the meeting for the next day. Now imagine that at four o'clock in the morning you hear a persistent knocking on the door of your hotel room. Without thinking anything, you open the door and see in front of you a man with golf clubs... It’s not hard to imagine what you will think about this man. Surely Chuck Daly decided that Michael was a little moved when he saw him early in the morning on the threshold of his room. However, Jordan did not even think to apologize for such an early visit. “You said that tomorrow I could win back. Tomorrow has already arrived. So come on, get dressed and quickly, otherwise I still have to go to the site today...”

Selflessly devoting himself to his favorite game, Michael for some time forgot that in addition to basketball, he also needed to attend classes at a regular school. Several followed serious conversations with his parents, and the guy had to come to his senses and finish school. Michael's success on the school basketball court attracted the attention of university basketball coaches. Jordan received offers from several universities in America, but decided not to go far from home and chose North Carolina State University.

In 1981, he made his debut in the NCAA student league. He did not immediately manage to achieve a place in the main team, but Jordan’s tenacity and perseverance could not help but please coach Dean Smith. “Michael had a constant desire to improve his game,” Dean Smith recalled. “At every training session, he tried to learn something new, master a new feint, improve his throw, practice a new combination until it was automatic. And what Michael did on the court even then earned him the nickname “Air Jordan” (flying, airy Jordan). During training, he and his partners practiced various combinations. But after training, in the locker room, Michael often teased them, reminding them what balls he scored from above into the hoop over their heads. However, no one was angry at these jokes; on the contrary, Jordan was always everyone’s favorite.”

First " finest hour Michael Jordan's birthday was March 29, 1982. His University of North Carolina team played Georgetown University in the college league finals. Michael's decisive shot a couple of seconds before the final siren brought victory to his team with a score of 63:62, and to him personally the first title in his long sports career. In the next two seasons, Michael was recognized as the best US student player, and his team was the strongest in the NCAA.

Is being the worst good or bad? The answer, at first glance, lies on the surface - losers are not loved anywhere, and especially in America. But for outsiders in the NBA there is one very significant consolation - the right to choose the first numbers in the draft. In fact, draft is a purely American concept; in Russian there is not even an exact translation of this word. Roughly, “draft” can be translated as “an annual preseason procedure for NBA clubs to select rookies according to the places occupied by teams in the past season.” In the draft, teams that finished at the bottom of the standings in the regular season receive the right of first choice in selecting players. It turns out that the answer to the question we posed is not so clear - the best players in student leagues, in the vast majority of cases, end up in weak teams, but on the other hand, championship outsiders have the opportunity to seriously strengthen their roster.

Before the start of each season, the draft and its outcome is the No. 1 topic in the American basketball world. In 1984, the right to choose the first number went to the Houston Rockets, the second to the Portland Trail Blazers, and the third to the Chicago Bulls. Houston chose Hakeem Olajuwon (who later became one of the best centers in the NBA), Portland chose Sam Bowie (who did not achieve significant success in the NBA), and Chicago chose North Carolina University graduate Michael Jordan...

Now it may seem that the managers and coaches of Houston and Portland made a mistake and deprived themselves of the opportunity to get the future best player on the planet into the team. But this is only at first glance - college basketball, of course, is good, but this is not the NBA, where the requirements for players are completely different. This is how Chicago coach Phil Jackson recalled the young Jordan: “Michael, of course, looked good in his youth, but he also had plenty of shortcomings. For example, the throwing technique was simply disgusting at first. Yes, with such a long shot, an attacking guard simply has nothing to do in the NBA!” That's how! It turns out that Michael Jordan was by no means born a basketball genius who can do absolutely everything on the court. But let’s listen further to Phil Jackson, who explains where this genius came from: “He stayed after practice and shot at the hoop. One hundred, two hundred, three hundred times. Until I started throwing better than anyone else. I also watched video recordings of my future opponents’ games every day in order to study their style and be the best in defense.”

Also in 1984, Michael made the US Olympic team. On the team that competed at the Los Angeles Games, he played as an attacking defender. In the Olympic finals, the US team, composed of NBA rookies, beat the Spanish team with a score of 101:68. At the post-match press conference, the Spain coach said of Jordan: “This is something beyond human capabilities. It feels like Jordan is made of rubber..."

In the early 1980s, the Chicago Bulls were a pretty miserable spectacle. The team constantly lagged behind the standings and did not make it to the playoffs. Of course, Michael's arrival didn't change the situation overnight, but the performance of No. 23 gave Bulls fans some hope. By the way, the choice of the world-famous number 23 is not accidental. Michael's older brother Larry, who taught Michael the basics of basketball, played for the school team under number 45. Michael also wanted this number, but, naturally, there could not be two players from the same team with the same number on the court. So Michael took half of it - 22.5 - and reduced it to 23. At the end of the championship, Michael received the Rookie of the Year title, the best rookie award, and was selected to the first team of the NBA All-Star Game.

Despite such a promising start, the start of the next season was unsuccessful for him. Until October 29, 1985, Michael had never missed a game due to injury, either in school or university. But sports, unfortunately, are not without troubles. On that fateful day, during the third game of the season against the Golden State Warriors, Michael landed poorly and felt that he would not be able to continue playing. “I knew right away that this was a serious injury,” Jordan recalled. – The pain was very strong. Because of this pain, I was forced to leave the site." An X-ray showed that large cracks had formed in the bones of his left leg; in fact, Michael had broken his leg. The bone healed slowly; according to doctors, full recovery could take about six months. The athlete underwent surgery and metal staples were inserted into the damaged bone.

At the end of February, Michael was able to begin training, first on an individual schedule, and then with the team. In early March, an examination showed that healing was proceeding normally and the bone had almost healed, but there was a 10% risk of re-fracture. Michael was eager to get on the court, but the Chicago management agreed with the position of the doctors and recommended that Jordan not rush things and get on the court next season. After this recommendation (which was actually an order), a small riot occurred in the Chicago camp, the instigator of which was, naturally, Jordan. “All this talk about some 10% danger for the left leg just infuriates me. After all, the doctors themselves told me that the bone had healed, and the muscles on the left leg were even stronger than on the undamaged right leg. What is there to think about? And even if there is a minimal danger, some 10%, then what to do with the 90% that everything will be fine?” Jordan demanded a meeting between the treating doctors and the team management and finally achieved his goal. Michael was removed from the injured list and allowed to enter the court, although his time in the game was limited to 14 minutes per match. And the Chicago bosses followed this restriction very strictly - when, during one of the matches, Michael spent 50 seconds more time on the court than the allotted time, Bulls coach Doug Collins listened to a lot of unpleasant things from the management.

Chicago finished the regular season in eighth place in its conference with a record of 32 wins and 50 losses. With difficulty, the Bulls still managed to cling to the playoffs. After several unsuccessful seasons, this could be considered a success. However, even the most ardent Chicago fans did not believe that their team would be able to advance beyond the first round, because the strongest NBA club of that time, the Boston Celtics, was waiting for them.

Almost twenty years have passed since then, but basketball fans remember this series almost more often than the matches for the NBA championship. No one doubted Boston's victory. And so it happened, the Celtics won the series, but the Chicagoans were able to give a real fight to a formidable opponent. And of course, the main character in the Bulls was Michael Jordan. The miracles he performed on the set made people talk about him only in superlatives.

In the first game, held on April 17, 1985, Michael scored 49 points. Even though Boston won 123-104, Celtics coach KC Jones was pretty emotional. “Before the Chicago series, I knew we had only one problem: Michael Jordan,” Jones said. “We had to change our usual defensive tactics. We worked on traps, double tackling and different defensive schemes against Michael. I was forced to throw several guys against him, but he still did what he wanted. He attacked through our centers Kevin McHale and Robert Parish and was constantly hitting. He took the game to a whole new level. That was incredible".

The second game showed that all the Bostonians' attempts to contain Michael were absolutely useless. This is evidenced by at least a dry statistical report on his performance in the match. Michael spent 53 minutes on the court, making 22 of his 41 field goals and 19 of 21 shots from the foul line. The result is 63 points and a new NBA record, which has not yet been broken, for scoring in playoff games. But the record is a record, and the Bulls never achieved victory. And what’s most interesting is that Jordan blames himself first of all for this loss. “I remember that miss more than any other miss in my career,” Michael said of the moment he missed from four yards with the score 125-125 seconds before the end of the first overtime. In the second extra five minutes, Boston took the lead by four points, but two accurate shots from Michael a minute before the end restored the balance 131:131. And yet, Boston crushed Chicago. The final siren recorded the final score of the match 135:131.

“Those 63 points don't mean anything,” Jordan said after the game. “It would be better if I didn’t score a single point, but we would still win.” I just really wanted to win. Maybe in fifteen years I’ll look back on this game and realize it was a fantastic achievement, but today I just wanted to win.” These words contain all of Jordan. He cannot be called very modest, but he always critically evaluates his play and his mistakes. Yes, Michael missed at the decisive moment, but he who does nothing is not mistaken. Moreover, if his partners had helped Jordan at least a little in his virtually solo fight with Boston, victory would have been on Chicago’s side. Here's what eyewitnesses said about Jordan's performance. Boston Globe journalist Michael Madden: “Boston’s strongest players were forced to do not their direct responsibilities, but to neutralize Jordan. It's no use, the best team in modern basketball couldn't stop one player. Jordan did what he wanted, went where he liked. This game was the greatest success of one player in the history of the NBA playoffs." Chicago center Charles Oakley: “I studied the statistics of that match and Jordan’s game. Never have numbers told me so much. The more I studied them, the more they hypnotized me." Boston defenseman Dennis Johnson: “There was nothing we could do. It was simply impossible to stop Michael that evening.”

In the 1986/87 season, Michael became the leader of the Chicago Bulls. He scored 3,041 points for the season (at that time - the third most in NBA history), while his scoring average was 37.1 points per game. In this and over the next six championships, Michael Jordan became the best sniper of the Association and was elected to the symbolic “First Five of the NBA.” At the same time, after winning the “Slam-Dunk Champion” competition, in the dunk competition, the American media “awarded” Michael with the royal title “His Airness”. Indeed, Jordan's flight is not just a jump. This “miracle,” which lasted several seconds, during which Michael, flying around the defenders, managed to transfer the ball from one hand to the other several times, infuriated spectators, journalists, and even his rivals.

“NBA Defensive Player of the Year”, “NBA Leader in Steals”, “Slam-Dunk Champion”, “NBA All-Star Game MVP”, “NBA Leader in Regular Season and Playoff Scoring Average” and finally “Most Valuable Player" (MVP) - "The most valuable player of the season." This is not a complete list of titles won by Michael in the 1987/88 season. There would be enough titles for a dozen basketball players, but Jordan himself, as in the case of those 63 points in the memorable match with Boston, would exchange them for one single title - NBA champion. Bulls coach Doug Collins once said, “If God wanted to create the perfect basketball player, it would be Michael Jordan.” However, skeptics rightly objected that a player cannot be considered great without becoming a champion.

In 1989, a new one came to Chicago Main coach– Phil Jackson. In 1973, Jackson won an NBA championship ring for the first and last time as a member of the New York Knicks. At that time, the Knicks players in general were a very unusual sight, and Phil Jackson was perhaps the most extravagant player in the NBA - a white basketball player with thick hair and a goatee, his appearance reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix. Jackson protested against the Vietnam War, preached the ideas of hippies, and was friends with the most famous rock musicians in America. Of course, over time he changed, turned into a respectable gentleman, one of the richest men in the NBA.

Jackson got a one-man show - “Air Jordan” shone on the basketball stage, surrounded by extras. Yes, there was a leader in the team, but Michael alone could not cope with the strongest clubs in the league. Phil Jackson understood that the team strategy needed to be changed, but it was not easy. Firstly, it is necessary to change the psychology of Chicago’s young players, who were accustomed to playing for Michael and were afraid to take the initiative and take over the game. Secondly, Jackson tried to convince Michael of the need for team play. Although not immediately, the coach managed to do it.

Also in 1989, Michael Jordan married Juanita Vasquez. In fact, an entire book could be devoted to Michael’s relationships with women. The topic may not be very pleasant, but still it is part of the life of a great basketball player, and we must talk about it. You shouldn’t make big athletes into sinless idols; in fact, they are ordinary people with their own passions and weaknesses.

Almost immediately after Michael’s first retirement from basketball (may the reader forgive us for slightly breaking the chronology of the story and getting ahead of ourselves), a wave of publications hit the American public, the meaning of which can be roughly but accurately conveyed in the words: “Michael Jordan is a womanizer.” !

In his youth, Michael was a shy guy and treated girls with caution and some trepidation. “I lost my virginity at the age of 18,” the famous basketball player said in an interview with Playboy magazine. “I just didn’t have time for girls and dates.” From morning to evening I spent time on the basketball court and in my heart I dreamed that some girl would pay attention to me!” However, immediately after enrolling at the University of North Carolina and his first successes on the university team, Michael began to recoup his “aimless years.” At the end of Jordan's first game with his new team, his teammates gave him a rite of passage of sorts. Michael was taken to a nearby brothel, where he was given a “newbie’s night” as a gift – an opportunity to “get to know” two of the establishment’s best girls.

For some time, Jordan and his partners made almost daily raids on strip bars and brothels, both at home and in other American cities where his university team had to play. However, Michael soon “got crazy” and for some time forgot the way to prostitutes. He fell head over heels in love with Donna Brown, the leader of the university cheerleading team. Donna wore a short skirt and passionately waved pompoms during the game - Michael was floored. They dated for six months, were planning to get married and had already begun to look for a separate apartment, when suddenly a tragedy occurred. What happened and why Donna did this cannot be fully explained by either Michael or anyone else. Donna Brown's body was found on the seashore. An autopsy showed that she was three months pregnant, and soon they found her note addressed to Michael Jordan: “Basketball will always be more important to you than me. I love you too much to accept this." After the news of Donna's death, Michael smashed the university locker room to smithereens, he was so shocked by the death of his beloved. At the funeral, standing next to Donna's coffin, he cried like a child.

Michael grieved for some time, but life soon took its toll. A month after Donna Brown's death, everything returned to normal. Black, mulatto, mestizo and even a miniature exotic Japanese woman - the basketball player seemed to live by the principle “every week - a new mistress!” Little changed after Jordan's move to the Chicago Bulls. The main place of “cultural” recreation for Michael and his teammates was the famous Chicago strip bar “Crazy Girls”. Jordan managed to lose $10,000 a night by stuffing hundred-dollar bills into the garters of strippers. This went on for five years until he met Juanita Vasquez...

One day, Michael and his friends celebrated another Chicago victory in a restaurant.

– I remember that evening very well. We all ordered the same thing: French fries and a couple of steaks,” Jordan said. – Everything was as usual – my friends and I sat and chatted about nothing. We were planning to go to a bar in the evening. And then a little mestizo came up to me and extended her hand.

– My name is Juanita Vasquez. And you are Michael Jordan. You see, I know you very well...

“I don’t know why I do this, but I do it! In the end, you have to get married someday!” From this excerpt from Michael's letter to a close friend, published in the National Examiner, it is not difficult to understand how Jordan felt about his marriage to Juanita Vasquez. Indeed, this connection caused bewilderment among Michael’s friends, some even suggested that Juanita probably had witchcraft or hypnotic abilities. How else can we explain the fact that one of the most eligible bachelors in America, whom many “socialites” unsuccessfully tried to woo, such as singers Paula Abdul and Janet Jackson, decided to connect his life with a not very attractive mestizo woman, who, moreover, was five years older than Michael.

“Don’t be born beautiful, but be born persistent and persistent!” - despite all the obstacles, aspiring lawyer Juanita Vasquez, having scared off all her competitors, married Michael Jordan on September 2, 1989. After the wedding, Michael did not change his habits, but Juanita did not pay too much attention to her husband’s adventures. She reasonably believed that the prostitutes and strippers with whom her husband regularly had short-term affairs would not be able to harm their family life. Juanita gave birth to three children for Michael - sons Jeffrey Michael and Marcus James and a daughter, whom her parents named, strange for a girl, with the double name Jasmine-Michael. For some time, the couple observed a “non-aggression pact” - Michael did not get involved in serious affairs, Juanita pretended that everything was fine in their relationship.

This continued until Jordan turned his starry attention to Hollywood (“a luxurious flower garden” or “a hotbed of vice” - everyone judges this based on their own moral principles). In the “yellow” press, with enviable regularity, confessions of some Hollywood “starlet”, “star” or “super-megastar” appeared, in which they vied with each other about their sexual pleasures with Michael Jordan. The “shooter” was actress Kylie Aerland, whose main advantage was her huge (103 centimeters in volume) and supposedly real bust. Her article “I slept with “His Air” for three months,” published in one of the erotic magazines, caused a lot of noise. Then there was the actress and model Carmen Electra (the future wife of another famous basketball player, Dennis Rodman), the star of the series “Baywatch” Tracy Bigham and many others.

But what’s interesting is that Juanita Vasquez, despite her hot Latin American origin, for the time being did not react in any way to her husband’s adventures. After the appearance of the next revealing article, Michael expected a fair scandal with angry speeches, breaking dishes, throwing things out of the window and similar attributes of a family quarrel, but nothing of the kind happened. His wife’s behavior lulled Michael’s vigilance; he naively believed that his wife would continue to patiently endure his countless infidelities.

At the end of 1998, Michael realized how wrong he was. Juanita finally made her move, so much so that Jordan was literally backed into a corner. The wife presented Michael with 167 (!) facts of adultery recorded on photo and video tape. One can only imagine his condition, because he did not suspect anything about the round-the-clock surveillance being carried out on him (and in fact, Michael spent more than a million dollars a year on security guards who did not even know about surveillance of their owner). Of course, Juanita herself did not follow her husband - on the advice of her long-time friend Cynthia Costner (the former wife of the famous “bodyguard”), she hired a whole platoon of private detectives who literally followed on Michael’s heels for fifteen months. The detectives honestly earned their salaries - an extensive collection of evidence of treason shocked the best basketball player on the planet.

“Or you leave basketball and become an exemplary husband, or the whole of America will know what a womanizer you are!” – the ultimatum delivered by Juanita did not leave Michael a single loophole. Juanita flew to the Bahamas, and Jordan remained in the States. For a whole month he consulted with his lawyers, but could not find any acceptable solution. Moreover, Juanita promised to publish a book in which she promised to tell all of America about the too free morals that reign in the Chicago Bulls and other NBA clubs. At this point, the Chicago bosses began to put pressure on Michael, demanding at all costs to make peace with his angry wife. In the end, he had to fly to the Bahamas.

Jordan returned to the States with cut fingers. He claimed that he had cut himself with a cigar cutter, but few believed this version. Journalists following him in the Bahamas more than once heard screams coming from the house. Apparently, during one of the scandals, Juanita finally gave vent to her Latin American temperament.

After this, Michael left basketball for the second time, although, as it turned out, not for long. His smiling face never left television screens and newspapers; in numerous interviews he said that he was in great shape, but wanted to pay more attention to his beloved wife and adored children. However, the story does not end there...

On January 4, 2002, a court in a suburb of Chicago received a six-page statement from Juanita Jordan outlining “insurmountable contradictions that led to the inevitable breakdown of the relationship.” The statement indicated a request to leave the wife with custody of three children, a country house with an area of ​​2,700 square meters and half of the joint fortune (according to various estimates - from 300 million to 2 billion dollars). Juanita's lawyer, Don Schiller, advised Michael through the press to "not make futile attempts at reconciliation." However, he, apparently, did not listen to the lawyer’s advice and managed to achieve his goal. At the end of 2002, the same Don Schiller released a joint statement from Michael and Juanita Jordan that they were withdrawing their divorce petitions and intending to resolve their problems peacefully. “Much of our reconciliation depends on respecting our right to privacy,” said Michael and Juanita Jordan. There were no further comments from the Jordan spouses...

Of course, this is not the most pleasant side of Michael Jordan's life. But all these troubles had virtually no effect on his magnificent game. Michael became the most productive player of the 1989/90 regular season (he averaged 33.6 points per game), and on March 28, 1990, in a game with Cleveland, Jordan set a personal scoring record of 69 points. The Bulls were clearly gaining momentum and it seemed that cherished dream“His ambition” - to become an NBA champion - will be fulfilled this year. The team made it to the playoffs without any problems, easily defeating the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia Sixers in the first two rounds, but lost to Detroit in a difficult seven-game clash and dropped out of the competition.

The following season, the Bulls won 61 wins in 82 games in the regular season, which turned out to be the best result in the history of the club. As always, Michael received a ton of honors - he was selected to the All-Star Team, one of the top five best players in the NBA, one of the top five best defenders, and received the MVP title for the second time in his career. And most importantly, for the first time in their history, the Bulls, led by Jordan, won the NBA title. In the playoffs, the opponents could not oppose Chicago - Phil Jackson's team lost only two out of 17 games. In the finals, the Los Angeles Lakers were defeated 4:1, and Jordan received the title of Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals.

Chicago had no equal in the 1991/92 season. By winning 67 games, the Bulls improved the club's record for most wins in a regular season. Jordan again became the championship's top sniper (30.1 points per game) and, as usual, received several titles. In the playoffs, the Chicagoans convincingly beat the Miami Heats, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers and, in the finals, the Portland Trail Blazers.

In 1991, the International Olympic Committee allowed professional athletes to participate in the Olympic Games. Naturally, the Americans could not help but take advantage of the chance to win a guaranteed gold medal in the basketball tournament. The US national team, nicknamed the “Dream Team” by journalists, included all the best NBA players: Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Clyde Drexler, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Chris Mullin. Whatever the name, he's a basketball legend. The only player not so well known to basketball fans outside the United States was Duke University student Christian Leittner. Looking at the composition of the Dream Team, not a single sane person in the world would bet on any other team to win. The Americans' rivals did not hold out hope either. However, the players of other teams were not particularly upset by the awareness of their helplessness in front of the “Dream Team”. They just wanted to play on the same court with the best basketball players in the world, and after the match shake hands and get an autograph as a souvenir. By and large, the fight for first place in the Olympic tournament resembled more of a show than a competition.

Having had a fair amount of frolic in the preliminary tournament (the Americans scored at least 117 points per game and never asked for a timeout), the US team reached the final, where the Croatian team was waiting for them. The final match, however, had its own intrigue. No, no one doubted the Americans’ victory, but with what score will they beat the Croats? The Dream Team players stated before the final that “they won’t feel like full-fledged Olympic champions if they don’t win by 50 points.” But the Croats managed to put up a fight (relative to the difference in the score, of course, and not the outcome of the match) and lost with a gap of “only” 32 points.

And in the NBA, Chicago's reign continued. In the 1992/93 season, Jordan became the championship's top sniper for the seventh time in a row, surpassing the great Wilt Chamberlain in this indicator. In the playoffs, Chicago beat first Atlanta and then Cleveland. In the decisive series of the Eastern Conference, the Bulls defeated New York, and in the NBA finals they beat the Phoenix Suns with a score of 4:2. In the final series, Michael averaged 41 (!) points and it is not surprising that he was once again recognized as the most valuable player of the NBA finals.

“When we say Jordan, we mean NBA; when we say NBA, we mean Jordan!” Of course, this is an exaggeration, and there were plenty of great players in the NBA without Jordan, but it is truly impossible to imagine the best basketball league in the world without Michael. The 1980s-1990s are the “Jordan era.” For the vast majority of basketball fans around the world, he became the standard of the ideal basketball player. And suddenly, on October 6, 1993, Michael Jordan announced his retirement from basketball. This news came as a real shock. “How, why, why?!! After all, Michael is only 30 years old, he still has time to play and play!” – the fans asked questions. The departure of “His Air” plunged not only the Americans into despondency. Journalist of the Sport Express newspaper Vladimir Titorenko said that at one of the Moscow universities, an English teacher, after reading Michael’s statement, even canceled classes.

“I can’t play when my dad isn’t in the room,” Jordan answered all the questions. On August 3, 1993, the body of James Jordan, who had gone missing two weeks earlier, was discovered. The killers were soon detained. The young thugs swore that they would never have committed a crime if they knew that the father of their idol was in front of them. Michael's grief was so intense that he simply saw no point in playing basketball. The father, the closest person, wanted his son to become a baseball player. And Michael decided to fulfill his father’s will...

Americans love statistics and count everything they can count. The 1994 American Baseball League championship was no exception. Among others, the athlete who made the largest number of mistakes during the season was also determined. He turned out to be one of the players of the Birmingham Barons, the farm club of the Chicago White Sox. In other years this fact would not have been emphasized special attention- in the end, someone has to make the most mistakes. But then almost everyone wrote about it. Of course, this loser turned out to be... Michael Jordan himself. Yes, yes, “His Airness” also distinguished himself in baseball, although not at all as much as on the basketball court. For a long time, Michael assured everyone that he was tired of basketball, no longer had to prove anything to anyone, and had no plans to return to the NBA.

Basketball fans lost their idol, and baseball fans gained nothing. It was bad for everyone - “Chicago” without Jordan could not fight for the championship, the financial affairs of the club and the NBA as a whole went into decline, the fans were bored and waited for “His Airness” to get tired of sitting on the bench in a mediocre baseball team. And the journalists sarcastically gloated about Michael's mistakes on the baseball field. The situation, of course, is funny - the highest paid athlete in the world, whose income was approaching $100 million a year, sometimes came out as a substitute and earned 30 thousand on his team, less than some rookie baseball players...

The famous “Terminator” performed by the current governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger said very briefly and clearly - “I’ll be back.” This phrase invariably delighted all of America and the whole world. Michael wrote it even shorter, but the effect was more amazing. On March 18, 1995, a fax arrived at the head office of the Chicago Bulls team, consisting of only one phrase: “I’m back.” The message was unsigned, but it was clear to club owners and head coach Phil Jackson who had written to them. If someone outsider had walked into the Chicago office at that moment, they would have thought that the team’s management had experienced collective insanity. They say that respectable gentlemen rejoiced like children.

The very next day Jordan entered the court. Chicago played in Indianapolis against the Indiana Pacers. The match aroused wild interest - everyone wanted to see the return of the “living basketball god.” Speculators were selling tickets for $1,000, but realizing that fans were willing to pay that kind of money even for the worst seats in the hall, they doubled the price. The match was very tense. After the third quarter, Indiana led by 16 points, but the Bulls were able to catch up and send the game into overtime. And yet the Chicagoans failed to bring the match to victory. Jordan looked a little tough and managed to score only 19 points. However, ten days later Michael showed “who’s boss.” On March 29, New York's defenders could do nothing about the best player in the world. Jordan scored 55 points, and it became clear to everyone that he had not lost his form.

Chicago without Jordan and Chicago with Jordan are two completely different teams. If before his return the team won only 34 out of 65 regular season matches, then in the remaining 17 matches in which Michael was in the starting lineup, the Bulls lost only 4 meetings. True, Jordan and company failed to get championship rings that year. In the first round of the playoffs, Chicago easily dealt with the Charlotte Hornets, but then lost to Orlando with a score of 4:2.

But the following season, the Bulls did not leave their opponents a single chance to win. The team set an all-time NBA record by winning 72 of 82 games. Michael became the second basketball player to win the All-Star Game and NBA Finals MVP titles in the same season. Before him, only New York Knicks player Willis Reed managed to do this in 1970. But Jordan not only regularly scored points, he instilled in his teammates a feeling of undeniable superiority over their opponents. As the famous player and commentator Bill Walton said: “A lot of people can win the first three quarters against the Bulls. And no one can win the last one.” Indeed, many times during the match Chicago lost by 20 or more points, but at crucial moments the Bulls players worked miracles and eventually outplayed their opponents.

In the 1997 finals, Chicago faced the Utah Jazz, the team of Karl Malone, who received the regular season MVP title that year, and John Stockton, an excellent master of three-point shots and assists. After four meetings, the series remained parity - 2:2. The fifth match was won by the Chicagoans, mainly due to the excellent play of Jordan, who scored 38 points and became one of the best on his team in assists. At first glance, there is nothing surprising in this, if not for one circumstance. The fact is that the day before the game, Michael’s participation in this meeting was very much in question. Due to acute food poisoning, he could not only play and fly, but even walk with great difficulty. Doctors estimated his chances of recovery by the fifth game in the series as 1 in 10. But Michael went onto the court and performed an “ordinary miracle,” bringing Chicago’s third victory. In the sixth meeting, Michael was again the most productive on his team. But he was remembered not for his 39 points, but for the brilliant pass given to Steve Kerr. 40 seconds before the end of the match with the score 86:86, Michael pretended that he was going to attack the ring. Two Utah defenders rushed at him at once, and Jordan, instead of throwing, passed the ball to the completely free Kerr, who had only occasionally appeared on the court before. Steve calmly threw the ball, and a second before the end, Scottie Pippen put an end to the match and the championship, setting the final score 90:86 in favor of Chicago.

The sixth and so far last NBA championship title was the most difficult and nerve-wracking for Michael and Chicago. At the beginning of the season, Scottie Pippen was seriously injured and was forced to miss almost a third of the regular season. Jordan had to pull Chicago out almost single-handedly. In the playoffs, things weren't going well for the Chicagoans; it seemed to many that the great team was slowly starting to sink. Dennis Rodman showed himself in all his glory - he swore with spectators and judges, threw balls into the stands, in general, he did everything except play on the court. One day, Rodman even left the team and flew off to a wrestling competition without rules. Scottie Pippen did not fully recover and did not get into optimal shape. He was nervous, often missed simple situations, became isolated and did not respond to Phil Jackson's instructions. What can we say, if “Air Jordan” himself was no longer as light and airy as in previous seasons, although he once again received the title of most valuable player following the results of the regular season. In general, the team's fans were despondent, Chicago managers had already begun to calculate possible losses, and the players were depressed. And only one person in the club maintained Olympic calm. Phil Jackson seemed not to notice the current situation in Chicago and answered all questions and reproaches with a grin. The coach seemed to know when to encourage the team and was fully confident of success. This confidence was transferred to the players - Rodman calmed down, Pippen regained his former confidence, and Jordan again made people talk about himself as the greatest basketball player of all time.