10 things about Michael Jordan that you may not know.
If you are a sports lover and you like to enjoy the best stars of basketball, soccer and tennis, you probably want to know more about the personal and professional life of one of the best basketball players in the world: Michael Jordan.
The former American basketball player is considered by fans and experts as one of the best of all time. He played with the number 23 in the Chicago Bulls for thirteen seasons, a professional team with which he won six rings, 10 top scorer titles, 5 MVP of the season and 6 MVP of the finals, among others.
When Jordan began to point out ways with only 18 years in the team of the University of North Carolina, his success was already in sight. If you want to know more about this great basketball star, keep reading to find out!
1. Where and when was Michael Jordan born?
The great basketball legend was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 17, 1963. When Jordan was little, his family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, the city where he spent most of his childhood and adolescence. It was there that he began playing basketball, baseball, and American football. Thanks to his incredible determination and potential, Jordan was able to enjoy a scholarship to the University of North Carolina, where he began to dedicate himself professionally to basketball.
Like many, the early years of Jordan's life were not easy. In school, despite not being someone brilliant, he didn't get bad grades either. However, he was banned for a time as a result of a fight. For his mother, Jordan staying at home wasting time was not an option, so she decided to take him with her to the bank where she worked. Michael Jordan belonged to a middle-class family that instilled in him values that are more than reflected in his career as an athlete. In his games, the basketball player honored his grandfather and father by sticking out their tongues , a gesture they both made while working.
The famous number 23 that Jordan carries on his back was consciously chosen by the player as he thought it would only be half as good as his brother Harry who played with the 45.
2. Did you know that Jordan was cut from the high school basketball team for being too short?
Michael Jordan studied elementary school at Ogden Elementary School, a school in North Carolina where he began to practice various sports in which he quickly stood out for his impeccable game. In his second year of college, Jordan was 6'1", so he was cut from the basketball team for not being tall enough compared to his peers. Also, he was not part of the school team until the next year, when he had already grown 10 cm and had trained hard to meet his expectations. There was no doubt that Jordan was cannon fodder, so in his last year of school his statistics made it possible for the McDonald's All American Team team to want to count on his presence for the following season.
3. What was the relationship of Michael Jordan and Dean Smith?
Dean Smith was a great basketball coach who began his career as a mentor to great students at the University of North Carolina, where he coached such great basketball stars as Michael Jordan, Walter Davis and Phil Ford. Thanks to his work, he accumulated more than 800 victories in his 36-year career. In addition, it was he who trained professional and college basketball coaches such as Larry Brown and Billy Cunningham.
4. Did Jordan drop out of college to enter the NBA Draft?
In the 1984-1985 season, Michael Jordan was only 23 years old and was studying geography at the University of North Carolina while playing for the McDonald's All American Team, the team with which he was proclaimed best university player of the year in this same season.
In this way, after several successes playing for this team, he decided to apply for the NBA Draft, a procedure that takes place every June and through which the great teams of the American league select young promising minors 23 years old. It was after this test that the Chicago Bulls signed him to play for their team. Two years later Michael returned to university to finish his geography studies.
5.Why did Michael Jordan want to play number 45?
It is known that Michael Jordan has always played with the number 23. But this is not a coincidence. When the former player joined the university team at North Carolina, he wanted his jersey to carry the number 45, in honor of his brother, who also played basketball but his height prevented him from continuing in the sport. Unfortunately for Jordan, the number 45 was not available so he cut it in half and the 23 was the one that turned out. After his first retirement in the sport, he returned and wore the number 45 for the first time, as he wanted from the beginning.
6. Do you know the former Chicago Bulls player's passion for music?
In addition to sports, Jordan is also passionate about music, having recorded a single for the American R&B group Hot Butterflies, who had the pleasure of enjoying the voice of the
7. Remember this Gatorade ad campaign?
Michael Jordan is a money machine thanks to his talent as an athlete but he is also a money machine, thanks to the advertising campaigns in which he participated. And how can we forget the one he did for Gatorade called 'Be Like Mike' making reference to the theme of the Disney movie, The Jungle Book, 'Be Like You'. Gatorade knew that after his debut during the championship with the Bulls, Jordan would already be a global icon, so he decided to take it as his representative image of isotonic drinks, a strategy that worked very well for them.
On the other hand, the great business that arose from this great player was the Nike Jordan Air. One of the directors of Nike, Sony Vaccaro, which at that time was not such a profitable brand, decided to bet the entire budget of the basketball department on a young Jordan who had not even debuted yet. Vaccaro's move was a success that continues to this day and that 32 models after the first Air Jordan has achieved the model in an independent franchise.
8. Did you know that in the early 90s the basketball star played a role for a cartoon series?
The series in which Jordan participated was called ProStars, a film directed by Michael Maliani in which several sports stars come together to form a team of superheroes and help humanity. Jordan lent his image to star in the series, and without a doubt, it was a success in the 90s.
9. Did you know that after his first retirement as a player from the Chicago Bulls he joined a baseball team?
In 1993 Jordan decided to retire from the sports industry and hung up his jersey with the number 23, believing that he would never wear it again. In the end it was not like that and he returned to basketball on several occasions. But, during his first retirement he decided to focus on baseball and in the summer of 1994 he was already playing for the Chicago White Sox team, where it is said that he was not as good as he was at basketball.
The truth is that the first sport in which Jordan stood out was baseball, so we assume that he saw the need to remove that little thorn that he had stuck in since he was young.
10. Do you know the song Jam by Michael Jackson? Michael Jordan participated in his video clip
Michael Jordan was a basketball star when in 1992 Michael Jackson released the song Jam. It was at this moment that the singer and dancer decided to have the figure of Jordan to star in his video clip, which was also recorded on a basketball court where both artists exchanged roles: Jordan danced and Jackson played basket.
There is no doubt that Jordan's career has been impeccable, and no wonder, his effort, fight and passion for the sport have made him reach the top and he is now considered a basketball legend. But, did you know these 10 curiosities that we just told you?
