The Legacy of a Legend
Who is the greatest athlete of all time? Michael Phelps? Wayne Gretzky? Bo Jackson? How about Michael Jordan. Throughout his childhood, Michael Jordan proved numerous people wrong and displayed hard work and unmatched talent. Jordan fought through several obstacles during his high school, college, and early NBA years. With determination and drive, Michael Jordan did not only overcome those challenges, but he dominated them. Michael Jordan’s incredible impact on the game of basketball, from his college days to the present, as well as the sneaker industry, helped to positively transform the world.
The historic legacy of the greatest player of all time began in 1963. Michael Jordan was born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn,
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As a skinny freshman, Jordan was overshadowed by future NBA legends, James Worthy and Sam Perkins. During his freshman year of college, he led the Tar Heels to the championship game to play against Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas. The college freshman showed out in the championship game scoring 16 points, as well as nailing the game-winning shot against the Hoyas. Amid his sophomore year of college, Jordan received the College Basketball Player of The Year award. Michael Jordan earned both the Naismith and Wooden awards as a junior in college. After his junior year of college in 1984, Michael Jordan declared for the NBA draft (Legends Profile: Michael …show more content…
MJ’s pro career began in the 1984 NBA draft, when the bulls selected him third overall after Sam Bowie and Hakeem Olajuwon. Jordan quickly improved the Bulls franchise by generating more wins and winning rookie of the year. The young rookie also won gold in the 1984 Olympics on the men’s national team. Due to Michael Jordan’s unmatched talent, a great abundance of individuals gained interest in the game of basketball (Legends Profile: Michael Jordan). In 1985, Michael Jordan signed with Nike and created the first of over thirty Air Jordan models, the Air Jordan 1, which would forever alter the sneaker culture (Michael Jordan Timeline). In a preseason game, Jordan wore an unseen black and red colorway of the Air Jordan 1. The shoes violated the league’s uniform code which resulted in Jordan being fined. Nike paid the fines as MJ continued to occasionally wear the shoes. This occurrence inevitably increased the demand and overall value of the Air Jordan 1 shoe (Legends Profile: Michael Jordan). Early in his second season, Jordan broke a bone in his left foot and sat out for 64 games. Returning late in the year, Jordan went off to set an NBA playoff record by scoring 63 points against the Boston Celtics. Despite getting swept in the series, MJ averaged nearly 44 points per game throughout the series. In the 1987-88 season, Jordan won an abundance of major