Tap to Read ➤

Michael Jordan Timeline

Prabhakar Pillai
Michael Jordan is a legendary basketball player. One can never think of a basketball and not relate it to him at least once. He has inspired not one the youth who wanted to play basketball, but also the other athletes and sportsmen by his consistency and achievements!

Michael Jordan

There won't be a person who like basketball and hasn't heard his name. Only one of the best players of all time, Jordan is also a successful entrepreneur. In fact, he is such a prolific player with an illustrious career graph, that if you open the generic page of basketball on Wikipedia, it features a picture of Jordan performing a slam dunk.
Jordan was extremely popular and idolized player. He is also well-known for the thing he did the best - performing a slam dunk. Jordan played for two teams in his basketball career, the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards.
Jordan holds a record six 'Most Valuable Player' awards in the NBA league. He was nicknamed 'Air Jordan' and 'His Airness' by his fans for his dunk shots. Here is his timeline.

1963: Michael Jordan was born on February 17 in Brooklyn, New York. He was the fourth of five children. As a child, he played football, baseball and basketball.

1978: Jordan attended Laney High School in Wilmington.
1981: Jordan got a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina.

1982: Michael Jordan made the game-winning jump shot for North Carolina in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) championship game against Georgetown University.
1984: Jordan played on the US Men's Olympic Basketball Team. They won the Olympic gold medal against Spain. He was selected for the NBA (National Basketball Association). The Chicago Bulls based in Chicago, Illinois drafted him.

1986: Jordan completed his degree at the University of North Carolina. He set the still-unbroken record for points in a playoff game for Chicago Bulls with 63 points against the Boston Celtics.
1987: Michael Jordan became the only player after Wilt Chamberlain to score 3000 points in a NBA season playing for Chicago Bulls.

1988: Michael Jordan won his first NBA league Most Valuable Player award playing for Chicago Bulls. He was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year.
1989: Jordan married Juanita Vanoy. He led the NBA league in scoring an average 32.5 points per game.

1990: Michael's team Chicago Bulls reached the Eastern Conference Finals where they lost to Detroit Pistons.
1991: Jordan won his second Most Valuable Player award playing for Chicago Bulls. His team defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals.

1992: Jordan led the US basketball team to Olympic gold medal in Barcelona, Spain against Croatia. He led Chicago Bulls to NBA World Championship victory against Portland Trail Blazers.
1993: Jordan led Chicago Bulls to NBA World Championship victory against the Phoenix Suns. He announced his first retirement. His father was murdered at a highway rest area by two teenagers.
1996: Michael Jordan was in the list of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. He led Chicago Bulls to their fourth championship victory in 6 years against the Seattle SuperSonics. He led them to a 72-10 regular season record, the best performance in the history of NBA. He starred alongside Bugs Bunny in the animated comedy Space Jam. He founded a Boys and Girls Club in Chicago area.

1998: The Chicago Bulls won their 6th NBA Championship with Jordan against Utah Jazz.
1999: Jordan retired for the second time on January 13. ESPN named him the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century.

2000: Jordan returned to the NBA as part owner of Washington Wizards and became their President of Basketball Operations.

2001: Jordan returned to professional play in the NBA with the Washington Wizards.
2002: Jordan suffered a knee injury. This ended his NBA season after only 60 games. His wife Juanita filed for divorce.
2003: Michael Jordan passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in All-Star game history. He became the first 40-year old to score 43 points in a NBA game against New Jersey Nets. He played his final NBA game on April 16 in Philadelphia against Philadelphia 76ers.
2006: Jordan's marriage to Juanita was dissolved. He became a part owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.
2007: Jordan retired as a player.

2009: Jordan was inducted into the Basketball Hall Of Fame. Earlier in the year, a Michael Jordan Exhibit was also held, featuring his belongings, including a batting glove from his baseball days.

2010: Jordan was ranked the 20th most powerful celebrity in the world by the Forbes Magazine.
Currently, Jordan owns majority of Charlotte Bobcats, the fine dining restaurant Michael Jordan Steakhouse, has several endorsements (most notably with Nike) which collectively earn him almost fifty million dollars every year, and lives in Illinois. He is currently engaged to be married to Cuban Actress Yvette Prieto. He is the most marketed sports figure in history.