Chicago Bulls (1984–1993; 1995–1998) Early NBA years (1984–1987) The
Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with the third overall pick of the
1984 NBA draft after
Hakeem Olajuwon (
Houston Rockets) and
Sam Bowie (
Portland Trail Blazers). One of the primary reasons why Jordan was not drafted sooner was because the first two teams were in need of a
center. Trail Blazers general manager
Stu Inman contended that it was not a matter of drafting a center but more a matter of taking Bowie over Jordan, in part because Portland already had
Clyde Drexler, who was a guard with similar skills to Jordan. Citing Bowie's injury-laden college career,
ESPN named the Blazers' choice of Bowie as the worst draft pick in North American professional sports history. Jordan made his NBA debut at
Chicago Stadium on October 26, 1984, and scored 16 points. In 2021, a ticket stub from the game sold at auction for $264,000, setting a record for a collectible ticket stub. During his rookie
1984–85 season with the Bulls, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting. He helped the Bulls improve from 27–55 to 38–44 and qualify for the postseason for the first time since the
1980–81 season. Jordan quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas. Roy S. Johnson of
The New York Times described Jordan as "the phenomenal rookie of the Bulls" in November, The fans voted in Jordan as an
All-Star starter during his rookie season. The Bulls lost to the
Milwaukee Bucks in four games in the first round of
the playoffs. when Jordan shook the arena during a Nike exhibition game in
Trieste, Italy, by shattering the glass of the backboard with a dunk. The moment was filmed and is often referred to as an important milestone in Jordan's rise. The shoes Jordan wore during the game were auctioned in August 2020 for $615,000, a record for a pair of sneakers. Jordan's
1985–86 season was cut short when he broke his foot in the third game of the year, causing him to miss 64 games. The Bulls made
the playoffs despite Jordan's injury and a 30–52 record, at the time the fifth-worst record of any team to qualify for the playoffs in NBA history. Jordan recovered in time to participate in the postseason and performed well upon his return. On April 20 at the
Boston Garden, in Game 2 of the First Round, a 135–131 double overtime loss to the eventual
NBA champion Boston Celtics, Jordan scored a playoff career-high 63 points, breaking
Elgin Baylor's
single-game playoff scoring record. The Celtics team, though, swept the series in three games. Jordan completely recovered in time for the
1986–87 season, and had one of the most prolific scoring seasons in NBA history; he became the only player other than
Wilt Chamberlain to score 3,000 points in a season, averaging a league-high 37.1 ppg on 48.2% shooting. Jordan also demonstrated his defensive prowess, as he became the first player in NBA history to record 200
steals and 100
blocked shots in a season. Despite Jordan's success,
Magic Johnson won the
NBA Most Valuable Player Award. The Bulls reached 40 wins, and leading the Bulls defense to the fewest points per game allowed in the league. The Bulls finished 50–32, In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Bulls lost in five games to the more experienced
Detroit Pistons, In the
1988–89 season, Jordan again led the league in scoring, averaging 32.5 ppg on 53.8% shooting from the field, along with 8.0 rpg and 8.0 apg. The Bulls finished with a 47–35 record, The Cavaliers series included a career highlight for Jordan when he hit "
The Shot" over
Craig Ehlo at the buzzer in the fifth and final game of the series. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the
Pistons again defeated the Bulls, this time in six games, On March 28, 1990, Jordan scored a career-high 69 points in a 117–113 road win over the Cavaliers. He averaged a league-leading 33.6 ppg on 52.6% shooting, to go with 6.9 rpg and 6.3 apg, despite pushing the series to seven games, the Bulls lost to the
Pistons for the third consecutive season. In
The Last Dance, Jordan admitted he was initially reluctant to back the system. Nevertheless, he eventually embraced the change, which led to success for the team. In the
1990–91 season, Jordan won his second MVP award after averaging 31.5 ppg on 53.9% shooting, 6.0 rpg, and 5.5 apg for the regular season. this time, the Bulls beat the Pistons in a four-game sweep. The Bulls advanced to
the Finals for the first time in franchise history to face the
Los Angeles Lakers. The Bulls won the series in five games and compiled a 15–2 playoff record along the way. In his first Finals appearance, Jordan had 31.2 ppg on 56% shooting from the field, 11.4 apg, 6.6 rpg, 2.8 spg, and 1.4 bpg. Jordan won his first
NBA Finals MVP award and cried while holding the Finals trophy. Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance in the
1991–92 season, establishing a 67–15 record, topping their franchise record from the 1990–91 campaign. In a Game 1 victory, Jordan scored a Finals-record 35 points in the first half, including a record-setting six
three-point field goals. After the sixth three-pointer, he jogged down the court shrugging as he looked courtside.
Marv Albert, who broadcast the game, later stated that it was as if Jordan was saying: "I can't believe I'm doing this." The Bulls went on to defeat the Blazers in six games. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row, In the
1992–93 season, despite a 32.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 5.5 apg campaign, including a second-place finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting, Jordan's streak of consecutive MVP seasons ended, as he lost the award to his friend
Charles Barkley, Jordan and the Bulls met Barkley and his
Phoenix Suns in the
1993 NBA Finals. The Bulls won their third NBA championship on a game-winning shot by
John Paxson and a last-second block by
Horace Grant, but Jordan was once again Chicago's leader. He averaged a Finals-record 41.0 ppg during the six-game series, and became the first player in NBA history to win three consecutive Finals MVP awards. With his third Finals triumph, Jordan capped off a seven-year run where he attained seven scoring titles and three championships, but there were signs that Jordan was tiring of his massive celebrity and all of the non-basketball hassles in his life.
First retirement and stint in Minor League Baseball (1993–1995) On October 6, 1993, Jordan announced his retirement, saying that he lost his desire to play basketball. He later said that the murder of his father three months earlier helped shape his decision.
James R. Jordan Sr. was murdered on July 23, 1993, at a highway
rest area in
Lumberton, North Carolina, by two teenagers, Daniel Green and Larry Martin Demery, who carjacked his
Lexus. His body, dumped in a South Carolina swamp, was not discovered until August 3. However, in
The Last Dance, Jordan stated that he retired due to physical and mental exhaustion from basketball and superstardom. Jordan was close to his father; as a child, Jordan imitated the way his father stuck out his tongue while absorbed in work. Jordan later adopted it as his own signature, often displaying it as he drove to the basket. In his 1998 autobiography
For the Love of the Game, Jordan wrote that he was preparing for retirement as early as the summer of 1992. The added exhaustion due to the "
Dream Team" run in the
1992 Summer Olympics solidified Jordan's feelings about the game and his celebrity status. Jordan's announcement sent shock waves throughout the NBA and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world. Jordan further surprised the sports world by signing a
Minor League Baseball (MiLB) contract with the
Chicago White Sox on February 7, 1994. He reported to
spring training in
Sarasota, Florida, and was assigned to the team's minor league system on March 31. Jordan said that this decision was made to pursue the dream of his late father, who always envisioned his son as a
Major League Baseball (MLB) player. The White Sox were owned by Bulls owner
Jerry Reinsdorf, who continued to honor Jordan's basketball contract during the years he played baseball. In 1994, Jordan played for the
Birmingham Barons, a
Double-A minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox,
batting .202 with three
home runs, 51
runs batted in, 30
stolen bases, 114
strikeouts, 51
bases on balls, and 11
errors. His strikeout total led the team and his games played tied for the team lead. His 30 stolen bases were second on the team only to
Doug Brady. Jordan also appeared for the
Scottsdale Scorpions in the 1994
Arizona Fall League, batting .252 against the top prospects in baseball.
Return to the NBA (1995) The Bulls went 55–27 in
1993–94 without Jordan in the lineup In March 1995, Jordan decided to quit baseball because he feared he might become a
replacement player during the
Major League Baseball strike. During the
1994–95 season, Jordan returned to the Bulls midway through the season. On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced his comeback to the NBA in a two-word press release: "I'm back." The next day, Jordan took to the court with the Bulls to face the
Indiana Pacers in
Indianapolis, scoring 19 points. The game had the highest
Nielsen rating of any regular season NBA game since 1975. Although he could have worn his original number even though the Bulls retired it, Jordan wore No. 45, his baseball number. At the end of Game 1, Orlando's
Nick Anderson stripped Jordan from behind, leading to the game-winning basket for the Magic; he later commented that Jordan "didn't look like the old Michael Jordan", and said, "No. 45 doesn't explode like No. 23 used to". Jordan was fined an additional $5,000 for opting to wear white sneakers when the rest of the Bulls wore black. He averaged 31 ppg in the playoffs, but Orlando won the series in six games.
Second three-peat (1996–1998) Jordan was motivated by the playoff defeat, and he trained aggressively for the
1995–96 season. The Bulls were strengthened by the addition of rebound specialist
Dennis Rodman, and the team dominated the league, starting the season at 41–3. The Bulls finished with the best regular season record in NBA history, 72–10, a mark broken two decades later by the
2015–16 Golden State Warriors. Jordan led the league in scoring with 30.4 ppg, and he won the league's regular season and All-Star Game MVP awards. Nevertheless, Jordan was named Finals MVP for a record fourth time; The Bulls again advanced to
the Finals, where they faced the
Utah Jazz. The series against the Jazz featured two of the more memorable clutch moments of Jordan's career. He won Game 1 for the Bulls with a
buzzer-beating jump shot. In Game 5, with the series tied 2–2, Jordan played despite being feverish and dehydrated from a stomach virus or
food poisoning, likely caused by a pizza ordered the night before. Jordan eventually claimed it was food poisoning in the 2020 docuseries
The Last Dance. In what is known as "
The Flu Game", Jordan scored 38 points, including the game-winning three-pointer with 25 seconds remaining. The Bulls won 90–88 and went on to win the series in six games. in 1997 The Bulls compiled a 62–20 record in the
1997–98 season. After winning, they moved on for a rematch with the
Jazz in
the Finals. The Bulls returned to the
Delta Center for
Game 6 on June 14, 1998, leading the series 3–2. Jordan executed a series of plays, considered to be one of the greatest clutch performances in NBA Finals history. With 41.9 seconds remaining and the Bulls trailing 86–83, Phil Jackson called a timeout. When play resumed, Jordan received the inbound pass, drove to the basket, and sank a shot over several Jazz defenders, cutting Utah's lead to 86–85. With 5.2 seconds left, Jordan made the climactic shot of his Bulls career, a top-key jumper over a stumbling Russell to give Chicago an 87–86 lead. Afterwards, the Jazz'
John Stockton narrowly missed a game-winning three-pointer, and the buzzer sounded as Jordan and the Bulls won their sixth NBA championship, achieving a second three-peat in the decade. Once again, Jordan was voted Finals MVP for a record sixth time, The 1998 Finals holds the highest television rating of any Finals series, and Game 6 holds the highest television rating of any game in NBA history.
Second retirement (1999–2001) With
Phil Jackson's contract expiring, the pending departures of
Scottie Pippen and
Dennis Rodman looming, and being in the latter stages of an owner-induced
lockout of NBA players, Jordan retired for the second time on January 13, 1999. On January 19, 2000, Jordan returned to the NBA not as a player but as part owner and president of basketball operations for the
Washington Wizards. Jordan's responsibilities with the Wizards were comprehensive, as he controlled all aspects of the Wizards' basketball operations, and had the final say in all personnel matters; opinions of Jordan as a basketball executive were mixed. He managed to purge the team of several highly paid, unpopular players (like forward
Juwan Howard and point guard
Rod Strickland) but used the first pick in the
2001 NBA draft to select high school student
Kwame Brown, who did not live up to expectations and was traded away after four seasons. Despite his January 1999 claim that he was "99.9% certain" he would never play another NBA game, Inspired by the
NHL comeback of his friend
Mario Lemieux the previous winter, Jordan spent much of the spring and summer of 2001 in training, holding several invitation-only camps for NBA players in Chicago. Jordan hired his old Chicago Bulls head coach,
Doug Collins, as Washington's coach for the upcoming season, a decision that many saw as foreshadowing another Jordan return. In an injury-plagued
2001–02 season, Jordan led the team in scoring (22.9 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), and steals (1.4 spg), Jordan would eventually finish 13th in the MVP ballot. After he suffered torn
cartilage in his right knee, and subsequent knee soreness, the Wizards missed the playoffs, and Jordan's season ended after only 60 games, the fewest he had played in a regular season since playing 17 games after returning from his first retirement during the
1994–95 season. The Wizards finished the season with a 37–45 record, an 18-game improvement. That year, Jordan was the only Washington player to play in all 82 games, starting in 67 of them as he came off the bench in 15. Jordan averaged 20.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 spg per game. During his stint with the Wizards, all of Jordan's home games at the
MCI Center were sold out and the Wizards were the second most-watched team in the NBA, averaging 20,172 fans a game at home and 19,311 on the road. Jordan's final two seasons did not result in a playoff appearance for the Wizards, and he was often unsatisfied with the play of those around him. At several points, Jordan openly criticized his teammates to the media, citing their lack of focus and intensity, notably that of
Kwame Brown, the
number-one draft pick in the
2001 NBA draft. The
Miami Heat retired the No. 23 jersey on April 11, 2003, even though Jordan never played for the team. At the 2003 All-Star Game, Jordan was offered a starting spot from
Tracy McGrady and
Allen Iverson but refused both; he accepted the spot of
Vince Carter. Jordan played in his final NBA game on April 16, 2003, in
Philadelphia. After scoring 13 points in the game, Jordan went to the bench with 4 minutes and 13 seconds left in the third quarter and his team trailing the
Philadelphia 76ers 75–56. Just after the start of the fourth quarter, the
First Union Center crowd began chanting "We want Mike!" After much encouragement from coach
Doug Collins, Jordan finally rose from the bench and re-entered the game, replacing
Larry Hughes with 2:35 remaining. At 1:45, Jordan was intentionally fouled by the 76ers'
Eric Snow, and stepped to the line to make both free throws. After the second foul shot, the 76ers in-bounded the ball to rookie
John Salmons, who in turn was intentionally fouled by
Bobby Simmons one second later, stopping time so that Jordan could return to the bench. He received a three-minute standing ovation from his teammates, his opponents, the officials, and the crowd of 21,257 fans. ==National team career==