44 years of Michael ''Air'' Jeffery Jordan (Video)

One of the most famous players in basketball history, Michael Jeffery Jordan was born on February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. His family headed to Wilmington, North Carolina when Jordan was still little and, being the youngest of three children, he was considered the laziest of the three. Although he slacked through school, when he hit high school, things began to turn around for him. He began to get better grades and showed more of an interest in school itself, along with three different sports: football, baseball, and basketball, where he lettered in all three.

During his sophomore year, he was cut from the basketball team because he only stood 5'9. Over the summer, he continued to train and grew a whopping 4 inches, consequently, he wasn't cut from the team again. And, during his senior year, was selected for the McDonald's All-American Team. When he headed off to college at the University of North Carolina, he was not yet the star that he would become. Although he did help to lead his team to a win in the 1982 NCAA Championship, he quit school to enter the draft for the NBA in 1984, where he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls.

During his NBA career, he stayed for thirteen straight seasons with the Bulls, and then headed to the Washington Wizards for two seasons. It was here in the NBA that Jordan really made his mark, earning the MVP award five times, leading his team to win six NBA Championships, and was even named Rookie of the Year. During his first few seasons, he became the only other player in history, besides Wilt Chamberlain, to score over 3,000 points in one season. His game only got better the longer that he was in the NBA, earning him multiple All-Star game positions. It was not long before Jordan's face and clips of his basketball skills were everywhere around the world, including his famous clip from the 1990-1991 season when he switched hands in mid-air while playing the LA Lakers. It was also during this season that Jordan won the NBA Finals MVP award and cried on camera while holding the trophy.

Throughout his career, he has retired several times, sometimes amidst massive amounts of controversy. In 1993, he announced his retirement, and then was accused of loosing over $50,000 during his gambling days along with many other accusations that came out during this same time about his gambling problems. In 1994, he headed to the baseball fields, where he played for the Chicago White Sox. But, his baseball game wasn't quite as good as his basketball game, and, even though he played for a couple of different minor league teams, he finally gave it up to return to the court. This same year, he headed back to the court, and to the Bills, scoring over 50 points in several games, proving to the world that he was, indeed “back”. Yet, after playing for five more years, he once again announced his retirement in 1999.

But, in 2000, he returned to basketball, except for the Washington Wizards this time, just not as a player. Jordan became part owner and the President of Operations for the team. Although he won several awards during his time as a basketball executive, many people just didn't quite know what to make of his management skills and career. And, when he bored of that hat, he again donned a jersey and headed back to the court with his new team in 2001. But, age was catching up with the star and many fans began to realize that if he left this time, there would be no coming back.

After injuring himself during the 2001-2002 season, he returned for the 2002-2003 season with special shoes to help his knees. Knowing that this would truly be his last season, the seats sold out for every game, and many teams and players alike began to throw tributes to the all-star player, and he received one of the highest honors when he was presented with the flag that flew over the Pentagon on September 11, 2002 by Donald Rumsfeld. Thus, Jordan left the court for good.

• Michael Jordan was selected in 1996 as one of the "50 Greatest Players in NBA History"
• He has been the Six time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
• Five time NBA Most Valuable Player
• Michael Jordan has won the Slam Dunk Contest twice in 1987 and 1988
• For 842 games he consecutively scored in the double digits giving him an NBA record
• For 10 seasons he lead the NBA league.
• He took the Chicago Bulls to 6 time championship wins.
• For 7 consecutive seasons he was leading the league in scoring giving him a shared NBA record with Wilt Chamberlain.
• He was selected for the All-NBA First Team 10 times
• Michael was selected for a record nine times for the NBA All Defensive Firts Team.
• He has participated in 13 NBA All Star Games
• Entering the 2002-03 season Michael ranked 1st in NBA history in scoring average with 31.0 points per game.
• He ranked 2nd in steals with 2,391 steals
• 4th in total points with 30,652 points.
• He had made 11,513 filed goals and ranked 4th.
• 7,061 free throws made ranking 5th and 8,448 free thows attempted placing him in 8th
• He had also attempted 23,010 field goals ranking him 6th
• He was the Chicago Bulls all time leader in points, rebounds, assists, steals, games played, field goals made, field goals attempted, free throws made and free throws attempted
• In 1993 he set an NBA Finals record for the highest single series scoring average of 41 points per game
• He also holds the NBA Playoffs record for highest career scoring average with 33.4 points per game
• He also established an NBA Playoff record with 63 points in a game.
• In 1989 and 1993 he recorded two playoff career triple doubles
• In 1997 he recorded his 28th career triple double with 30 points, 11 rebouinds and 10 assists.
• In 1997 he made the 1st triple double in an All Star Game scoring 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
• He still holds the NBA single game record for the most free throws made in one half with 20 free thows made.
• He shares the NBA single game record for most free throws made in one quarter with 14 free thows made.
• Named the MVP of the 1988, 1996 and 1998 NBA All-Star Games