Michael Jordan played basketball for the Chicago Bulls. Michael Jordan is listed at 6 feet 6 inches tall and 198 pounds, and he is listed as a shooting guard and small forward; his nicknames include Air Jordan and His Airness, and he wore number 23 for the Chicago Bulls. Michael Jordan's Bulls won three straight NBA titles from 1991 through 1993, then three more from 1996 through 1998; as of November 2026, Michael Jordan played 13 seasons for Chicago and two for the Washington Wizards, a 15-year NBA career.

Michael Jordan was born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York, and he went to Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina, and he went to college at the University of North Carolina; in the 1982 NCAA title game, North Carolina was behind 62-61 when Jordan hit a jump shot, and North Carolina won 63-62; Georgetown was led by 7-foot center Patrick Ewing, who scored 28 points, and Jordan was a 19-year-old freshman at North Carolina when he hit that shot.

In the 1984 draft the Houston Rockets took Hakeem Olajuwon first, the Portland Trail Blazers took Sam Bowie second, and the Bulls took Jordan third; Michael Jordan played his first NBA game on October 26, 1984; in 1984-85, his rookie season, he averaged 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists a game, and the Bulls went 38-44 and lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs; in 1985 Michael Jordan was Rookie of the Year, while Bernard King led the NBA in scoring that season.

In the Bulls' first three title seasons they won 61 (1990-91), 67 (1991-92) and 57 (1992-93) regular-season games; in 1990-91 Michael Jordan averaged 31.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists a game and won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, and in 1991-92 he averaged 30.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists a game and won the MVP award. Michael Jordan led the NBA in scoring in 1992-93 at 32.6 points a game. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals of 1991-92 the Bulls needed seven games to beat the New York Knicks, and the 1992-93 Bulls beat the New York Knicks four games to two in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the 1991, 1992 and 1993 Finals the Bulls beat the Lakers 4-1, the Trail Blazers 4-2 and the Suns 4-2, and Michael Jordan averaged 31.2, 35.8 and 41.0 points a game in those Finals.

Michael Jordan first retired in 1993 after the Bulls won their third championship, and he played professional baseball. He returned to the Bulls in March 1995 and played the last 17 games of the 1994-95 regular season, and the Bulls finished that season 47-35 and lost to the Orlando Magic four games to two. In the Bulls' last three title seasons they won 72 (1995-96), 69 (1996-97) and 62 (1997-98) regular-season games. Michael Jordan won the MVP award in 1995-96, averaging 30.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists a game, and he won the MVP award in 1997-98, averaging 28.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists a game.

The 1995-96 Bulls swept the Orlando Magic 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals, and the 1996-97 Bulls beat the Miami Heat four games to one in the Eastern Conference Finals; on the way to the 1998 title the Bulls needed seven games to beat the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals; in the 1996, 1997 and 1998 Finals the Bulls beat the SuperSonics 4-2, then the Jazz 4-2 twice; Michael Jordan averaged 27.3, 32.3 and 33.5 points a game in those Finals; he was the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) in each of the six Finals the Bulls won; as of November 2026, he has won more NBA Finals MVP awards than anyone else.

Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing led the U.S. men's basketball team at the 1984 Olympics, coached by Bob Knight; the 1984 U.S. Olympic team went 8-0 in Los Angeles, with an average margin of victory of 32.1 points; Before 1992 the U.S. sent amateurs to the Olympics; the 1984 team was the last amateur team to win gold, and 1992 brought the first Dream Team of NBA players; Michael Jordan won an Olympic gold medal in 1992 as a member of the Dream Team, and the 1992 U.S. Olympic men's team is considered the best basketball team of all time; in 1992 Michael Jordan started every game for the U.S. at the Olympics and averaged 14.9 points; Charles Barkley led the team at 18; the 1992 U.S. team won by an average of 43.8 points per game and beat Croatia 117-85 in the gold-medal game.

As of November 2026, Michael Jordan's career scoring average of about 30.1 points a game is the highest in the record book, and his playoff scoring average of 33.45 points a game is also the highest in that record book; on April 20, 1986, he scored 63 points against the Boston Celtics, an NBA playoff record as of November 2026; as of November 2026, he won the NBA Most Valuable Player award five times and the NBA scoring title 10 times; Michael Jordan was the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the 1987-88 season, and as of November 2026 he led the NBA in steals three times; as of November 2026, he ranks fourth in NBA career steals with 2,514; John Stockton is first with 3,265, and as of November 2026 Michael Jordan averaged 2.3 steals a game over 1,072 regular-season games.

As of November 2026, Michael Jordan was chosen for the NBA All-Defensive team nine times and named to the All-NBA team 11 times; he was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, and since 2022-23 the NBA's Most Valuable Player award has been called the Michael Jordan Trophy; in November 1994 the Bulls held a two-hour ceremony at the new United Center to retire Michael Jordan's number 23; at that ceremony the Bulls unveiled an 11-foot bronze sculpture of Jordan at their new home, and the Bulls later re-hoisted Jordan's retired number 23 jersey to the United Center rafters; in 2009 Michael Jordan was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Words to know

• amateurs: players not paid
• margin: win size
• sculpture: a carved statue
• rafters: high roof beams