Michael Jordan

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Michael Jordan Inspirational Career
Prosperous people in life usually do their best in anything that they do. Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born in a place referred to as Brooklyn in New York City. His father was an equipment supervisor known as James Jordan, and her mother was Deloris who was working in a bank “My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind.” Says Jordan They moved to a place called Wilmington in North Carolina while he was still young. He is the fourth of the five siblings that he has. He has two brothers and two sisters. He was born on February 17, 1963. He is referred to best basketball player of all time. He was very instrumental during his generation. He also popularized his NBA team (Wilcockson, 41).
High School
Jordan went to Ensley A. Laney High School in Wilmington. There is where he started shining in his basketball career. He also played football and baseball. In his sophomore year, he tried to join the school basketball team but was denied the chance because of his height. “Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work.” According to Jordan. The only person who made there was Harvest Leroy who was a great friend to her. As a result, he was more motivated to prove his worth not only to the team but also in school work. Therefore, he becomes the star of Laney’s junior varsity team.

As he continued growing, he continued to develop himself. He grew till the varsity noticed him. Being that he was a senior, he got the opportunity of being selected into the McDonald’s All American Team. He started receiving a lot of attention, and thus various basketball teams for multiple colleges recruited him. He participated in Duke, Virginia, Carolina, South Carolina, and Syracuse among other universities. He majored in cultural geography in 1981 when he was given a scholarship to North Carolina.
College
When he joined the college in his first year, he was referred to as ACC freshman of the year. During that time he was able to average thirteen points for per game. He was playing for Coach Dean Smith’s team-oriented system. He is famously known for his game-winning jump shot. He made that ball in the NCCA championship game in n1982. Jordan said that shot was the turning point of his basketball career.
During the selection of the NCCA All American First Team he was selected in all the sessions. In 1984, Jordan left North Carolina. Jordan won the Naismith and the wooden college player of the year award. The Chicago Bulls selected him with the third overall pick. He was not immediately considered because they were looking for a center. In 1986, he went to complete his degree in North Carolina (McNutt, 23).
Profession
1984-1987
He was growing over the years, and he started earning popularity even on the opposing sides. He was once viewed in the Sports Illustrated holding the title a Star is Born. That was exactly a year after being into the basketball career. During the rookie season, the fans voted him in as the all-star starter. Various veteran players started to feel offended by the amount of attention that Jordan was getting. That led to some teammates being against him. He used to experience freeze out. That is a situation where the players do not offer him the ball during the game.
One of the most significant games in NBA is the Boston Celtics team. During the 1985-1986 game, Michael Jordan made a record that has not yet been broken up to date. He had one of his most prolific scorings during that season. He showed that he is smart in defense during a season where he recorded one hundred blocked shots and two hundred seals.
1987-1990
In 1987 to 1988 season, Jordan was able to win the MVP award for the first time. During that time he was also referred to as the Defensive Player of the Year. In 1988-89, Jordan was again the top scorer in that season. “The key to success is failure”, said Jordan. His team, however, lost three times to the Piston in the three seasons and despite this setback Jordan did not lose hope in the game.(Citrin, 66).
1991-1993
Jordan got the opportunity to take the over the championship of the MVP for the second time. In 1991, the bulls made it to the NBA finals. The following season, they continued with their dominance. 1993, Jordan lost the MVP award to his mate and friend Charles Barkley. Jordan was the first black player in the NBA history to have three Finals MVP awards.
In 1993 Jordan said he is retiring from basketball. He claimed to have lost desire in playing the sport. He also said that the death of his father had contributed to that decision. His father was murder by some teenagers who wanted his luxury, Lexus. The criminals were later tracked down by the phone call that they made using Jordan fathers phone. He then came up with a Chicago boys and girls club. He did it for the sake of his father (Sheard, 42)
Olympic career
Jordan played on two Olympics. In 1984, he won a gold medal at the summer Olympics. He led the team in scoring during that Olympic period. The second Olympics were the one held in 1992. He was the second in position during this Olympics (Halberstam, 46).
Player Profile
Jordan was a right shooting guard. He also played as a small forward. Moreover, he was a point guard. Throughout, people have known him as a strong clutch performer. He could post up opponents and make a score. He was criticised to be a selfish player by the media.
Legacy
Jordan’s capability was visible from a tender age. He led the NBA team in scoring for a period of ten seasons. He is the one who carries the top career regular season. He is forth in matters of scoring in NBA. Moreover, he holds the title of the most decorated NBA player. In 1996, he was amongst one of the best NBA players that have ever existed. He has been future on the cover of the Sports Illustrated for fifty times. He is recognized as the best athlete over the previous fifty years. He is also one of the most outspoken sports figures. He has been in charge of Nike, coca cola, Hanes, and MCI among other companies as the spokesperson. Nike made a signature shoe for Michael Jordan. They referred the shoe as air Jordan. He is the highest earning athlete in the current world. He is also the third richest African American.
Lessons we can learn from Michael Jordan
One common trait with most successful people in this world is that in everything they did they had very high expectations. A high expectation is one value that we need to have to achieve great things in life. “To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail,” says Jordan. The moment we wait for a certain standard in our life, regardless of whether it’s high or low at one time we fall into them. In life the moment we want to be successful and achieve great things, we have to learn from those that have already excelled in life. The greatest people in this world have mentors and it is through the mentors that they have become so successful. He once said that no obstacle should stop you from achieving that what you want in life. If by any chance you are stopped by a wall don’t just sit there down but instead think of how you can climb the wall. One great lesson we can learn from Michael Jordan is that we should not fear failure. In daily training, Jordan would miss a lot of shots something that would discourage him at times. During his whole career in professional basketball, he missed more than nine hundred shots and lost close to three hundred games. The whole team entrusted him with the winning shots but he ended up missing them and that what made him successful in life. Many young people try something new and when they fail up the first time they end up throwing in the towel (Sheard, 16)
Another lesson we can learn from the famous Jordan is hard work and being passionate about our work. In life, when you put effort into something then automatically the results will come. The difference between some of the successful people and the rest is the amount of effort put in work. If you are doing something, you need to be passionate and love your work. Some people are just in some careers not because they love what they do but just because they were forced to work there. “Once I made a decision, I never thought about it again.” Jordan. Michael Jordan worked hard after being rejected out of the college team because of height and he ended up becoming one of the best players in the world. He had a passion for basketball as he would sometimes train alone on the court. In this world, there are many role models that we can copy and learn and Michael Jordan is a good example. He has genuinely demonstrated that achieving something is very possible and the most important thing to help us realize that is by believing in our capabilities. We should not fear to fail, therefore; we need to work hard to realize that which is best in us. We have no other option but to try something new because it is only by trying that we know the results. The moment we try to achieve some results, there will be a lot of obstacles along the way. Everyone just like Jordan has their own share of obstacles but I believe that those obstacles are meant to make us strong and be conquered (Lowe, 24)
In conclusion, legends always have a long history. They like doing whatever they are mandated to do to their best. Michael Jordan played basketball to his best and now he has left a standing legacy that almost everyone admires. It is good to be great. However, there is a price one must pay to become great. It takes determination, perseverance and many other things to become prosperous and a productive person in the society.
Work Cited
Wilcockson, John. Lance: The Making of the World’s Greatest Champion. Da Capo Press, 2009.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Sheard, Michael. Mental toughness: The mindset behind sporting achievement. Routledge, 2012.
Lowe, Janet. Michael Jordan speaks: Lessons from the world’s greatest champion. Wiley, 2001.
Halberstam, David. Playing for keeps: Michael Jordan and the world he made. Open Road Media, 2012.
Citrin, James M. The Dynamic Path: Access the Secrets of Champions to Achieve Greatness Through Mental Toughness, Inspired Leadership and Personal Transformation. Rodale, 2007.
McNutt, Kevin. Hooked on hoops: Understanding Black youths’ blind devotion to basketball. African Amer Images, 2002.