CONTENTS HIS AIRNESS 4 ATHLETIC UPBRINGING 6 COLLEGE PRO ATHLETE 8 AIR JORDAN 10 WINS LOSSES BASEBALL 14 RETURN RETIREMENT 18 CULTURAL IMPACT 22 POST RETIREMENT 24 ETERNAL ICON 26 TIMELINE 28 GLOSSARY 30 ONLINE RESOURCES 31 INDEX 32
CHAPTER 1 HIS AIRNESS Many people consider Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player of all time He played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association NBA During that time he won many awards titles and honors But it is an award from ESPN that truly captures Jordan’s achievements The sports channel named him North American Athlete of the Century Jordan’s talent and appeal changed the entire sport of basketball His influence expanded beyond the court He affected several generations of athletes across multiple sports Jordan’s nicknames Air Jordan and His Airness refer to his impressive vertical leap when scoring slam dunks But soaring to great heights doesn’t only describe Jordan’s physical feats He is famous for having high expectations of himself and others From a young age Jordan was focused on becoming great You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them 4
