[5] Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick[5][14] and quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring while gaining a reputation as one of the best defensive players.

[55] 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).

[61][62][63] Roy S. Johnson of The New York Times described Jordan as "the phenomenal rookie of the Bulls" in November,[63] and he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the heading "A Star Is Born" in December.

[5] Controversy arose before the 1985 NBA All-Star Game when word surfaced that several veteran players, led by Isiah Thomas, were upset by the amount of attention Jordan was receiving.

[85] In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Bulls lost in five games to the more experienced Detroit Pistons,[66] who were led by Isiah Thomas and a group of physical players known as the "Bad Boys".

[5] The Bulls entered the 1989–90 season as a team on the rise, with their core group of Jordan and young improving players like Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant, and under the guidance of new coach Phil Jackson.

[97] Perhaps the best-known moment of the series came in Game 2 when, attempting a dunk, Jordan avoided a potential Sam Perkins block by switching the ball from his right hand to his left in mid-air to lay the shot into the basket.

[112] The previous year, he admitted that he had to cover $57,000 in gambling losses,[113] and author Richard Esquinas wrote a book in 1993 claiming he had won $1.25 million from Jordan on the golf course.

[119] 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.

[14] In the playoffs, the Bulls lost only three games in four series (Miami Heat 3–0, New York Knicks 4–1, and Orlando Magic 4–0), as they defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 4–2 in the NBA Finals to win their fourth championship.

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,[168] achieving a second three-peat in the decade.

[172] 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.

[182][183] Inspired by the NHL comeback of his friend Mario Lemieux the previous winter,[184] Jordan spent much of the spring and summer of 2001 in training, holding several invitation-only camps for NBA players in Chicago.

The 1984 U.S. team was coached by Bob Knight and featured young players such as Patrick Ewing, Sam Perkins, Chris Mullin, Steve Alford, and Wayman Tisdale.

[251] Jordan's athletic leaping ability, highlighted in his back-to-back Slam Dunk Contest championships in 1987 and 1988, is credited by many people with having influenced a generation of young players.

[254][255] Commentators have also dubbed a number of next-generation players "the next Michael Jordan" upon their entry to the NBA, including Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Allen Iverson, Bryant, Vince Carter, James, and Wade.

[264] As Jordan would later explain during his induction speech in September 2009, he was not a fan of the Tar Heels when growing up in North Carolina but greatly admired Thompson, who played for the rival NC State Wolfpack.

In September, Jordan was inducted into the Hall with several former Bulls teammates in attendance, including Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Charles Oakley, Ron Harper, Steve Kerr, and Toni Kukoč.

[24] In September 2022, Jordan's jersey in which he played the opening game of the 1998 NBA Finals was sold for $10.1 million, making it the most expensive game-worn sports memorabilia in history.

High school Halls of Fame Media National State/local After his third retirement, Jordan assumed that he would be able to return to his front office position as Director of Basketball Operations with the Wizards.

[301] During the 2011 NBA lockout, The New York Times wrote that Jordan led a group of 10 to 14 hardline owners who wanted to cap the players' share of basketball-related income at 50 percent and as low as 47.

Journalists observed that, during the labor dispute in 1998, Jordan told Washington Wizards then-owner Abe Pollin: "If you can't make a profit, you should sell your team.

"[302] Jason Whitlock of FoxSports.com called Jordan "a hypocrite sellout who can easily betray the very people who made him a billionaire global icon" for wanting "current players to pay for his incompetence".

[328] On July 21, 2006, a judge in Cook County, Illinois, determined that Jordan did not owe his alleged former lover Karla Knafel $5 million in a breach of contract claim.

[348] The Super Bowl commercial inspired the 1996 live action/animated film Space Jam, which starred Jordan and Bugs in a fictional story set during the former's first retirement from basketball.

[364] As of 2025[update], his net worth is estimated at $3.5 billion by Forbes,[29] making him the fourth-richest African-American, behind David Steward, Robert F. Smith, and Alex Karp,[365] and one of the richest celebrities.

We need to find solutions that ensure people of color receive fair and equal treatment AND that police officers – who put their lives on the line every day to protect us all – are respected and supported.

"[383] On June 5, 2020, in the wake of the protests following the murder of George Floyd, Jordan and his brand announced in a joint statement that they would be donating $100 million over the next 10 years to organizations dedicated to "ensuring racial equality, social justice and greater access to education".

[390] Two decades later, the same period of Jordan's life was covered in much greater and more personal detail by the Emmy Award-winning The Last Dance, a 10-part TV documentary which debuted on ESPN in April and May 2020.

[393] Jordan granted rapper Travis Scott permission to film a music video for his single "Franchise" at his home in Highland Park, Illinois.