By Lee Strawther
The Sporting Tribune
The John R. Wooden Award will celebrate it’s 50th anniversary this season. Leading up to the award ceremony on April 10, 2026, The Sporting Tribune in partnership with the Wooden Award and the Los Angeles Athletic Club will highlight past winners of the Wooden Award and the Legends of Coaching Award.
Arguably one of the most fearless competitors to ever lace up a pair of basketball sneakers, Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born on February 17, 1963 at Cumberland Hospital in Brooklyn, New York.
In 1968 his family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina where Jordan attended Laney High School and played not only basketball, but baseball and football as well. He tried out for the varsity basketball team as a sophomore, but was thought to be too short at 5-11, and it was those types of moments that helped mold him early on.
The following summer Jordan grew four inches and upon earning a spot on the varsity roster, he wound up averaging over 25 points per game his final two years and was selected a McDonald’s All-American following his senior season.
To no surprise Jordan was recruited by all of the top college basketball programs in the country, including Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia, and Clemson, to name a few. He reportedly had North Carolina, North Carolina State and Maryland at the top of his list before choosing UNC, where he enrolled in 1980 to major in Cultural Geography.
As a freshman under legendary head coach Dean Smith, Jordan was named Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year after averaging 13.4 ppg on 53.4 percent shooting, ranking 10th in the conference in scoring and sixth in field goal percentage.
During his sophomore and junior seasons, Jordan consistently ranked among the ACC’s elite, finishing either 1st or 2nd in both points scored and points per game, while also placing in the top 10 in field goal and free throw percentage. In his three seasons with the Tar Heels, he averaged 17.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest.
He started to become a household name after making the game-winning shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game versus Georgetown, a moment Jordan later credited as the turning point in his hoops career.
Jordan was a consensus First-Team All-American in both his sophomore and junior seasons, and after winning the Naismith and the coveted Wooden College Player of the Year awards as a junior in ‘84, he left North Carolina with one year of eligibility remaining to enter that year’s NBA Draft. He returned to UNC to earn his Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography in 1986.
Professionally, the 6-6 shooting guard played 15 seasons in the NBA between 1984-2003, winning six NBA championships in six NBA Finals appearances with the Chicago Bulls. He was selected with the third overall pick in the 1984 draft by the Bulls and became an NBA star with his prolific scoring ability and reputation as being one of the league’s better defenders. His leaping ability became his calling card and two Slam Dunk titles helped earn him his “Air Jordan” moniker.
Jordan won his first NBA championship with Chicago in 1991 and followed that up with titles in 1992 and ‘93, securing the first of two three-peats with the Bulls. He abruptly retired before the 1993–94 season to play minor league baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization but returned to the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three more championships in 1996 (the then record 72-10 season), 1997 and 1998.
Rather than get into coaching as many players do post-retirement, Jordan jumped into management after his second retirement in 1999, become owner and president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards. He eventually did return to action as a member of the Wizards roster from 2001 to 2003.
In 2006 Jordan would became part-owner and head of basketball operations for the then-Charlotte Bobcats and bought a controlling interest in 2010 before selling his stake in 2023. He is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets and co-owner of 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.
One of the most effectively marketed athletes ever, Jordan endorsed many products over the years. Most notably he fueled the success of Nike and its Jordan brand which launched his first signature sneaker in 1984 and remains a No. 1 seller worldwide to this day.
There have been numerous iconic moments that have helped shape the legend of Michael Jordan. The shot against the Hoyas in the ‘82 NCAA title game. That’s when he morphed from Mike (Jordan) to Michael. The 1986 Slam Dunk Contest versus Dominique Wilkins when he became “Air Jordan”. The shoulder shrug after canning sixth three-pointers in the Bulls’ 1992 NBA Finals win over Portland when he transformed from “Air Jordan” to “MJ.” And finally, Game 6 of the 1996 NBA Finals when he stole the ball from Utah’s Karl Malone, waltzed up court, crossed-over Brian Russell and stuck a 15-foot jumper to secure title No. 6.
In the eyes of many Jordan, with his sixth title in tow, became “The GOAT” that day and it’s difficult to disagree. In the end he carried the torch handed to him by Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving, Larry Bird and Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson with honor.
Looking back, Magic may have said it best… “There’s Michael Jordan and then there’s the rest of us.”