Born February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York, Michael Jeffrey Jordan is one of the most renowned players in NBA history and considered even by some to be the greatest basketball player of all time. He played for a full fifteen seasons and finished with an average score of 30.12 points per game, eking out a record ahead of Wilt Chamberlain, who had set the score to beat at 30.06. While playing for the Chicago Bulls, he racked up six NBA Championships, ten scoring titles, and five Most Valuable Player titles.

Since 1983, he has been on the cover of Sports Illustrated 49 times, setting yet another record. In 1999, ESPN dubbed him the "greatest North American athlete of the 20th century". Because of his consistent ability to dunk the ball from the foul line and jump high, he has earned the nicknames of "His Airness" and "Air Jordan" (later used for the popular shoes he endorsed).Though born in Brooklyn, his parents, James and Delores, moved the family (Jordan has two older brothers and two sisters, one younger and one older) to Wilmington, North Carolina, when Michael was still very young. Among his siblings, Michael was probably viewed as the least likely to succeed in life, as he was the only one not to hold a steady job.

By: Peter Portero