Born: February 17, 1963, Brooklyn, NY

Education: Laney High School, Wilmington, NC, 1981; University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, athletic scholarship, 1981–84

The National Basketball Association (NBA) represents the model of its game; it recruits basketball players from all over the world. Basketball is played professionally in more than twenty countries. Consisting of twenty-nine US and Canadian teams, the NBA is basketball's premier professional league.

Many analysts rank Jordan, who is destined for the NBA Hall of Fame, as the best player in league history. Epitome of athleticism and skill on the court, a peerless competitor and winner, he remains a global sports and cultural icon. To his fans, he was “Superman,” “Last Shot,” or “Air Jordan.” He earned $30.1 million from commercial endorsements in 1994 alone. In the wake of his father's death that year, he left the Chicago Bulls to play baseball for the Chicago White Sox's farm team. But he rejoined the Bulls (1995), which led to their sixth NBA Championship (1998) and his fifth season and sixth final Most Valuable Player awards.

Jordan became co-owner of the Washington Wizards in 2000. Also a part-time player, he donated his salary to victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Yet the Wizards did not make the playoffs, fueling criticism of him; he soon resigned.