American basketball player (born 1963)
For other uses, see Michael Jordan (disambiguation).
Jordan in 2014 | |
| Position | Minority owner |
|---|---|
| League | NBA |
| Born | (1963-02-17) February 17, 1963 (age 61) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 216 lb (98 kg)[a] |
| High school | Emsley A. Laney (Wilmington, North Carolina) |
| College | North Carolina (1981–1984) |
| NBA draft | 1984: 1st round, 3rd overall pick |
| Selected by the Chicago Bulls | |
| Playing career | 1984–1993, 1995–1998, 2001–2003 |
| Position | Shooting guard / small forward |
| Number | 23, 12,[b] 45 |
| 1984–1993, 1995–1998 | Chicago Bulls |
| 2001–2003 | Washington Wizards |
| |
| Points | 32,292 (30.1 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 6,672 (6.2 rpg) |
| Assists | 5,633 (5.3 apg) |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| FIBA Hall of Fame | |
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ,[9] is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. He played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 1984 and 2003, winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. He was integral in popularizing basketball and the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s,[10] becoming a global cultural icon.[11] His profile on the NBA website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time."[12][13]
Jordan played college basketball with the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982.[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.[15] His leaping ability, demonstrated by performing slam dunks from the free-throw line in Slam Dunk Contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness".[5][14] Jordan won his first NBA title with the Bulls in 1991 and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a three-peat. Citing physical and mental exhaustion from basketball and superstardom, Jordan abruptly retired from basketball before the 1993–94 NBA season to play Minor League Baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization. He returned to the Bulls in March 1995 and led them to three more championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998, as well as a then-record 72 regular season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season.[5] Jordan retired for the second time in January 1999, returning for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards.[5][14] He was selected to play for the United States national team during his college and NBA careers, winning four gold medals—at the 1983 Pan American Games, 1984 Summer Olympics, 1992 Tournament of the Americas and 1992 Summer Olympics—while also being undefeated.[16]
Jordan's individual accolades include six NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, ten NBA scoring titles (both all-time records), five NBA MVP awards, 10 All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game selections, three NBA All-Star Game MVP awards, three NBA steals titles, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.[14] He holds the NBA records for career regular season scoring average (30.1 points per game) and career playoff scoring average (33.4 points per game).[17] He is one of only eight players to achieve the basketball Triple Crown. In 1999, Jordan was named the 20th century's greatest North American athlete by ESPN and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press' list of athletes of the century.[5] Jordan was twice inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, once in 2009 for his individual career,[18] and again in 2010 as part of the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team ("The Dream Team").[19] He became a member of the United States Olympic Hall of Fame in 2009,[20] a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2010,[21] and an individual member of the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015 and a "Dream Team" member in 2017.[22][23] Jordan was named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team in 1996 and to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.[24] The trophy for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award is named in his honor.
One of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation, Jordan made many product endorsements.[10][25] He fueled the success of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1984 and remain popular.[26] Jordan starred as himself in the live-action/animation hybrid film Space Jam (1996) and was the central focus of the Emmy-winning documentary series The Last Dance (2020). He became part-owner and head of basketball operations for the Charlotte Hornets (then named the Bobcats) in 2006 and bought a controlling interest in 2010, before selling his majority stake in 2023. Jordan is also a co-owner of 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. In 2016, he became the first billionaire player in NBA history.[27] That same year, President Barack Obama awarded Jordan the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[28] As of 2024, his net worth is estimated at $3.5 billion by Forbes,[29] making him one of the richest celebrities.
Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born at Cumberland Hospital in Brooklyn, New York City, on February 17, 1963,[30] to bank employee Deloris (née Peoples) and equipment supervisor James R. Jordan Sr.[30][31] He has two older brothers, James Jr. and Larry, as well as an older sister named Deloris and a younger sister named Roslyn.[32][33] Jordan and his siblings were raised Methodist.[34]
In 1968, the family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina.[35] Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School, where he played basketball, baseball, and football. He tried out for the basketball varsity team during his sophomore year, but at a height of 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m), he was deemed too short.[36][37] Motivated to prove his worth, Jordan became the star of Laney's junior varsity team and tallied some 40-point games.[36] The following summer, he grew four inches (10 cm) and trained rigorously.[37] Upon earning a spot on the varsity roster, Jordan averaged more than 25 points per game (ppg) over his final two seasons of high school play.[38] As a senior, he was selected for the 1981 McDonald's All-American Game and scored 30 points,[39][40] after averaging 26.8 ppg,[38] 11.6 rebounds (rpg), and 10.1 assists per game (apg) for the season.[41]
Jordan was recruited by numerous college basketball programs, including Duke, North Carolina, South Carolina, Syracuse, and Virginia.[42] In 1981, he accepted a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where Jordan majored in cultural geography.[43] He chose this field of study because of its relationship to meteorology, as Jordan was interested in a career as a meteorologist.[44][45]
Jordan going in for a slam dunk for the Laney High School varsity basketball team, c. 1979–80
Jordan in action for North Carolina in 1983
As a freshman in coach Dean Smith's team-oriented system, Jordan was named ACC Freshman of the Year after averaging 13.4 ppg on 53.4% shooting (field goal percentage).[46] He made the game-winning jump shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown, which was led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing.[47] Jordan later described this shot as the major turning point in his basketball career.[48][49] During his three seasons with the Tar Heels, Jordan averaged 17.7 ppg on 54.0% shooting and added 5.0 rpg and 1.8 apg.[14]
Jordan was selected by consensus to the NCAA All-American First Team in both his sophomore (1983) and junior (1984) seasons.[50][51] After winning the Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984, Jordan left North Carolina a year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA draft. Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in 1986,[52] when he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography.[53][54] In 2002, Jordan was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team honoring the 50 greatest players in ACC history.[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). One of the primary reasons why Jordan was not drafted sooner was because the first two teams were in need of a center.[56] Trail Blazers general manager Stu Inman contended that it was not a matter of drafting a center but more a matter of taking Bowie over Jordan, in part because Portland already had Clyde Drexler, who was a guard with similar skills to Jordan.[57] Citing Bowie's injury-laden college career, ESPN named the Blazers' choice of Bowie as the worst draft pick in North American professional sports history.[58]
Jordan made his NBA debut at Chicago Stadium on October 26, 1984, and scored 16 points. In 2021, a ticket stub from the game sold at auction for $264,000, setting a record for a collectible ticket stub.[59] During his rookie 1984–85 season with the Bulls, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting.[46] He helped the Bulls improve from 27–55 to 38–44 and qualify for the postseason for the first time since the 1980–81 season.[60] Jordan quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas.[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.[64][65] The fans voted in Jordan as an All-Star starter during his rookie season.[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.[5] This led to a so-called "freeze-out" on Jordan, where players refused to pass the ball to him.[5] The controversy left Jordan relatively unaffected when he returned to regular season play, and he would go on to be voted the NBA Rookie of the Year.[66] The Bulls lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in four games in the first round of the playoffs.[66]
An often-cited moment was on August 26, 1985,[38][67] when Jordan shook the arena during a Nike exhibition game in Trieste, Italy, by shattering the glass of the backboard with a dunk.[68][69] The moment was filmed and is often referred to as an important milestone in Jordan's rise.[69][70] The shoes Jordan wore during the game were auctioned in August 2020 for $615,000, a record for a pair of sneakers.[71][72] Jordan's 1985–86 season was cut short when he broke his foot in the third game of the year, causing him to miss 64 games.[73] The Bulls made the playoffs despite Jordan's injury and a 30–52 record,[74] at the time the fifth-worst record of any team to qualify for the playoffs in NBA history.[75] Jordan recovered in time to participate in the postseason and performed well upon his return. On April 20 at the Boston Garden, in Game 2 of the First Round, a 135–131 double overtime loss to the eventual NBA championBoston Celtics, Jordan scored a playoff career-high 63 points, breaking Elgin Baylor's single-game playoff scoring record.[76] The Celtics team, though, swept the series in three games.[66][76][77]
Jordan completely recovered in time for the 1986–87 season,[78] and had one of the most prolific scoring seasons in NBA history; he became the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to score 3,000 points in a season, averaging a league-high 37.1 ppg on 48.2% shooting.[46][79] Jordan also demonstrated his defensive prowess, as he became the first player in NBA history to record 200 steals and 100 blocked shots in a season.[80] Despite Jordan's success, Magic Johnson won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award.[81] The Bulls reached 40 wins,[74] and advanced to the playoffs for the third consecutive year but were again swept by the Celtics.[66]
Jordan led the league in scoring during the 1987–88 season, averaging 35.0 ppg on 53.5% shooting,[46] and won his first league MVP Award. He was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 1.6 blocks per game (bpg), a league-high 3.1 steals per game (spg),[82][c] and leading the Bulls defense to the fewest points per game allowed in the league.[84] The Bulls finished 50–32,[74] and made it past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in Jordan's career, as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games.[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".[86]
In the 1988–89 season, Jordan again led the league in scoring, averaging 32.5 ppg on 53.8% shooting from the field, along with 8.0 rpg and 8.0 apg.[46] During the season, Sam Vincent, Chicago's point guard, was having trouble running the offense, and Jordan expressed his frustration with head coach Doug Collins, who then put Jordan at point guard. In his time as a point guard, Jordan had 10 triple-doubles in 11 games, with averages of 33.6 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 10.8 apg, 2.9 spg, and 0.8 bpg on 51% shooting.[87]
The Bulls finished with a 47–35 record,[74] and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, defeating the Cavaliers and New York Knicks along the way.[88] The Cavaliers series included a career highlight for Jordan when he hit "The Shot" over Craig Ehlo at the buzzer in the fifth and final game of the series.[89] In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons again defeated the Bulls, this time in six games,[66] by utilizing their "Jordan Rules" method of guarding Jordan, which consisted of double and triple teaming him every time he touched the ball.[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.[90] On March 28, 1990, Jordan scored a career-high 69 points in a 117–113 road win over the Cavaliers.[91] He averaged a league-leading 33.6 ppg on 52.6% shooting, to go with 6.9 rpg and 6.3 apg,[46] in leading the Bulls to a 55–27 record.[74] They again advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers;[92] despite pushing the series to seven games, the Bulls lost to the Pistons for the third consecutive season.[66]
After the Bulls' previous losses to the Pistons, Phil Jackson, along with assistant coach Tex Winter, focused on implementing the triangle offense to counteract the Pistons' defense and other teams that heavily targeted Jordan. This system, however, required Jordan to adjust his playing style.[93][94] In his book Eleven Rings, Jackson recalled, "I was planning to ask Michael to reduce the number of shots he took so that other members of the team could get more involved in the offense. I knew this would be a challenge for him."[95] In The Last Dance, Jordan admitted he was initially reluctant to back the system.[94] Nevertheless, he eventually embraced the change, which led to success for the team.[96]
In the 1990–91 season, Jordan won his second MVP award after averaging 31.5 ppg on 53.9% shooting, 6.0 rpg, and 5.5 apg for the regular season.[46] The Bulls finished in first place in their division for the first time in sixteen years and set a franchise record with 61 wins in the regular season.[74] With Scottie Pippen developing into an All-Star, the Bulls had elevated their play. The Bulls defeated the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening two rounds of the playoffs. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals where their rival, the Detroit Pistons, awaited them;[97] this time, the Bulls beat the Pistons in a four-game sweep.[98]
The Bulls advanced to the Finals for the first time in franchise history to face the Los Angeles Lakers. The Bulls won the series in five games, and compiled a 15–2 playoff record along the way.[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.[99] In his first Finals appearance, Jordan had 31.2 ppg on 56% shooting from the field, 11.4 apg, 6.6 rpg, 2.8 spg, and 1.4 bpg.[100] Jordan won his first NBA Finals MVP award[101] and cried while holding the Finals trophy.[102]
Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance in the 1991–92 season, establishing a 67–15 record, topping their franchise record from the 1990–91 campaign.[74] Jordan won his second consecutive MVP award with averages of 30.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, and 6.1 apg on 52% shooting.[82] After winning a physical seven-game series over the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs and finishing off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals in six games, the Bulls met Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers in the Finals. The media, hoping to recreate a Magic–Bird rivalry, highlighted the similarities between "Air" Jordan and Clyde "The Glide" during the pre-Finals hype.[103]
In a Game 1 victory, Jordan scored a Finals-record 35 points in the first half, including a record-setting six three-point field goals.[104] After the sixth three-pointer, he jogged down the court shrugging as he looked courtside. Marv Albert, who broadcast the game, later stated that it was as if Jordan was saying: "I can't believe I'm doing this."[105] The Bulls went on to defeat the Blazers in six games. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row,[101] and finished the series averaging 35.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 6.5 apg, while shooting 52.6% from the floor.[106]
In the 1992–93 season, despite a 32.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 5.5 apg campaign, including a second-place finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting,[82][107] Jordan's streak of consecutive MVP seasons ended, as he lost the award to his friend Charles Barkley,[81] upsetting him.[108] Jordan and the Bulls met Barkley and his Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals. The Bulls won their third NBA championship on a game-winning shot by John Paxson and a last-second block by Horace Grant, but Jordan was once again Chicago's leader. He averaged a Finals-record 41.0 ppg during the six-game series,[109] and became the first player in NBA history to win three consecutive Finals MVP awards.[101] Jordan scored more than 30 points in every game of the series, including 40 or more points in four consecutive games.[110] With his third Finals triumph, Jordan capped off a seven-year run where he attained seven scoring titles and three championships, but there were signs that Jordan was tiring of his massive celebrity and all of the non-basketball hassles in his life.[111]
During the 1993 NBA playoffs, Jordan was seen gambling in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the night before Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks.[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.[114]David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, denied in 1995 and 2006 that Jordan's 1993 retirement was a secret suspension by the league for gambling,[115][116] but the rumor spread widely.[117]
In 2005, Jordan discussed his gambling with Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes and admitted that he made reckless decisions. Jordan stated:
Yeah, I've gotten myself into situations where I would not walk away and I've pushed the envelope. Is that compulsive? Yeah, it depends on how you look at it. If you're willing to jeopardize your livelihood and your family, then yeah.
When Bradley asked him if his gambling ever got to the level where it jeopardized his livelihood or family, Jordan replied: "No."[118] In 2010, Ron Shelton, director of Jordan Rides the Bus, said that he began working on the documentary believing that the NBA had suspended him, but that research "convinced [him it] was nonsense".[117]
Baseball player
On October 6, 1993, Jordan announced his retirement, saying that he lost his desire to play basketball. He later said that the murder of his father three months earlier helped shape his decision.[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.[120][121] His body, dumped in a South Carolina swamp, was not discovered until August 3.[121] Green and Demery were sentenced to life imprisonment.[122] However, in The Last Dance, Jordan stated that he retired due to physical and mental exhaustion from basketball and superstardom.[123]
Jordan was close to his father; as a child, Jordan imitated the way his father stuck out his tongue while absorbed in work. Jordan later adopted it as his own signature, often displaying it as he drove to the basket.[5] In 1996, Jordan founded a Chicago-area Boys & Girls Club and dedicated it to his father.[124][125] In his 1998 autobiography For the Love of the Game, Jordan wrote that he was preparing for retirement as early as the summer of 1992.[126] The added exhaustion due to the "Dream Team" run in the 1992 Summer Olympics solidified Jordan's feelings about the game and his celebrity status. Jordan's announcement sent shock waves throughout the NBA and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world.[127]
Jordan further surprised the sports world by signing a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) contract with the Chicago White Sox on February 7, 1994.[128] He reported to spring training in Sarasota, Florida, and was assigned to the team's minor league system on March 31.[129] Jordan said that this decision was made to pursue the dream of his late father, who always envisioned his son as a Major League Baseball (MLB) player.[130] The White Sox were owned by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who continued to honor Jordan's basketball contract during the years he played baseball.[131]
In 1994, Jordan played for the Birmingham Barons, a Double-A minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, batting .202 with three home runs, 51 runs batted in, 30 stolen bases, 114 strikeouts, 51 bases on balls, and 11 errors.[132][133] His strikeout total led the team and his games played tied for the team lead. His 30 stolen bases were second on the team only to Doug Brady.[134] Jordan also appeared for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the 1994 Arizona Fall League, batting .252 against the top prospects in baseball.[129] On November 1, 1994, his No. 23 was retired by the Bulls in a ceremony that included the erection of a permanent sculpture known as The Spirit outside the new United Center.[135][136][137]
The Bulls went 55–27 in 1993–94 without Jordan in the lineup[74] and lost to the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs.[138] In March 1995, Jordan decided to quit baseball because he feared he might become a replacement player during the Major League Baseball strike.[139] During the 1994–95 season, Jordan returned to the Bulls midway through the season. On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced his comeback to the NBA in a two-word press release: "I'm back."[140] The next day, Jordan took to the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, scoring 19 points.[141] The game had the highest Nielsen rating of any regular season NBA game since 1975.[142] Although he could have worn his original number even though the Bulls retired it, Jordan wore No. 45, his baseball number.[141]
Despite his 18-month hiatus from the NBA, Jordan played well, making a game-winning jump shot against Atlanta in his fourth game back. He scored 55 points in his next game, against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 28, 1995.[66] Boosted by Jordan's comeback, the Bulls went 13–4 to make the playoffs and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic.[143] At the end of Game 1, Orlando's Nick Anderson stripped Jordan from behind, leading to the game-winning basket for the Magic; he later commented that Jordan "didn't look like the old Michael Jordan",[144] and said, "No. 45 doesn't explode like No. 23 used to".[145]
Jordan responded by scoring 38 points in the next game, which Chicago won. Before the game, Jordan decided that he would immediately resume wearing his former No. 23. The Bulls were fined $25,000 for failing to report the impromptu number change to the NBA.[145] Jordan was fined an additional $5,000 for opting to wear white sneakers when the rest of the Bulls wore black.[146] He averaged 31 ppg in the playoffs, but Orlando won the series in six games.[147]
Jordan was freshly motivated by the playoff defeat, and he trained aggressively for the 1995–96 season.[148] The Bulls were strengthened by the addition of rebound specialist Dennis Rodman, and the team dominated the league, starting the season at 41–3.[149] The Bulls finished with the best regular season record in NBA history, 72–10, a mark broken two decades later by the 2015–16 Golden State Warriors.[150] Jordan led the league in scoring with 30.4 ppg,[151] and he won the league's regular season and All-Star Game MVP awards.[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.[149] The series was one of the tougher ones for Jordan as he had a 41.5% field goal percentage and his scoring average dropped nearly nine points from his average during the rest of the playoffs.[152] Nevertheless, Jordan was named Finals MVP for a record fourth time;[101] he achieved only the second sweep of the MVP awards in the All-Star Game, regular season, and NBA Finals after Willis Reed in the 1969–70 season.[66] Upon winning the championship, his first since his father's murder, Jordan reacted emotionally, clutching the game ball and crying on the locker room floor.[5][102]
In the 1996–97 season, the Bulls stood at a 69–11 record but ended the season by losing their final two games to finish the year 69–13, missing out on a second consecutive 70-win season.[153] The Bulls again advanced to the Finals, where they faced the Utah Jazz.[154] That team included Karl Malone, who had beaten Jordan for the NBA MVP award in a tight race (986–957).[155][156][157] The series against the Jazz featured two of the more memorable clutch moments of Jordan's career. He won Game 1 for the Bulls with a buzzer-beating jump shot. In Game 5, with the series tied 2–2, Jordan played despite being feverish and dehydrated from a stomach virus. In what is known as "The Flu Game", Jordan scored 38 points, including the game-winning three-pointer with 25 seconds remaining.[154] The Bulls won 90–88 and went on to win the series in six games.[153] For the fifth time in as many Finals appearances, Jordan received the Finals MVP award.[101] During the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, he posted the first triple-double in All-Star Game history in a victorious effort, but the MVP award went to Glen Rice.[158]
The Bulls compiled a 62–20 record in the 1997–98 season.[74] Jordan led the league with 28.7 ppg,[82] securing his fifth regular season MVP award, plus honors for All-NBA First Team, First Defensive Team, and the All-Star Game MVP.[14] The Bulls won the Eastern Conference Championship for a third straight season, including surviving a seven-game series with the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals; it was the first time Jordan had played in a Game 7 since the 1992 Eastern Conference Semifinals with the New York Knicks.[159][160] After winning, they moved on for a rematch with the Jazz in the Finals.[161]
The Bulls returned to the Delta Center for Game 6 on June 14, 1998, leading the series 3–2. Jordan executed a series of plays, considered to be one of the greatest clutch performances in NBA Finals history.[162] With 41.9 seconds remaining and the Bulls trailing 86–83, Phil Jackson called a timeout. When play resumed, Jordan received the inbound pass, drove to the basket, and sank a shot over several Jazz defenders, cutting Utah's lead to 86–85.[162] The Jazz brought the ball upcourt and passed the ball to Malone, who was set up in the low post and was being guarded by Rodman. Malone jostled with Rodman and caught the pass, but Jordan cut behind him and stole the ball out of his hands.[162]
Jordan then dribbled down the court and paused, eyeing his defender, Jazz guard Bryon Russell. With 10 seconds remaining, Jordan started to dribble right, then crossed over to his left, possibly pushing off Russell, although the officials did not call a foul.[163][164][165][166] With 5.2 seconds left, Jordan made the climactic shot of his Bulls career,[167] a top-key jumper over a stumbling Russell to give Chicago an 87–86 lead. 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