Basketball player, businessman. Born February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York. He played for the University of North Carolina (1982--84) and in 1982 led them to a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I championship.

In a National Basketball Association (NBA) career that began in 1985, he became one of basketball's most exciting players as a guard for the Chicago Bulls, and is generally considered to be the greatest player who ever played the game.

In 1991, 1992, and 1993 he led the Bulls to NBA championships and was the league's Most Valuable Player in 1991 and 1992. He played for the 1984 U.S. Olympic team and for the "dream team" of the 1992 Olympics, taking the gold medal both times.

His basketball fame won him numerous commercial endorsements throughout the world, and he used his famous name and significant capital to launch a number of successful businesses. Jordan shocked the basketball world by retiring from the game in 1993, after which he pursued a professional baseball career, but he rejoined the Bulls in 1995, leading them to victory again in the NBA championships in 1996 and 1997. In 1996 he starred along with the Looney Toons animated characters in the film Space Jam.

In 1998, he led the Bulls to their sixth NBA title of the decade, hitting the winning shot with 5.2 seconds left in the game against Utah. Jordan retired from the NBA in January 1999. A year later, he became the president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards NBA franchise. After much speculation, fueled by Jordan's intense practice schedule, the basketball great announced his second return to the NBA, at the age of 38, in September 2001.

He will join the Washington Wizards on their 2001-2 roster and will resign from his executive position with the team and sell his 8% share of Lincoln Holdings, which owns the Wizards, the Washington Capitals, and the MCI Center in Washington.

Jordan and his wife Juanita have three children. In January 2002, Juanita Jordan filed for divorce after 12 years of marriage, citing "irreconcilable differences."