Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a former American professional basketball player, active businessman, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

After a standout career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he led the Tar Heels to a National Championship (1982 NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament) in 1982, Jordan joined the NBAs Chicago Bulls in 1984 (1984 NBA Draft). He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball. In 1991 (1991 NBA Finals), he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 (1992 NBA Finals) and 1993 (1993 NBA Finals), securing a "three-peat". Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the 1993-94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 (1995-96 NBA season) and led them to three additional championships (1996 (1996 NBA Finals), 1997 (1997 NBA Finals), and 1998 (1998 NBA Finals)) as well as an NBA-record 72 regular-season wins (List of NBA teams by single season win percentage) in the 1995-96 NBA season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999 (1998-99 NBA season), but returned for two more NBA seasons in 2001 (2001-02 NBA season) as a member of the Washington Wizards.

Jordans individual accolades and accomplishments include five MVP (National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award) awards, ten All-NBA (All-NBA Team) First Team designations, nine All-Defensive (NBA All-Defensive Team) First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, three All-Star Game MVP (NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award) awards, ten scoring titles (List_of_National_Basketball_Association_season_scoring_leaders), three steals (steal (basketball)) titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards (Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award), and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA records for highest career regular-season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Presss list of athletes of the century. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame on April 6, 2009 and was inducted on September 11, 2009.

Jordan is also noted for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nikes (Nike, Inc.) Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular today. Jordan also starred in the 1996 (American films of 1996) feature film Space Jam as himself. He is the majority owner and head of basketball operations for the NBAs Charlotte Bobcats; he recently won a bidding war to buy controlling interest in the team from founding owner Robert L. Johnson.