While some may find it hard to believe, Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team in North Carolina during his sophomore year. He eventually went on to basketball superstardom.

1. What Made Michael
Jordan Basketball’s
Greatest Player?

2. While some may find it hard to believe,
Michael Jordan was cut from his high school
basketball team in North Carolina during his
sophomore year. He eventually went on to
basketball superstardom. A six-time NBA
champion and five-time league MVP, he
retired with the highest scoring average of all
time and was widely considered the best
player in history, even by incredibly talented
contemporaries like Larry Bird and Earvin
“Magic” Johnson, Jr.

3. An Olympic gold medalist in 1984, he received
the Rookie of the Year Award in his first
season with the Bulls. While the team missed
its chance at the national championship that
year, it would quickly improve to become
basketball’s most dominant team ever.

4. Of course, part of Michael Jordan’s legend is
his sheer loyalty. In an era characterized by
players endlessly circling the country in search
of higher paychecks and championships, he
was exceptional for spending all but two years
of his 15-year career in Chicago. Even during
his short initial retirement, when the king of
basketball decided to give another sport a try,
he remained in the city’s sports world, playing
baseball for a AA affiliate of the White Sox.

5. Today, he remains arguably the greatest
athlete in the world of modern sports, a
statement backed up by an ESPN survey that
placed him atop a list that includes the likes
of Muhammad Ali and Babe Ruth.