Claim: Michael Jordan helped popularize the NBA in the 80s and 90s.

Michael Jeffrey Jordan -LRB- born February 17 , 1963 -RRB- , also known by his initials , MJ , is an American retired professional basketball player , businessman , and principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets . Jordan played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association -LRB- NBA -RRB- for the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards . His biography on the 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 considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s .   Jordan played three seasons for coach Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina . As a freshman , he was a member of the Tar Heels ' national championship team in 1982 . Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick . He quickly emerged as a league star , entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring . 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 . He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball . In 1991 , he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls , and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993 , securing a `` three-peat '' . Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball before the beginning of the 1993 -- 94 NBA season to pursue a new venture in minor league baseball , he returned to the Bulls in March 1995 and led them to three additional championships in 1996 , 1997 , and 1998 , as well as a then-record 72 regular-season wins in the 1995 -- 96 NBA season . Jordan retired for a second time in January 1999 , but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Wizards .   Jordan 's individual accolades and accomplishments include five Most Valuable Player -LRB- MVP -RRB- Awards , ten All-NBA First Team designations , nine All-Defensive First Team honors , fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances , three All-Star Game MVP Awards , ten scoring titles , three steals titles , six NBA Finals MVP Awards , and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award . Among his numerous accomplishments , Jordan holds the NBA records for highest career regular season scoring average -LRB- 30.12 points per game -RRB- and highest career playoff scoring average -LRB- 33.45 points per game -RRB- . 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 Press 's list of athletes of the century . Jordan is a two-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame , having been enshrined in 2009 for his individual career , and again in 2010 as part of the group induction of the 1992 United States men 's Olympic basketball team -LRB- `` The Dream Team '' -RRB- . He became a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015 .   Jordan is also known for his product endorsements . He fueled the success of Nike 's Air Jordan sneakers , which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular today . Jordan also starred in the 1996 feature film Space Jam as himself . In 2006 , he became part-owner and head of basketball operations for the then-Charlotte Bobcats , buying a controlling interest in 2010 . In 2015 , Jordan became the first billionaire NBA player in history as a result of the increase in value of NBA franchises . He is the third-richest African-American , behind Oprah Winfrey and Robert F. Smith .