Jordan played three seasons for coach Dean Smith at the North Carolina Tar Heels mens basketball. As a freshman, he was a member of the 1981–82 North Carolina Tar Heels mens basketball team in 1982 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament. Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984–85 NBA season as the 1984 NBA draft draft (sports) pick. He quickly emerged as a league star and entertained 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 NBA Finals, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 NBA Finals and 1993 NBA Finals, securing a "three-peat". Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball before the beginning of the 1993–94 NBA season, and started a new career in Minor League Baseball, he returned to the Bulls in 1994–95 NBA season and led them to three additional championships in 1996 NBA Finals, 1997 NBA Finals, and 1998 NBA Finals, as well as a then-record List of NBA teams by single season win percentage in the 1995–96 NBA season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1998–99 NBA season, but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Wizards.. How many years in a row did Jordan play in the NBA finals?