The Journey of Michael Jordan

By Anubhav D.

Michael Jordan is a book written by Bill Gutman who is an author that lives in Dover Plains, New York. Jordan is widely considered to be the greatest basketball player of all time. He played for the Chicago Bulls and won six championships, five most valuable player awards (MVPs), and led the league in scoring ten times. The book Michael Jordan discusses Jordan's childhood, college, and NBA career.

Jordan was born on February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Deloris and James Jordan. Michael Jordan was the youngest of five siblings. They were named James Jordan, Jr., Deloris Jordan, Larry Jordan, and Roslyn Jordan. Michael's father worked as an electrician, and his mother worked at a bank. His father taught him to work hard in life and not to be enticed by street life. In high school, Jordan tried out for the basketball team in his freshmen and sophomore year; however, he did not make the team. Consequently, he continued to practice to become a better player, and with determination and grit, he finally made the high school team junior year.

After high school, Jordan went on to play college basketball for the University of North Carolina under the tutelage of Dean Smith. In Jordan's first year of college, he became the best player on his basketball team. Subsequently, he was named the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Rookie of the Year in 1982. He led the team to the ACC championship. Then, during Jordan's second and third year of college, he led the ACC in scoring.

After his junior year in college, Michael declared himself for the 1984 NBA draft. He was the third overall pick by the Chicago Bulls. In his first season, he made a big impact on the league, being selected and receiving the Rookie of the Year award in 1984. Then in 1988, he won the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) award, and won his first MVP award. While Michael Jordan was having incredible individual success, the Bulls never won titles in the 1980s. However, in the late 1980s, the Bulls management began to build a good team around Michael Jordan by adding players such as Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, John Paxson, and Horace Grant.  Furthermore, in 1991, Michael would lead the Bulls to their first NBA title. The Bulls resoundly defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 in the series. The team was able to win the championship for two more consecutive years in 1992 and 1993, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns respectively. Jordan retired in 1993 due to the death of his father. He eventually returned to the NBA in 1995. Once again, he led the Bulls to another three-peat, defeating the Seattle Supersonics, San Antonio Spurs, and Utah Jazz. Jordan finished his career averaging the most points in NBA history, winning the DPOY award in 1998, winning five MVP awards, and six Finals MVP awards. He went on to be crowned as the "Greatest Player of all Time".  

In summation, I liked the book Michael Jordan by Bill Gutman because it is a very inspirational book. Michael's story demonstrates that people can achieve their dreams if they work really hard at it. Numerous things are possible if you are willing to work hard. Bill Gutman makes the book of Michael Jordan very interesting for people to read by explaining the process of how Jordan became the greatest basketball player of all time. Jordan was not selected for the high school basketball team two years in a row, but then later, went on to became the greatest of all time to play the game. Despite his setbacks in his high school basketball career, his persistent work ethic brought him many accolades and a very satisfying passage into the professional realm of the game.