Michael Jordan

The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with the No. 3 overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft (Houston took Hakeem Olajuwon with the first pick, while Portland drafted Sam Bowie at No. 2.) after an outstanding three-year career at North Carolina. As a freshman, he hit the jump shot that lifted the Tar Heels to the 1982 NCAA Championship and earned College Player of the Year honors in 1984. Jordan averaged 17.7 points in three seasons before declaring himself eligible for the NBA draft after his junior year. Between his college and pro careers, he was co-captain and star of the gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1984.

Jordan joined a club that finished with a 27-55 mark the previous season and lifted the Bulls to a 38-44 record and a playoff berth for the first time since 1981. Voted a starter in the 1985 All-Star Game, he scored 7 points in 22 minutes. On February 12, he set a club single-game rookie record by pouring in 49 points against the Detroit Pistons. He finished the season with a scoring average of 28.2 points per game (third in the league behind the New York Knicks' Bernard King and the Boston Celtics' Larry Bird) and set Chicago single-season records for points (2,313), field goals (837), free throws (630), free-throw attempts (746), and steals (196). It all added up to an NBA Rookie of the Year Award, a slot on the NBA All-Rookie Team, and a selection to the All-NBA Second Team. After finishing fourth in the Central Division, the Bulls faced the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs and fell in four games. Jordan averaged 29.3 points in the series.

HONORS
All-NBA Second Team
NBA Rookie of the Year
All-NBA Rookie Team
NBA All-Star Starter