The reason how Michael Jordan can dazzle his opponents in such a way that made him such a darling of sports television can aptly be explained by his father, James Jordan. According to the elder Jordan, his son was born with a competitive fire that was unmatched by other children his age. Michael Jordan hated losing so much that he willed to win every game he played against any player that stood his way. His father often marveled how his son outdid other players without them knowing that he was doing that with himself.

Early Life

From Brooklyn, New York, the Jordan family decided to move to Wilmington, North Carolina in order to start anew. His father was a plant supervisor for General Electric, while his mother was employed in a bank.

Michael Jordan loved sports very much although he initially failed to make the high school team in his first attempt. One of the Michael Jordan quotes reminded him of this dark period in his life: “The reason I succeeded in my life is because I’ve failed repeatedly and learned from my failures.“ Unperturbed, he made it into the team the next year, and soon became a member of Den Smith’s North Carolina team.

Main Career

After winning the gold medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Michael was a notable pick by the Chicago Bulls, because the Portland Trail Blazers decided to select Sam Bowie—who was described as the most atrocious pick at that time, what with Bowie being injured most of his career—over the young Jordan.

Jordan then proceeded to become the most explosive scorer since Wilt Chamberlain, and once averaged a mind-boggling 37.1 points in one season. He also reached a milestone by becoming only the second cager to score three thousand points after Chamberlain.

Aside from winning six championships, Jordan became MVP five times in his career before retiring.

How he Changed Basketball

Michael Jordan said “You have to do things for yourself before they become a reality.” What he actually meant was that he was going to change the game in many ways. The center position usually was the focal point of the game, as evidenced by stalwarts Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Bill Russell. However, Michael Jordan was a game changer because of his explosive slashing moves to the basket, awesome handling of the ball, impeccable shooting, and a great post up game that was lacking in many shooting guards.

The effect of Jordan’s game was so profound that the league changed its rules to make the games more enjoyable. This translated in outlawing defensive contact when a player is in the perimeter, which in turn allowed players to relentlessly attack the lane and score on spectacular lay-ups or dunks in a manner similar to what Jordan popularized.

Moreover, a rule was implemented discouraging defenders to stay in the lane for three seconds, thus encouraging athletic players to attack the basket more.

Michael Jordan changed the game of basketball forever with his unmatched skills and on-court competitiveness that a slew of athletes are now following his footsteps. Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Dwayne Wade are among the current crop of players who have copied Jordan’s style, and they have to thank him because of the enormous popularity that he has brought to the game. The games in the NBA are evolving, and Michael Jordan was the man who changed the game.

This guest post is a courtesy of David, marking director of Famous Quotes Index, a website containing close to 30,000 famous quotes and citations from renowned authors.

One of Michael Jordan's Signature Dunks!