The Jordan Years

* Feb. 17, 1963--Michael Jeffrey Jordan is born in Brooklyn, N.Y. He is born with a nosebleed, and is kept in the hospital for three days. He has nosebleeds almost daily until age 5, when they stop.

* Nov. 27, 1981--Jordan scores 12 points in his freshman debut with North Carolina, a 74-67 victory over Kansas.

* March 29, 1982--Jordan makes a 16-foot jump shot with 15 seconds to play to give North Carolina the NCAA title over Georgetown, 63-62.

* June 19, 1984--Chicago Bulls select Jordan with the third overall pick in the NBA draft. Selected ahead of him: Akeem Olajuwon (Houston) and Sam Bowie (Portland).

* Oct. 26, 1984--Jordan scores 24 points in his NBA debut, a 109-93 victory over Washington.

* Nov. 13, 1984--In his ninth NBA game, Jordan scores 45 points in a 120-117 victory over San Antonio.

* Feb. 12, 1985--Jordan breaks his club rookie scoring record with 49 points in 139-126 victory over Detroit.

* Oct. 29, 1985--Jordan breaks his foot in a 111-105 victory over Golden State. He misses the next 64 games.

* April 20, 1986--Jordan scores a playoff-record 63 points in 135-131 double-overtime loss to Boston.

* Nov. 21, 1986--Jordan scores 40 points, including the team’s final 18, in 101-99 victory over New York.

* Feb. 26, 1987--Jordan scores 58 points against New Jersey in 128-113 victory. His 26 free throws in 27 attempts are club records.

* April 16, 1987--With 61 points in a 117-114 loss to Atlanta, Jordan becomes the first player since Wilt Chamberlain in 1962-63 to reach 3,000 points.

* Dec. 11, 1987--John Paxson leads Bulls with 19 points in 98-97 victory over Golden State. It is the only game of the season where a player besides Jordan leads team in scoring.

* Jan. 25, 1989--Jordan scores his 10,000th point in 120-108 loss to Philadelphia.

* March 24, 1989--Has 17 assists in game against Portland.

* May 7, 1989--”The Shot.” With the Bulls down one point in the deciding fifth game, Jordan makes a jump shot over Cleveland’s Craig Ehlo that clinches the opening-round series against the Cavaliers.

* Nov. 3, 1989--In the first game of the season, Jordan scores 54 points in 124-119 overtime victory over Cleveland.

* March 28, 1990--Jordan scores a career-high 69 points against Cleveland in a 117-113 overtime victory. Jordan made 23 of 37 shots and 21 of 23 free throws.

* June 12, 1991--In the NBA finals against the Lakers, Jordan drives the lane and switches the ball in midair for an acrobatic, left-handed bank shot on the other side of the basket. Bulls win in five games for Jordan’s first NBA title.

* June 3, 1992--Jordan makes playoff-record six three-point baskets and scores 35 points in one half against Portland in the opener of the 1992 finals as the Bulls win their second title.

* May 17, 1993--The Shot II. Jordan does it again to Cleveland in the playoffs, making an 18-foot jump shot over Gerald Wilkins at the buzzer as Chicago swept Cleveland in four games in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

* June 2, 1993--Has a triple-double (29 points, 10 rebounds, 14 assists) in playoff game against New York.

* June 20, 1993--Bulls beat Phoenix for their third consecutive NBA title. Jordan is the first player named most valuable player of the NBA finals three years in a row.

* Aug. 3 and Aug. 13, 1993--The body of Jordan’s father, James, is found in North Carolina but not identified until 10 days later. Authorities determine he was killed July 23. The two men charged with the murder, Daniel Green and Larry Demery, were sentenced to life in prison two years later.

* Oct. 6, 1993--Jordan stuns the basketball world by retiring, saying he has nothing left to prove.

* Dec. 1993--Jordan begins working out for a try at baseball with the Chicago White Sox.

* Feb. 7, 1994--Jordan signs a free-agent contract with the White Sox, saying he is not afraid to fail. The team invites him to spring training.

* March 21, 1994--White Sox assign Jordan to minor league camp.

* March 31, 1994--White Sox assign Jordan to the double-A Birmingham Barons of the Southern League.

* April 8, 1994--Jordan starts his first professional baseball game, playing right field for the Barons. For the season, Jordan bats .202 with 51 runs batted in, 30 stolen bases and 114 strikeouts in 127 games. His presence boosts attendance enormously throughout the Southern League.

* Sept. 9, 1994--Jordan scores 52 points in a charity basketball game set up by Scottie Pippen. After the game--the last one at Chicago Stadium--Jordan kneels and kisses the center of the floor.

* September-November 1994--Jordan plays for the Scottsdale Scorpions of Arizona Fall League, batting .252 in 35 games.

* Nov. 1, 1994--Bulls retire Jordan’s No. 23 and unveil a statue of him in front of the United Center, the Bulls’ new home, during a glitzy, made-for-television extravaganza.

* Feb. 17, 1995--Jordan turns 32 in Sarasota, Fla., as the White Sox open spring training.

* March 2, 1995--Jordan leaves White Sox spring training camp after the team is split into those who will play exhibition games and those who won’t. Jordan had vowed earlier to stay out of the middle of the baseball strike.

* March 18, 1995--Jordan and the Bulls announce that he will rejoin the team and be in the lineup for the next day’s nationally televised game against the Indiana Pacers at Indianapolis.

* March 19, 1995--Jordan returns wearing No. 45, the number he wore for the Barons and as a basketball player in junior high school. He plays 38 minutes, scoring 19 points on seven-for-28 shooting with six rebounds and six assists in Chicago’s 103-96 overtime loss to Indiana.

* March 28, 1995--In his fifth game back, Jordan scores 55 points on 21-for-37 shooting at Madison Square Garden in Chicago’s 113-111 victory over New York.

* May 18, 1995--Jordan and the Bulls are knocked out of the playoffs by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference semifinals. It is the first time a Jordan-led Chicago team is bounced from the playoffs since 1989-90.

* June 16, 1996--Jordan leads Chicago over Seattle in the NBA finals in his first full season back since retirement. The Bulls win an NBA season-record 72 games and Jordan wins his eighth scoring title, is named MVP of the regular season, NBA finals and the All-Star Game.

* Nov. 30, 1996--Jordan scores 25,000th career point in San Antonio.

* June 13, 1997--Jordan and the Bulls win their second consecutive NBA title, defeating Utah in six games. Jordan is named one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players. Jordan wins his second consecutive scoring title, ninth overall, and is named NBA finals MVP for the second season in a row.

* March 27, 1998--The largest crowd in NBA history--62,046--shows up at the Georgia Dome anticipating Jordan’s retirement. Jordan scores 34 points in Chicago’s 89-74 victory over Atlanta.

* April 3, 1998--Jordan scores 41 points against Minnesota to become the third player in NBA history to reach 29,000 career points, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain.

* June 14, 1998--Chicago wins its third consecutive NBA title and sixth in eight years, beating Utah in six games as Jordan makes the winning basket. It is the second time this decade the Bulls won three consecutive titles. Jordan wins his third scoring title in a row and 10th of his career. Jordan is named regular-season MVP, NBA finals MVP and All-Star game MVP.

* Jan. 13, 1999--Jordan retires from competitive basketball.