HUSL Today Salutes

Its another athlete salute today. The twist is you will have to read on before I tell you who it is.

Countless buzzer beaters
Epic dunks
Incredible endorsements
Electric performances


What you should know now:
Birthdate: February 17, 1963
Birthplace: Brooklyn, NY
Position: Shooting Guard
3 retirements
2 Olympic Gold Medal Basketball teams

Here's a hint (ok a blatant giveaway): His individual accolades and accomplishments include:
5 MVP awards
10 All-NBA First Team designations
9 All-Defensive First Team honors
14 NBA All-Star Game appearances
3 All-Star Game MVP awards
10 scoring titles
3 steals titles
6 NBA Finals MVP awards
1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award
He holds the NBA records for highest career regular-season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press's list of athletes of the century. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame on April 6, 2009 and was inducted on September 11, 2009.

Read on to find out who it is.

Michael Jeffrey Jordan

"I approach everything step by step....I had always set short-term goals.  As I look back, each one of the steps or successes led to the next one.  When I got cut from the varsity team as a sophomore in high school, I learned something.  I knew I never wanted to feel that bad again....So I set a goal of becoming a starter on the varsity.  That’s what I focused on all summer.  When I worked on my game, that’s what I thought about.  When it happened, I set another goal, a reasonable, manageable goal that I could realistically achieve if I worked hard enough....I guess I approached it with the end in mind.  I knew exactly where I wanted to go, and I focused on getting there.  As I reached those goals, they built on one another.  I gained a little confidence every time I came through."  

I dont think words will do him justice, but you can't win if you don't try. In addition to the above stats,
before he earned title's like "His Airness" and "Air Jordan," Michael Jordan led the Tar Heels to a National Championship in 1982. He joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. Jordan's final NBA game was on April 16, 2003.Watching basketball has not been the same since. He is the majority owner and head of basketball operations for the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats which means he is the first former NBA player ever to become the majority owner of a league franchise. Although several have been published, his book Driven from within inspired me to dream BIG. 

Caution: You are about to watch a master at work. Prepare to catch your jaw as I'm sure it will drop a few times.

Best dunk ever:


Top 10 Jordan dunks:



He even ventured outside of basketball to star in the Warner Bros. Movie SpaceJam. It quickly became one of my favorite movies. I watched it morning, noon and night. If it wasn't for our VCR going kaputz I would still have it on VHS!

...and then there were the shoes! 

AJ11 promo:

Every kid in my neighborhood begged their parents for Air Jordans. My answer to the question: "What do you want?" was always enthusiastically Jordans! Christmas, birthdays, good grades, etc. Somehow they made me feel special. We all walked differently when we wore a fresh pair for the first time. The popularity of the shoe was not without controversy. There were deaths, riots,fights and high truancy rates. Nothing compares to meeting fellow fanatics on Saturday morning to discuss my (now dormant) passion for collecting sneakers.

His approach to marketing the sneakers and the Jordan brand was previously unheardof.

"Failure"


"Heart"


"I love this game"


When he retired, Nike put this tribute to the legend into circulation:

It must be the shoes...

HUSL Today Salutes Michael Jordan!!!