michael jeffrey jordan (born february 17, 1963) is a former american basketball player. he is widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time. he won six championships and was the finals mvp 6 times. he played for the chicago bulls and the washington wizards. jordan led the bulls to a then-record 72 wins in the 1995-96 nba season. jordan earned the nicknames "air jordan" and "his airness" due to his leaping ability which was illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contests. jordan won two olympic gold medals with team usa, famously playing on the 1992 dream team. during the early part of his college career, he went by mike jordan, and he still uses mike as a nickname to this day.