Arguably the best basketball player of all time is retiring for the third (and presumably the final) time. The one with as many nicknames as championship rings will no longer dazzle us with his high flying antics. Love him or hate him, Michael Jordan's soft touch, ferocious intensity, leadership qualities, and raw talent will not go unnoticed. And for his own sake, let's hope it doesn't come back, either.

If this was just a regular player, nothing much would be made of it. Heck, if this was a great player, there still wouldn't be so much hooplah. But like fellow soon to be retired superstar, David Robinson, Michael Jordan is more than a star--MJ is a part of this game.

Air Jordan is the reason little timmy picked up a basketball. MJ is the reason why Kobe Bryant gets paid millions of dollars to drink Sprite. Jordan is the reason that 50,000 fans can pay an inordinate amount of money to go to an otherwise pointless regular season game. Michael Jordan, is the game of basketball. And he's the reason you're reading this article.

In his phenomenal career, Jordan has six NBA Championships, Olympic Goals, and multiple MVP Awards to his name. His Airness said during an interview shown at this years all-star game, “I want to be remembered as the greatest competitor of all time.” His share will to compete to overcome all obstacles is what catapulted MJ to be the greatest.

“Everyone wants to be like Mike,” but no one works like Mike. Even at the tender age of forty, Mike is still diving on the floor for loose balls and hitting game winning shots that fall right in the pit of his opponents stomachs.

During his first return to the NBA in the 94-95 playoffs, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls failed to reach the plateau of excellence that they were accustomed to with there three straight championships (90-93). He returned to the NBA during the 95-96 season to lead Chicago to an NBA record 72-10 season, another championship and MVP title.

For More Information:

Jordan's Official Site
Michael Jordan's Virtual Gallery