what year was michael jordan rookie year?
1984-85 NBA season
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 Michael Jordan had spent his entire career with the Chicago Bulls since being drafted in the 1984 NBA Draft by the team with the third overall selection . Eventually , he led the Bulls to three consecutive championships in the 1991 , 1992 and 1993 NBA Finals . During each of these championship seasons he was an NBA All @-@ Star , NBA scoring champion , All @-@ NBA Team first team selection , NBA All @-@ Defensive Team first team selection , and the NBA Finals MVP . 

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 Jordan 's marked talent was clear from his rookie season . In his first game in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks , Jordan received a prolonged standing ovation , a rarity for an opposing player . After Jordan scored a playoff record 63 points against the Boston Celtics on April 20 , 1986 , Celtics star Larry Bird described him as " God disguised as Michael Jordan . " 

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 In March 1995 , Jordan decided to quit baseball due to the ongoing Major League Baseball strike , as he wanted to avoid becoming a potential replacement player . On March 18 , 1995 , Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a two @-@ word press release : " I 'm back . " The next day , Jordan wore jersey number 45 ( his number with the Barons ) , as his familiar 23 had been retired in his honor following his first retirement . He took to the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis , scoring 19 points . The game had the highest Nielsen rating of a regular season NBA game since 1975 . 

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 As a freshman in coach Dean Smith 's team @-@ oriented system , he was named ACC Freshman of the Year after he averaged 13 @.@ 4 points per game ( ppg ) on 53 @.@ 4 % shooting ( field goal percentage ) . He made the game @-@ winning jump shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown , which was led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing . Jordan later described this shot as the major turning point in his basketball career . During his three seasons at North Carolina , he averaged 17 @.@ 7 ppg on 54 @.@ 0 % shooting , and added 5 @.@ 0 rebounds per game ( rpg ) . He was selected by consensus to the NCAA All @-@ American First Team in both his sophomore ( 1983 ) and junior ( 1984 ) seasons . After winning the Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984 , Jordan left North Carolina one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA draft . The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with the third overall pick , after Hakeem Olajuwon ( Houston Rockets ) and Sam Bowie ( Portland Trail Blazers ) . One of the primary reasons why Jordan was not drafted sooner was because the first two teams were in need of a center . However , the Trail Blazers general manager Stu Inman contended that it was not a matter of drafting a center , but more a matter of taking Sam Bowie over Jordan , in part because Portland already had a guard with similar skills to Jordan , Clyde Drexler . ESPN , citing Bowie 's injury @-@ laden college career , named the Blazers ' choice of Bowie as the worst draft pick in North American professional sports history . Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in 1986 . 

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 On September 25 , 2001 , Jordan announced his return to the NBA to play for the Washington Wizards , indicating his intention to donate his salary as a player to a relief effort for the victims of the September 11 , 2001 attacks . In an injury @-@ plagued 2001 – 02 season , he led the team in scoring ( 22 @.@ 9 ppg ) , assists ( 5 @.@ 2 apg ) , and steals ( 1 @.@ 42 spg ) . However , torn cartilage in his right knee ended Jordan 's season after only 60 games , the fewest he had played in a regular season since playing 17 games after returning from his first retirement during the 1994 – 95 season . Jordan started 53 of his 60 games for the season , averaging 24 @.@ 3 points , 5 @.@ 4 assists , and 6 @.@ 0 rebounds , and shooting 41 @.@ 9 % from the field in his 53 starts . His last seven appearances were in a reserve role , in which he averaged just over 20 minutes per game . 
