Chapter 17: Rookie of the year
THE EVOLUTION OF MICHAEL JORDAN INDEX
Jordan had a more than impressive rookie season. He averaged 28.2 points per game, third in the league behind King and Bird. He made the Eastern conference All-stars starting squad, and the All NBA second team. He helped the Chicago Bulls win 11 more games than the previous year. And he led the Bulls into the playoffs for the first time in 4 years.
So it wasn’t much of a surprise when Jordan took home the NBA Rookie of the Year award.
It’s very different seeing the young Jordan who was still a little shy compared to THE Michael Jordan we all knew later on.
Jordan also won the Schick pivotal player award, an award won by Magic Johnson the previous year.
Ya gotta love that 80′s music.
Although Jordan won numerous awards, the one that truly mattered to him was an NBA championship. The Bulls had lost to the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs in 1985, which only made Jordan hungrier for the next season.
Side note: Jordan found time during his pro career in 1985 to go back to UNC and finish his bachelor’s degree in geology. This shows how important education was to someone like Michael Jordan. That year he also married Juanita Vanoy, with whom he now has 3 children, Jeffrey, Marcus, and Jasmine.
