Michael Jordan Research Paper

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Often when we think of Michael Jordan, we think of one of the greatest basketball players in history, and we assume he must have always been that way. But what if I told you Michael Jordan wasn’t a natural basketball talent. This would probably be news to you, it was to me. He was actually cut from his varsity high school basketball team. Think about that for a minute. Someone actually cut Michael Jordan from a basketball team. How could that happen? Then when he went to college, his first choice, North Carolina State wasn’t interested in him. Finally when he went to the NBA, the first two teams who could have drafted him, the Knicks, and the Lakers had a chance to get Michael Jordan, they passed on him instead. So toady we hear these stories…show more content…
How could someone kick Michael Jordan off a basketball team? How could someone pass-up the opportunity to have the greatest basketball player in history on their team. Wasn’t it obvious they were passing up history? Well the answer is no, it wasn’t obvious. You see Michael Jordan wasn’t always great in basketball. He wasn’t the “Natural” talent that we know today. However, he did have the most important thing to become great: The growth mindset. When you speak to his teammates and coaches they say he was the hardest working man in Basketball. “And when you told him something, he actually listened!” Exclaimed one of his coaches (Lazenby, 2014). He was always working on his game, always practicing. He also had parents who instilled in him the growth mindset from a young age. When he was cut from his team, his mother told him to get out there and discipline himself.…show more content…
Then a terrible tragedy happened that devastated Michael Jordan. In 1993 his father was murdered. This had a huge impact on him. He was tired of being a super star, and his father had always dreamed that Michael would be a professional baseball player. So at the height of his success he left basketball, and to everyone’s surprise he started his career as a minor league baseball player. For two years he worked hard and practiced. David Falk, Jordan’s agent said of this: “It took a lot of guts to retire when he did. It took a lot of guts to go play baseball and run the risk of failure after being incredibly successful at something else. But Michael is fearless.” (Lazenby, 2014). In 1995 Jordan returned to the Bulls, and he thought he could also return to basketball greatness. That first year he came back they did pretty good in the regular season, making it into the playoffs. In the playoffs however, things went badly: they were eliminated in the first round. Everyone was shocked. So did he just give up, never to return, like John McEnroe after failing at the mixed doubles tournament at Wimbledon? No, Jordan admitted he thought he could just come back and dominate, even though he hadn’t put in the hard work, so he determined to work harder and get back to greatness. After that game he said “You can’t just leave and think you can come back and dominate this game. I will be physically and mentally prepared from

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