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50 free Michael Jordan trivia questions with answers. Everyone knows Michael Jordan won six championships. Fewer know he scored 16 points in his NBA debut, that his tongue habit came from his father, or that he chose David Thompson to present him at the Hall of Fame. This quiz covers the whole story: cut from varsity at Laney, the shot against Georgetown, the 1984 draft, the Pistons years, the first three-peat, the murder of his father and the Birmingham Barons, 'I'm back', No. 45, the 72-win Bulls, the Flu Game and the Last Shot, the Wizards, and life since as owner, NASCAR partner and billionaire. Questions range from easy (what did the two-word press release say?) to hard (whose name did the MVP trophy carry before his?), with the numbers checked: 63, 69, 30.1, 72-10, 32,292. Every answer has been verified against the Wikipedia article on Jordan, and each question shows its source. Ideal for a sports quiz round, a Bulls watch party or settling the GOAT debate with facts.
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Q 01In which city was Michael Jordan born on 17 February 1963?
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn, New York is his birthplace: Jordan was born at Cumberland Hospital there on 17 February 1963, and the family moved south to Wilmington when he was a small child; his father James was an equipment supervisor.
Q 02As a sophomore at Laney High School, Jordan was left off the varsity team for what reason?
He was deemed too short
He was deemed too short is the standard account: at 5 ft 11 the sophomore was kept on the junior varsity while taller Leroy Smith took the last varsity spot, and Jordan answered with several 40-point JV games.
Q 03Jordan hit the game-winning jump shot in the 1982 NCAA championship game against which team?
Georgetown
Georgetown was the opponent: Jordan, a freshman under Dean Smith, hit the go-ahead jumper in the final seconds of the 1982 final in New Orleans, and his team won 63-62 over a Hoyas side led by freshman Patrick Ewing.
Q 04At which pick did the Chicago Bulls select Jordan in the 1984 NBA draft?
Third
Third is the pick: Houston took Hakeem Olajuwon first, Sam Bowie went second, a choice ESPN later called the worst draft pick in North American pro sports history, and the Bulls took Jordan.
Q 05How many points did Jordan score in his NBA debut on 26 October 1984?
16
16 is the number: in his debut against the Washington Bullets, Jordan scored 16 points with 7 assists and 6 rebounds in a Bulls win, then averaged 28.2 points over his rookie season.
Q 06Against which team did Jordan score a playoff-record 63 points in April 1986?
Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics: on 20 April 1986 at Boston Garden, Jordan scored 63 in a double-overtime Game 2 loss, beating Elgin Baylor's playoff record of 61, and Larry Bird called him 'God disguised as Michael Jordan'.
Q 07In 1986-87 Jordan averaged 37.1 a night and became only the second man ever to do what?
Score 3,000 points in a season
Score 3,000 points in a season is the feat: Jordan finished 1986-87 with 3,041 points, joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to reach the mark, yet the MVP vote went to Magic Johnson.
Q 08In 1988 Jordan became the first man ever to win which two awards in a career?
MVP and Defensive Player of the Year
MVP and Defensive Player of the Year is the pair: in 1987-88 Jordan averaged 35.0 points, 3.2 steals and 1.6 blocks, and no player had held both trophies before, let alone in the same season.
Q 09Jordan's 1989 buzzer-beater known as 'The Shot' went over which Cleveland defender?
Craig Ehlo
Craig Ehlo was the defender: in Game 5 of the 1989 first round, Jordan took the inbound pass, hung in the air at the foul line and hit the buzzer-beater over Ehlo for a one-point win at Richfield Coliseum.
Q 10Which Isiah Thomas-led Pistons squad eliminated Jordan's Bulls three years running from 1988 to 1990?
The Bad Boys
The Bad Boys is the nickname: Detroit's physical, Isiah Thomas-led Pistons knocked the Bulls out in 1988, 1989 and 1990 with the 'Jordan Rules' defence, before Chicago swept them in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals.
Q 11What was Jordan's career-high single-game point total, set against Cleveland in March 1990?
69
69 is his career high: on 28 March 1990 at Richfield Coliseum, Jordan scored 69 points with 18 rebounds in an overtime win, 117-113, at the age of 27.
Q 12Which offensive system did Phil Jackson and Tex Winter install to make the Bulls less reliant on Jordan?
The triangle offense
The triangle offense is the system: assistant Tex Winter's triple-post scheme, adopted when Phil Jackson took over in 1989, spread the ball among the Bulls, and Jordan admitted in The Last Dance that he resisted it at first.
Q 13Jordan's famous mid-air hand switch on a layup in the 1991 Finals came against which team?
Los Angeles Lakers
Q 21The 1995-96 Bulls set a then-record regular-season mark of what?
72-10
72-10 was the mark: the 1995-96 Bulls, with new arrival Dennis Rodman, started 41-3 and beat Seattle in the Finals, while Jordan won the All-Star, regular-season and Finals MVPs in the same season.
Q 22How many points did Jordan score in the 1997 'Flu Game' against Utah?
38
38 is the tally: in Game 5 of the 1997 Finals in Salt Lake City, a feverish, dehydrated Jordan, who blamed a late-night pizza, scored 38 including the go-ahead three-pointer, and the Bulls won 90-88.
Q 23Jordan's title-clinching 'Last Shot' in Game 6 of the 1998 Finals came over which Jazz defender?
Bryon Russell
Bryon Russell was the defender: with 5.2 seconds left Jordan crossed over, with a possible push-off, and hit the jumper for an 87-86 lead; John Stockton's three-pointer at the buzzer missed.
Los Angeles Lakers: in Game 2 of the 1991 Finals Jordan went up right-handed, switched to his left hand in mid-air to avoid Sam Perkins and scooped it in; the Bulls won the series 4-1 for his first title.
Q 14Jordan's 'shrug' came after six first-half threes in Game 1 of the 1992 Finals against which opponent?
Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers: after his barrage of first-half three-pointers in Game 1 of the 1992 Finals, Jordan had 35 points at the break and shrugged at the broadcast table, in a series hyped as Jordan versus Clyde Drexler.
Q 15Which friend beat Jordan to the 1993 regular-season MVP, then lost to him in that year's Finals?
Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley took the 1993 MVP, then watched Jordan average a Finals-record 41 points a game as the Bulls beat his Suns 4-2; Jordan became the first player to win three straight Finals MVPs.
Q 16Jordan's dad James was murdered in July 1993 at a highway rest area in which state?
North Carolina
North Carolina is the state: James Jordan was shot dead on 23 July 1993 while napping in his car at a rest area off US Highway 74 near Lumberton, and a pair of 18-year-olds were convicted of the murder.
Q 17Jordan's habit of sticking out his tongue while playing was copied from which person?
His dad
James Jordan did it while absorbed in work; Michael made it a signature on drives to the basket.
Q 18Which Double-A team did Jordan play for in 1994, batting .202 with three home runs?
Birmingham Barons
Birmingham Barons, the Chicago White Sox's Double-A affiliate, were Jordan's team in 1994: he hit .202 with three home runs, 51 RBIs and 30 stolen bases, while White Sox and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf kept paying his basketball salary.
Q 19Jordan announced his 1995 NBA comeback with what two-word press release?
'I'm back.'
'I'm back.' was the whole statement, faxed through his agent on 18 March 1995; his first game, at Indiana the next day, drew the highest Nielsen rating of any regular-season NBA game since 1975.
Q 20What jersey number did Jordan wear on his 1995 return before switching back to 23?
45
45 was the number: his No. 23 had been retired in November 1994, so he took 45, his baseball number, and switched back to 23 during the 1995 Orlando series after Nick Anderson jibed that 45 lacked 23's explosiveness.
Q 24Jordan's 1995 'double nickel' game, 55 points in his fifth game back, came at which arena?
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden hosted the 'double nickel' game on 28 March 1995, when Jordan, in only his fifth game back from baseball, scored 55 against the Knicks, and the Bulls won 113-111 on Bill Wennington's late dunk.
Q 25How many NBA Finals MVP awards did Jordan win, an all-time record?
Six
Six Finals MVP awards is the tally, one for each Bulls championship, in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998; the trophy has carried Bill Russell's name since 2009.
Q 26What is Jordan's NBA career regular-season scoring average, the highest of all time?
30.1
30.1 is the figure: Jordan averaged 30.12 points over 1,072 regular-season games, a shade ahead of Wilt Chamberlain's 30.07, and his 33.4 playoff average was also the highest when he retired.
Q 27On which date did Jordan retire for the second time, amid the NBA lockout?
13 January 1999
13 January 1999 was the date: with Phil Jackson gone and Pippen and Rodman on their way out, Jordan announced his second retirement at the United Center days before the lockout ended; a year later he became a Wizards part-owner.
Q 28Jordan said he would donate his 2001-02 Wizards salary to what cause?
Relief for victims of the 9/11 attacks
Relief for victims of the 9/11 attacks: when Jordan announced his Wizards comeback on 25 September 2001, a fortnight after the attacks, he pledged his salary of about $1 million for the season to the relief effort.
Q 29In February 2003 Jordan became the first 40-year-old in NBA history to do what?
Score 43 points in a game
Score 43 points in a game is the feat: four days after turning 40, Jordan scored 43 against the New Jersey Nets on 21 February 2003, the first player of that age to top 40 points in an NBA game.
Q 30Which player gave up his 2003 All-Star starting spot so Jordan could start his final All-Star Game?
Vince Carter
Vince Carter gave up his starting spot at the 2003 game in Atlanta after Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady had offered theirs; Jordan started, scored 20 points and the East lost in double overtime.