Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, the fourth of five children born to James and Deloris Jordan. The family moved from Brooklyn to Wilmington, North Carolina, when Michael was still a young child. Long before his basketball skills emerged, young Michael liked to play baseball with his father. As a teenager, Jordan became well known in North Carolina for his baseball skills, and he was named most valuable player (MVP) of the …showed first 75 words of 990 total…

…showed last 75 words of 990 total…strong among children and teenagers. Jordan's Nike basketball shoes and jerseys and T-shirts with his number (23) became popular. Many advertisements focused on Jordan's determination to succeed and encouraged kids to "be like Mike." Jordan finished the 1988 season as the NBA leader in scoring (35.0) and was named the league's MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year. In the playoffs the Bulls reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time, but lost to the Pistons.