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- Michael Jordan's
- status as the
- greatest basket-
- ball player ever
- is unchallenged,
- even by his
- rivals. Shaquille
- O'Neal admits
- that he has
- Jordan's auto-
- graph. "Michael
- is Superman," he
- says, adding "I
- am Superboy"
- #
- Jordan was a
- star almost as
- soon as he joined
- the Chicago Bulls,
- in 1984. With
- Jordan in the
- team, the Bulls
- were transformed,
- and became NBA
- champions in
- 1991, 1992 and
- 1993. In the 1993
- series against the
- Phoenix Suns,
- Jordan hit
- his peak
- #
- Even in countries
- with no basketball
- tradition, Jordan
- could draw a
- crowd. In Brixton,
- London, he was a
- star, and in China,
- according to a
- survey, he was
- the second best
- known personality
- after President
- Deng Xiaoping
- #
- It wasn't just the
- third NBA title
- which made 1993
- a watershed year
- for Jordan. First
- his previously
- impeccable
- reputation was
- tarnished by
- revelations about
- his expensive
- gambling habit.
- Then his father
- was shot dead by
- thieves in the
- $45,000 car
- which Jordan had
- bought for him
- #
- In late 1993,
- Jordan astonished
- the USA by
- announcing his
- retirement. "I feel
- I've reached the
- pinnacle of my
- career," he said.
- Soon afterwards,
- the 31-year-old
- embarked on a
- new career - as a
- baseball player.
- It was not a
- great success
- #
- Michael "Air"
- Jordan made a
- sensational
- return to the
- Chicago Bulls in
- 1995. In his fifth
- game back he
- broke scoring
- records; one
- coach compared it
- to Elvis and the
- Beatles making a
- comeback at the
- same time. A
- fellow Bull used a
- more familiar
- image: "We have
- Superman in the
- team," he said
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