On this date in 1984, the Chicago Bulls signed their 1st-round pick, Michael Jordan to his first professional contract. Jordan reportedly made about $600,000 as a rookie.
**Jordan is one of three players in NBA history to win at least 5 MVP awards and 5 NBA titles, joined by only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell.
**Jordan finished in the top-3 of MVP award voting 10 times. He won 5 awards, finished second 3 times and finished third 2 times.
**Jordan’s career PER of 27.9 is the highest in NBA history. He led the league in PER in 7 straight seasons. The only other player to do that is Wilt Chamberlain.
**Jordan was the most effective player in history and the most used player in history. Jordan’s career usage percentage is 3.9% higher than anyone else’s. He led the league in usage percentage 8 times.
**Jordan got even better in the postseason. His efficiency increased by 2.5%. His career playoff PER is also the best in NBA history.
**Jordan ranks 4th all-time in win shares (behind Abdul-Jabbar, Chamberlain and Karl Malone). On a per 48 minute basis, Jordan averaged .250 win shares. That is best in NBA history, 2.5 times that of the average player.
**Jordan was named to the 1st-team All-NBA Defensive team 9 times. That is tied for the most selections in NBA history with Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Gary Payton. Jordan won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award in 1987-88.
Peter Newmann is an analyst and writer who spent 10 years at ESPN, 8 as the NBA senior researcher working 24/7 on the league. He wrote game notes for crews, articles for ESPN.com, analysis for studio shows, and regularly assisted reporters and writers. Follow him on Twitter, and check out his Web site, www.peternewmann.com.