Original subtitles

I can never stop working hard.

Each day I feel I have to improve.

Hard work, determination.

I've got to keep pushing myself.

I remember when I was five years old, talking in trash cans on my knees,

waiting for that day I would be able to really do it.

And then one day it happened.

I was in the ninth grade.

It was a JV game and I was only five for eight.

And in practice I had never been able to get up there.

But the drilling was pumping and I just took off.

It all happened so fast.

I wasn't quite sure what I'd done.

But you know, I just really loved that feeling.

Hi, my name is Michael Jordan.

I want you to take a trip with me and discover

the secrets that I've known for many years.

That man was truly destined to fly.

A

young man with

dreams of greatness on the baseball diamond.

Possessing the burning desire that could get him there.

These are visions of what might have been.

But reality has never looked so good.

Yesterday's Little League hero has become today's most captivating athlete.

His elegance on the court has transformed the game into an art form.

A relentless competitor who fears noble.

He overwhelms the opposition, patrolling the airways with a reckless offender.

He is an unyielding defender with uncanny instincts.

Thriving in adversity, he will always find a way.

And while strength is usually found in numbers, his comes from within.

I tell you a story that I think is something the whole thing up.

We was playing Chicago in Salt Lake.

They switched and put John Stockton on it.

And he turned around and dunked on Stockton.

So some guy got up and almost falling down the sidelines and said, hey John,

pick on somebody on your own side.

Next time down the floor, he dunked on me on Thursday.

And we don't look at the guy saying, was he big enough?

His astounding ability seems boundless.

The guy literally is embarrassing the leg.

He's that good.

He's a phenomenal player.

There isn't anything he can't do.

Michael in for the left side jammed it right over Rollins.

Michael Jordan.

And in his quest for perfection, he takes the game to new heights.

The perfect player to me is probably six, five, six, six, two hundred pounds.

Jump like Michael Jordan.

Wear a number 23 like Michael Jordan and shoot like Michael Jordan.

He's starting to go to the right court and on the right you're down.

Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Nice day, oh, well, it's off to the right.

Jordan on the drive, falls down on him.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

And it's stolen.

Michael's got to break the right, this game is over.

Oh, and he passed a Michael Jordan, this ball's trouble.

Oh, oh, oh, oh.

Jordan, go hands it on the break.

Driving all over, oh, oh, oh, oh.

Oh, God, I don't believe in it all.

He pointed at Jordan.

But greatness sometimes springs from humble beginnings.

As a 5'11 sophomore, young Michael was noticeably absent from the Varsity team.

Yes, I'm the coach at Michael as a sophomore.

We did it because we fell at the time.

It was the best thing for him and for our basketball program.

He was still growing, he was a good ball player, but we didn't think he was good

enough yet to really make the competition on the boss event that we needed.

Determined to prove his coach wrong, Michael worked harder than ever,

growing four inches and improving dramatically over the next two years.

He would shatter all of Laney's scoring records while leading

the Buccaneers to their first ever conference championship.

The high school All-American chose the University of

North Carolina and academic advice was soon to follow.

And I told him to go into math, but that's where the money was.

Which I think is hilarious.

He probably does too.

Concerned about Michael's future employment, Laney's principal wanted him to attend.

Air force academies are always a very excellent education of choice and

certainly a commitment to the armed forces.

He would have given him employment after college.

This one-man squadron would eventually form his own Air Force, Air Jordan.

Chapel Hill, home of the University of North Carolina.

A school-rich and basketball tradition.

Initially, skepticism arose as to whether Michael could excel at the college level.

Coming up in high school, I wasn't that known as a basketball player.

I wasn't that known until I came to North Carolina.

And no one in Wilmington thought I could really step in and play a lot of time.

Everyone thought I was including North Carolina and sit on the bench for four

years and then come back home and work at a local gas station or something.

But no one anticipated that fame would come so quickly.

The time, 18.

Charlotte, Jordan, Michael, Jordan.

In the 1982 championship game versus Georgetown, the freshman

had delivered to Coach Smith his first national title.

And a star was born.

And a lot of people didn't know I existed until I got hit.

So when I hit that shot, I felt like I was different.

You know, I won a national championship.

I think the people started to recognize my talents

more and I started to get more publicity in that sense.

So I think that shot really put me on the map if you want to say.

Michael's winning basket propelled him into the national

spotlight and a new aura of confidence was apparent to all.

Michael really did was improved considerably between his freshman and sophomore year.

He grew a couple inches.

He matured physically and just became a sensational player.

He was very inconsistent as a freshman.

But he's one of the most competitive ones we've ever had in our drills.

He wanted to get better and then he had the ability to get better.

Where does it feel like already?

Oh!

Oh!

That party passes to Jordan!

I guess that is a pretty fitting end of the ball game.

Jordan, look at it!

Danny Smith looking for Jordan.

Beautiful.

In practice, Michael bulged his teammates with his game time moves.

We always had to go against each other every day and kind of stop him with this.

It was a joke really.

Of course we had a force in the baseline and he gave it on the baseline.

It was a dunk.

And then you go into the locker room after

practice and he would remind you all night long.

Jordan coasted through his sophomore campaign, capturing player of the year honors.

But the pressures of a number one ranking

hindered his play early in his junior season.

The excessive expectations had him trying too hard to

please others and he needed guidance to redirect his focus.

Coach Smith didn't notice it.

I mean, he showed me from my sophomore year and the beginning of my meeting year.

And it looked like a total different person.

It made me see exactly what success had done to me.

And I was able to deal with it from that point on.

I remember playing in C-State and I cut my hair.

I was buying it.

I said I'm washing away with the way I started off with the season.

I set my own expectations up myself and I just started to play better basketball.

Michael would rebound beautifully.

About 14, rebound.

Dominate the competition.

And go on to leave the ACC and score.

But after being named the top collegiate in the nation for the second consecutive

season, he made the difficult decision to walk

away from Chapel Hill and forego his senior year.

Well, I'll tell you too, if I really just decided I guess an hour and a half ago.

I didn't know I was 50-50 and I talked to Coach this

morning and he helped me and my parents helped me.

And everything looks bright for me.

And I think the future holds hopefully the best for me.

I just felt that would be better for me to start now.

Although Michael went hardship, he returned to

Carolina the following summer to get his degree.

More immediately, he was about to become the

cornerstone of a rebuilding Chicago franchise.

The Chicago Bulls picked Michael Jordan, University of North Carolina.

In preparation for the Los Angeles Olympics, Jordan led Team USA to a 9-0

record in a series of exhibitions against NBA talent.

What I liked most about Mike was the fact that, like

everybody, he had some lapses in play and how hard he played.

And yet, all you had to do with him was go up and take him by the arm and say,

Michael, you're not playing as well as you can play.

He just kind of looked at you and read and say, I know.

And he'd go out and play harder and you'd play better.

And you put his willingness to compete with

his athletic ability and his basketball skill.

And that's why I simply have always said since having had a chance to be around him

that he's just the best player I've ever seen play.

Named Team Code Captain by Bobby Knight, Michael made

it clear he would have no problems with the fiery coach.

He wants best for his players and, you know, really, that's somewhat similar

to Coach Smith, except for the language, but, you know, I can get up with that.

When the moment arrived, Michael was all business.

The 23rd Olympiad would provide the fourth.

The glory of a gold medal was paramount.

And playing against the rest of the basketball

world, Michael would tower above the competition.

The United States had a team deep in talent, but

Jordan would emerge as the undisputable driving force.

With Michael leading the team in scoring, the Olympic squad routed the opposition by

an average margin of 33 points in route to a stellar 8-0 record.

A gold medal game versus Spain was no different.

Spearheading the blowout was the skinny kid from Wilmington,

whose Olympic brilliance will always be remembered.

That was a special moment for me, because I guess I can go back to his

childhood days, and he always said to me, one day I'll be an Olympian, and I said,

yeah, sure.

And then to win, our gold medal, I mean, it was so thrilling.

It was one of my special moments, and I always remember, when he put it

around my neck, that was a special bond that I guess will

be with me, and members that no one would take away from me.

It was in this house in Wilmington, North Carolina, where Michael's parents

taught him the values of hard work, and how to set goals to achieve his dreams.

But it was his daily battles in the backyard with his

older brother Larry that fueled his competitive drive.

He used to

play an awful lot, you know, we would play every day.

And I would normally beat him.

The thing that always drove Michael crazy

was that Larry would beat up on him so much.

And I think that he really got competitive, playing his own brother.

But he really helped me create some of the determination of myself to beat him.

If I could beat him, I thought I could beat anybody.

And finally when I started to grow, my skills started to catch up with my height.

I started to beat him convincingly.

Equally deserving of the credit, as someone

who showed him how to put it through the hoop.

Keep your eye on the rim and concentrate.

Like this.

Like that?

No.

Like this.

Like this.

Like this.

Like this.

Like this Michael.

And now give it some razzadazzing.

That's my mom.

Obviously Michael derives his athletic ability from his mother's side.

But how does one explain his six-six frame?

After all, there hasn't been a Jordan over six feet in recent memory.

I joke with my mother all the time about that.

I often ask her how tall was the mailman on the milkman.

Everybody before they talk to me, like maybe I talk to someone on the phone.

They go, how tall are you?

They go, oh, I'm only five, five.

They go, but how is Michael so tall?

Who else is tall?

Michael's the only tall in my family.

And my dad's next, but he's only six feet.

And they go, well why is that?

I go, I don't know.

But I've seen the milkman and I know it's not here.

I thought about that often.

And I've come to win conclusion.

Occasionally you'll make people that you look at and

you just know that they were born to do one thing.

And God looked at Michael and knew that this kid would starve if he had to work.

So he says, I better make a athlete out of it.

So is it true Mr. Jordan would find Michael hanging from his chin up bar,

stretching himself in an attempt to grow taller?

I try to do that.

I always want to be seven feet.

And never forget that tall.

I tried it a few times.

I saw it on TV a few times.

I'm a Brady bunch or something like that.

And I saw that.

And I tried to do it.

And I don't think it worked.

But I'm tall.

So it may have.

And your dad's reaction when he found out?

He got out of the nut.

And that's exactly when he drove NBA defenses.

Staging an aerial display.

The rookie left fans of Austria.

Collecting wave reviews and every stop.

Often unbelievable when running the poor.

He was virtually unstoppable in the air.

Air Jordan had landed and the NBA would never be the same.

More than just a score.

The emerging superstar sought to create for others.

Quickly becoming Chicago's leader, he sparked the hole.

But his contagious intensity.

Michael was eye-stepping his way to instant legend status.

And having a great time along the way.

They have outscored the Bucks, nines and nothing.

Everyone was trying to catch a glimpse of Jordan's high wire act.

And he sent no one home disappointed.

What's the point?

Chicago was his.

The world were a hot ticket.

And Michael was heir apparent to the title of NBA's premier ambassador.

In only a year's time, he journeyed from Chapel Hill.

To Olympic start.

For the schedule so hectic, he had to wait for a boys West

Coast road trip to pick up the college player of the year award.

Which fit nicely alongside his next trophy.

The NBA rookie of the year.

Injury.

An athlete's worst nightmare.

Not even the NBA's most celebrated performer can escape its wrath.

In only the third game of his second professional

season, Michael would hobble to the bench in great pain.

But no one could foresee that almost an entire season would be lost.

Trying to adjust was not an easy task.

Mentally, it was very hard for me to deal with because I wanted to get out and play.

I was so used to playing whenever I wanted to play.

I couldn't play because of my injury.

At first, the four-week prognosis was something Michael could deal with.

But as the week turned into months, his frustration mounted with each passing game.

The unfamiliar role of bystander had Michael at wits in.

And he needed to find a way to lessen the pain.

Seeking comfort, the legendary tar he'll return to Chapel Hill.

It was in this gym where the rehabilitation process would begin.

Michael renewed his fervor for the game as his foot continued to get stronger.

Once I got that confidence and the feeling the foot was getting stronger as I

continued to play, it wasn't nothing anyone could be said to could stop.

But concerned about re-injury, the Bulls wanted to delay his return.

A rigorous training regimen was implemented to secure full recovery.

Patiently, Michael waited for his day to come.

Checking into the game for the Bulls, he's back!

Number 23, Michael Jordan!

Everybody told me you're full for playing, you should go

home and relax and come back next season, see what happens.

There's the double, Jordan Jack!

Michael!

Jordan was playing better than ever, but fearing a career-ending setback,

Chicago's coaching staff limited his play to only seven minutes and a half.

The star's patience was extended once again.

Once I got that opportunity to play, I thought I

had to prove to people that I knew what I was doing.

I wasn't doing anything to jeopardize my career.

I really felt that I was healthy.

I was back.

And I wanted to make this playoffs.

I always said that once I'm in Chicago, if I have anything to do with it,

I make the playoffs each year.

Dateline the playoffs.

Mighty Boston sought their 16th World Championship.

And for one afternoon, the time-honored legacy of Celtic

pride would be confronted by the wave of the future.

Time restraints were lifted.

And Michael would make the most of his opportunity.

A constant presence at both ends of the floor.

He single-handedly dismantled the Celtic attack.

Windered helpless by his offensive onslaught, the core

of the Celtics all tried their hands at stopping him.

But without success.

Even the most legendary of them all was helpless

as Michael continued to score on a frantic pace.

Absent for 62 games, Jordan sought retribution for lost time.

On the verge of shattering a single-game scoring

record, there was nothing that would stand in his way.

Michael in the drive across the lane, turn around shot, get it!

16-3 for Jordan.

A new NBA record has been set in the Boston Garden.

I'm on my game and I'm really on like I was in Boston.

I don't think there's too many people who can stop me.

I don't think there's anybody who's stopping me.

And once I got off to a good start, I just felt like I couldn't stop.

I could run for days and not really stop.

I just wish the game didn't have to stop.

We could play on and on.

We'd probably still be playing on it without felt.

This historic feat secured a place in basketball annals.

But for others, the entire experience since Michael's return was unsettling.

At the first few games, obviously, I was on the edge of my seat most of the

time because, you know, God forbid something would have happened.

And I'll feel much more comfortable this summer because

Michael's going to play a lot of golf and very little basketball.

Baby, come on.

Yes!

Yes, sir.

Well publicized is Michael's passion for golf and

the seclusive surroundings at the sport affords.

I mean, it's peaceful.

You got here on the course where you can't get any phone calls.

You know, people can't bother you.

It's really a relaxing situation.

No, that's short.

That's short.

You don't compete against the next guy who's playing with you.

You compete against the course.

One day you can shoot 74, next day you can shoot 84.

That's the game of golf.

You know, you never really could conquer.

You can only contain it and hold it for a little while.

Then it just goes.

The mind comes into this game so much.

It comes into basketball too, but sometimes your skills come over.

Get it.

The free throw situation.

It's similar.

Petting and free throw is the same.

And consistency and the skill of going through the same motion every time.

I take that.

Not the ticket.

That's it.

Not the ticket.

I have played golf with Michael before.

It's probably the only time that he keeps his tongue in his mouth.

Other than when he's wagging it, telling me how good he is.

Other than that, I just really enjoy taking money from him.

Smart money says it doesn't happen too often.

I take it.

Perhaps a career after basketball is in the making.

That's a jump shot.

But for Michael Jordan, the future is now.

He lives and plays with style and charisma.

And just may be the most identifiable athlete in all of sports.

First is a tire, baggy shorts, and the wristband on the forearm.

And then there is the ever-present tongue.

As far as I can remember it originated from my granddad.

My granddad is back his tongue out and I'm

working on my car or something around the house.

I find myself willing to really concentrate.

Like father, like son.

Michael's distinct on court fashion has even caught the eye of the world of model.

With his striking good looks and his charming demeanor, the megastar is a natural.

Having transcended the realm of sports, Michael has been quoted by innumerable

product lines and in the process has become one of

the hottest commodities in the advertising industry.

With his exposure at an all-time high, Michael

can go nowhere without attracting attention.

So the marketing of Michael Jordan has become big business.

He has kept his sense of humor.

Even when attending to business, he always seems to manage to have a good time.

That he is only the ninth athlete to be offered a place

in the wheelies box is a true measure of his stature.

But fame and fortune have truly not changed Michael.

And despite his meteoric rise in popularity, he has

retained a firm grip on his sense of perspective.

Although Jordan spends a good deal of time in

the air, his values are firmly down to earth.

I was taught life for long.

I was always involved in the boys club when I was smaller.

So I was able to step up and be an outspoken person

against things that I didn't want to be involved in.

So don't blow it.

Don't do drugs.

If you're doing it, stop it.

Get some help.

McDonald's want you to give yourself a chance.

A chance to find out all the wonderful things you really can be.

And so do I.

I could easily have parents that didn't care and let me

hang out late nights and hang out with the wrong crowd.

But I wasn't brought up that way and it was easy for me to distinguish away from

the environment that I wanted to be with and

the environment that I didn't want to be with.

I was always taught and never forget where you came from.

My parents, if I change as a person, they would be the first one to tell me that.

And they haven't told me yet, so I'm doing well.

But I always want to be an easy-going guy.

My personality is that I'm outgoing.

I love people.

I love being around people.

I love kids.

So if I didn't have the personality to do it, it would be tough.

But my personality fits this mold very easily.

I don't want to be isolated from people.

I just think when you isolate yourself from people,

then you feel that you're better than people.

I don't feel that I'm better than you or the next person.

But I think in society sometimes they view you to be better than the next person.

I don't think that's fair, but there's a lot of things in society that's not fair.

You just have to live by it.

I wish everybody could be beautiful.

But I don't think it's ever going to be that way.

I don't think it's ever going to be that way.

No sight inspires more fear and would-be defenders than this offensive juggernaut.

Forget the ball.

You have mercy on whatever I want to do.

There's nothing else you can say or do about it if I'm on my game.

The feeling is beyond the ball.

You're on the game.

You're on the guy who's guarding you.

You can actually play him like a puppet.

Few puppet masters apply their trade as skillfully as Michael.

He simply takes over a game whenever he chooses.

When I'm playing really good, that's the feeling that I have.

An unparalleled shot-maker, his offensive repertoire is winning us.

Regarding as the greatest scorer since World Chamberlain, this fearless

athleticism makes him the most formidable weapon on the court today.

Jordan attacks the basket as though possessed.

And he lights up into a scoreboard in a dizzying pace.

The game is over.

Not solely a scoring machine, Michael dominates defensively as well,

bringing a cerebral approach to shutting down his opponents.

I observed how he handles the ball.

If he has great handle with the ball, then it's going

to be more difficult for me to steal the ball from him.

But if he doesn't, then it's different ways.

I can trick him one way and reach around him.

Or just go straight at him and go for the steal.

But if he handles the ball very well, he almost has to sneak up on him.

Initially famous for his offensive brilliance.

In a sense, Michael did sneak up on the NBA defensively.

But in 1988, his tenacious player earned him defensive player

of the year honors and the recognition he so richly deserved.

To say Michael Jordan doesn't play defense is ridiculous.

Interesting enough, great players.

Never want to be one-dimensional.

And I think the one thing that bothered Michael

morninging else is that he got no credit for his defense.

Well, it's been a goal of mine to really get

that recognition that I won a defensive end.

You know, right now I'm still getting the most of the recognition

on the offensive end because I'm averaging three points.

But the defensive end is where I really want some

recognition because it takes a little bit off of that.

All offense and, you know, averaging to some

points or whatever, leaving the league and scoring.

That's an image that I don't want to jump at.

I just shoot and I just score and I'm just an offensive player.

So now I'm going to be remembering that.

People ask me, you really think you can fly?

I say, yeah, for a little while.

It may be a split second, but it's flying.

And I think people are amazed by that because they were scared to do it.

And it makes me continue to work hard to keep

making these people dream and to enjoy their dreams.

Michael's Airborne Ballet is very much about dreams.

Dreams of unearthly grace.

Of unrestrained freedom.

Of majestic power.

Dreams of threat.

For Michael and his fans, basketball is a way of sharing the fans.

Like a small group of aerial noises.

Michael evokes images of the stratosphere.

The visions with streams are made of.

Michael may be able to achieve the unbelievable of the basketball.

But to those who look up to him, he is a very real person who possesses the

rare gift to both capture their imagination and touch their hearts.

He's just, if I must say, again I'm proud of him.

He is my son.

He is a good person.

And he's a pretty good basketball player too.

In Trancing to Watch, his performances capture the gamut of emotions.

No one understands his more move than his family.

When he comes home, I talk to him just like he's one of my boys.

And I can't get in my mind that he's in the difference.

But when I walk into the stadium and 18,000 people are standing there hollering

and screaming, sometimes you want to cry, you break out with

goosebumps and you just get all of these eerie feelings.

And naturally you have to be very, very proud.

And they may never have been prouder than during the 1988 All-Star Weekend when

their son capped two days of thrilling his hometown Chicago fans by soaring away with

a slam dunk title and the game's MVP trophy.

Throughout his life, Michael Jordan has met all obstacles head-on.

One can only imagine what challenges he has yet to conquer.

This is something to save him as we look forward to more

spectacular moments from the world's most breathtaking athletes.

Thanks for watching!