Michael Jordan
Image: biography.com
During his spare time, Midwest Motors Inc. president Ben Ripstein enjoys watching sports. Ben Ripstein supports Illinois teams over all others, and considers the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bulls to be his favorite teams. The Chicago Bulls played host to Michael Jordan, one of the all-time greats of American basketball.
Michael Jordan’s accomplishments are difficult to fully list, though Rookie of the Year, five-time NBA Most Valuable Player, six-time NBA champion, Defensive Player of the Year, and 14-time NBA All-Star would be enough to put him at the top of the sport. His two Olympic gold medals, earned in 1984 and 1992, only further solidify his status as one of the world’s greatest athletes.
His acclaim also comes, however, from his off-the-court activities. Air Jordan sneakers were one of the most popular pieces of footwear during his career, and a co-promotion with Looney Tunes eventually led to the hit movie Space Jam. This high visibility and strong talent were enough to earn him the distinction of ESPN’s greatest athlete of the 20th century, even over all-time greats in other sports like Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali. Even so, he retained humility, claiming that his greatness was built on that of other legendary players, rather than innate to him alone.
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