Michael Jordan's Birthday Wishes Flood Twitter
Michael Jordan celebrates his 49th birthday Friday and has received numerous messages from celebrities and star athletes via Twitter.
NBA star LeBron James posted on his Twitter account Friday wishing the legendary athlete the best.
"Happy B-day to the person I idolized and wanna be just like as a kid playing the game of basketball Michael Jordan," wrote the Miami Heat player.
Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant wrote, "Happy Birthday to the All-Time Greatest Basketball Player to ever live Michael Jordan!"
"Happy Birthday to the guy who inspired us to fly... Michael Jordan," posted Atlantic Hawks player Tracy McGrady.
Rapper Bun B TrillOG also posted on Twitter: "I'd like to wish Michael Jordan a very happy birthday! I'm so proud to be affiliated with @Jumpman23 #salute."
The Twitter account for Jordan's old team, the Chicago Bulls, paid homage to the 49-year-old.
"13 seasons with the #Bulls, 6 @NBA world championships, 5 NBA MVP awards. Happy Birthday Michael Jordan," wrote the Bulls account, attaching a picture of Jordan standing on a bull painted onto the court.
Singer Darius Rucker took to Twitter with his wishes for the athlete, writing, "Happy Birthday Michael Jordan. The Best Ever. No argument."
Hundreds of NBA and Michael Jordan fans added their best wishes for the athlete on the social media site as well.
Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered essential in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 80s and 90s.
He led the Chicago Bulls to six championships over the span of eight seasons; the two championships the team missed took place while the athlete was playing minor league baseball.
A superior basketball player, Jordan finished his career with 32,292 points, making him third all-time best. He also had 2,514 steals, which is the second best of all time.
In addition to earning the MVP award five times, Jordan was a 14-time All Star, a 6-time Finals MVP, a 10-time 1st team all-NBA, and won Player of the Month honors 16 times. He led the league in points per game ten times.
Today, Jordan works with Nike on numerous clothing and shoe lines, and he is the majority wonder and head of operations for the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats.
He became engaged to his long-time girlfriend model Yvette Prieto on Christmas Eve 2011. The couple was spotted earlier this week attending a Bobcats' game together.