UNC Basketball: 10 Greatest Basketball Players in History

Sep 7, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Michael Jordan in attendance at a ceremony to honor New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter (not pictured) before the game against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

2. Michael Jordan
When then assistant coach Roy Williams told Dean Smith that he had seen the greatest 6-4 player in his life, he could not possibly have known that it would lead to the start of the career for the greatest player basketball history. The Wilmington native arrived in 1981 and would win ACC Rookie of the Year while averaging 13.5 points per game in a loaded starting lineup on possibly the greatest Carolina team ever. That team would advance to the national title game in 1982, where the young freshman would hit the game-winning shot giving Coach Smith his first of two national championships.

As a sophomore Jordan averaged 20 points a game while being named to the All-ACC first team and being consensus first team All-American. In his junior season Jordan would lead the ACC in scoring at 19.6 points per game while winning the ACC Player of the Year and was the consensus National Player of the Year. That season, the Tar Heels completed a perfect regular season conference record at 14-0 while winning their 3rd straight regular season title with Jordan. The Tar Heels would only lose four conference games during Jordan’s three years in Chapel Hill and would go 88-13 overall during those seasons.