How the Michael Jordan career timeline game works

Michael Jordan's career is broken into moments here: draft day, scoring titles, championships, retirements, comebacks and the honors that followed. You order the moments by year, with a one-line hint printed under each card. One moment starts on the timeline with its year showing. Place every new card in a gap; get it right and the year appears, get it wrong and the moment still lands in place but costs one of three lives.

Jordan's career had breaks in it, and those breaks are what make this deck hard: titles come in runs, then stop, then start again. Several moments share a single season, so the hint under each card matters. Think about which uniform he was wearing and which opponent is named. The moments after his playing days are easy to misjudge, because they sit in a stretch with few landmarks.

Want a longer game? On the deck tree you can tick this deck alongside any other one measured in release years and dates, and they shuffle into a single timeline together.

What's in the deck

Here are 27 of the 27 cards you might be dealt. Their values stay hidden until you place them.

Drafted third overall by the Chicago Bulls The Tar Heel joins the NBA
Named NBA Rookie of the Year A standout debut season
Scored sixty-three points in a playoff game at Boston Garden A record playoff outburst against the Celtics
Won his first scoring title Led the league in points per game
Won his first MVP and Defensive Player of the Year A rare two-way double honor
Won the Slam Dunk Contest for a second time Took flight from the free-throw line again
Hit The Shot over Craig Ehlo Buzzer-beater to sink Cleveland
Scored a career-high sixty-nine points A career scoring peak against the Cavaliers
Won his first NBA championship over the Lakers First ring at last
Won a second title over the Trail Blazers Back-to-back champions
Won Olympic gold with the Dream Team Barcelona glory in USA colors
Completed the first three-peat against the Suns A third straight crown
Retired from basketball for the first time A shocking mid-prime exit
Played minor league baseball Chasing a diamond dream
Returned to the NBA wearing number forty-five The comeback jersey
Won a fourth title with a record-setting seventy-two-win season Dominance from start to finish
Won the Flu Game in Utah Battled illness to beat the Jazz
Won a fifth championship over the Jazz Another title in Salt Lake
Hit the title-clinching jumper over Bryon Russell The signature final shot
Won a sixth ring to complete a second three-peat Capped a second dynasty
Retired from basketball for a second time Walking away on top
Joined the Wizards as an executive and part owner A move to the front office
Came out of retirement to play for Washington A second comeback in a new uniform
Played his final NBA game in Philadelphia The last professional appearance
Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrined in Springfield
Became majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats The first player to majority-own a team
Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom Honored at the White House