 As a freshman in coach Dean Smith 's team @-@ oriented system , he was named ACC Freshman of the Year after he averaged 13 @.@ 4 points per game ( ppg ) on 53 @.@ 4 % shooting ( field goal percentage ) . He made the game @-@ winning jump shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown , which was led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing . Jordan later described this shot as the major turning point in his basketball career . During his three seasons at North Carolina , he averaged 17 @.@ 7 ppg on 54 @.@ 0 % shooting , and added 5 @.@ 0 rebounds per game ( rpg ) . He was selected by consensus to the NCAA All @-@ American First Team in both his sophomore ( 1983 ) and junior ( 1984 ) seasons . After winning the <unk> and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984 , Jordan left North Carolina one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA draft . The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with the third overall pick , after <unk> Olajuwon ( Houston Rockets ) and Sam Bowie ( Portland Trail Blazers ) . One of the primary reasons why Jordan was not drafted sooner was because the first two teams were in need of a center . However , the Trail Blazers general manager <unk> <unk> contended that it was not a matter of drafting a center , but more a matter of taking Sam Bowie over Jordan , in part because Portland already had a guard with similar skills to Jordan , Clyde Drexler . ESPN , citing Bowie 's injury @-@ laden college career , named the Blazers ' choice of Bowie as the worst draft pick in North American professional sports history . Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in 1986 . 
