Craig Anthony Hodges (born June 27, 1960 in Park Forest, Illinois) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the NBA for 10 seasons and led the league in 3-point shooting percentage three times. He won two NBA Championships with the Chicago Bulls, and along with Larry Bird, is only one of two players to win three consecutive Three Point Contests at the National Basketball Association All-Star Weekend, winning the competition in 1990, 1991, and 1992. Hodges also holds the Three Point Contest records for the most consecutive shots made with 19, set in 1991, and the most points scored in a single round at 25, set in 1986. He was later a head coach at Chicago State University and most recently an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Hodges played college basketball at Long Beach State from 1978 to 1982. He played under Tex Winter, who later coached him again as an assistant to Phil Jackson with the Chicago Bulls.

During his career in the NBA, Hodges played for the San Diego Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, and Chicago Bulls. He played for the Bulls from 1988 to 1992, and helped win two NBA Championships in 1991 and 1992. He was waived by the Bulls after the 1991–92 season.

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

After a three-season career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball. In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat". Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the 1993–94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998) as well as an NBA-record 72 regular-season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards.