The 2009 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class is tremendous. All-time assists and steals leader John Stockton, 2-time champion David Robinson, Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and Rutgers University women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer are all a part of this year’s enshrinement class.

However, we’ve buried the lead because you always have to save the best for last – Michael Jordan – the greatest professional basketball player to don an NBA jersey is also heading to Springfield, MA to join his peers on September 12.

We all know about your royal Airness’s accolades: 14-time NBA All-Star, five-time NBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year (1988), nine-time All-Defensive Team member and – of course – six-time NBA champion and Finals MVP.

Jordan was simply amazing!

With his awe-inspiring feats and triumphant statistical accolades, Scribe Culture wanted to pay tribute to the best hoops player ever. We’ve compiled what we believe are MJ’s greatest moments in the Association, starting with the Chicago Bulls drafting him in 1984.

10. With the 3^rd pick of the NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls pick…

Now you can’t knock the Houston Rockets for going big and drafting center Hakeem Olajuwon, who helped the Rockets win two NBA titles during Jordan’s two season sabbatical. But when the Portland Trailblazers decided to pass on Jordan for center Sam Bowie, it allowed the then dismal Bulls to grab your Airness – the rest is history.

9. Air Jordan v.s. The Human Highlight Film

After losing to Atlanta Hawks small forward Dominique Wilkins in the 1985 Slam Dunk competition, Air Jordan finally got his revenge at the 1988 All-Star Weekend in Chicago.

Both men displayed awesome aerial acrobatics throughout the competition, each garnering perfect scores, but ultimately it was Mike’s free throw line dunk that sealed ‘Nique’s fate.

8. Career High 69-points v.s. Cavs

Michael Jordan’s offensive mastery was on full display in March of 1990 when he dropped his career high 69-points against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 117-113 overtime victory.

Every facet of his game was on point. Jordan also finished with 18 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals.

7. His Arrival!

Michael Jordan only played 18 regular season games his sophomore year in the NBA due to a broken foot. He made his return though in the 1986 playoffs against the eventual champion Boston Celtics.

Although the Bulls were swept 3 games to none, MJ’s performance in Game 2 of the first-round series marked his arrival as one of the league’s elite players. Jordan went on to score a NBA playoff record 63 points in his team’s double-overtime loss to the Celtics, but everyone around the league was put on notice that Air Jordan was here to stay!

6. Age is a State of Mind

If 40 is the new 30, Jordan proved age is only a number when he became the first player in history to score 40 or more points in a game after their 40^th birthday. The achievement came on Feb. 21, 2003 against the New Jersey Nets.

After the game Mike said, “I don’t feel like 40. I feel I can compete, and on certain nights I can compete with the best. My effort is always going to be young. My desire to win is always going to be young. My love for the game is always going to be young. My body may say 40, but those other things are going to be young always.”

5. Passing the Torch

With an older Michael Jordan nearing the end of his prime, Kobe Bryant was being heralded as his “air apparent,” however MJ was not ready to pass the torch just yet.

The G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) showed and proved he was still the best at the 1998 NBA All-Star Game by introducing Kobe to his patented fade away jump shot. In earning his third All-Star MVP, Jordan scored 23 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists.

4. Six-threes and a shoulder-shrug

Though dynamic, MJ was never known as a good three-point shooter early in his career, struggling to shoot 30 percent. That all changed in Game 1 of the 1992 Finals against the Portland Trailblazers when he went on a shooting bonanza from beyond the arc.

Jordan set an NBA record by scoring 35 points in any half of a Finals’ game, including knocking down six three-pointers. Even your Airness seemed surprised by his feat, shrugging his shoulders in disbelief after hitting his sixth trey.

3. Return to the Mecca

With his brief minor league baseball experiment in the rear view mirror, Michael Jordan returned to the Mecca of basketball – Madison Square Garden – on March 5, 1995, just 21 months after retiring due to his father’s tragic death.

Wearing the peculiar number 45, which was actually his brother’s basketball number in high school, Jordan lit into the New York Knicks for 55 points, demonstrating his skills were very much in tack.

2. The Championship Shot

With Game 6 of the Chicago Bulls’ 1998 NBA Finals rematch with Karl Malone and John Stockton’s Utah Jazz in the balance, 23’s number was called yet again.

After stripping Malone of the rock on defensive, Jordan drove on small forward Byron Russell, pulled up and nailed a 20-foot championship-winning jumper with 5.2 seconds remaining, capping the second of the Bulls’ three-peats.

1. The Flu Game

A year earlier, Michael Jordan had his greatest, most heroic performance during Game 5 of the 1997 Finals against the Utah Jazz. With the series tied at two games apiece, a flu ridden MJ rose out of his deathbed to score 38 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals to lead the Chicago Bulls over the Jazz in what was the pivotal game in the series, eventually winning the series in six.

Even if you hated Jordan, you couldn’t but respect and admire his gutsy performance; watching him virtually collapse in Scottie Pippen’s arms with seconds left still induces goose bumps. This game defines Michael Jordan the player, and man.