It took some time, but Michael Jordan is finally enshrined in the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.

During a mid-court ceremony Tuesday night at Time Warner Cable Arena at halftime of the Charlotte-Toronto game, Jordan became the 274th person inducted into the N.C. hall.

Jordan, majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, walked to center court on a Carolina-blue with retired Chapel Hill coach Dean Smith after a video showed some of his finest on-court moments.

One-time NBA rivals Larry Bird and Magic Johnson offered video tributes:

"I have great respect for Michael Jordan," Bird said. "He put his heart and soul on the court every night."

Johnson said: "He made you wish that for one day you could fly in the air and he made you wonder what it would be like."

Jordan was first inducted into the N.C. in 1993, but he never attended an induction ceremony in Raleigh. So on Tuesday, the hall came to His Airness.

"I can't ever say thank you enough," Jordan told the crowd. "Every time I pulled on a uniform, whether North Carolina or Chicago or even Washington, I knew I represented my state - North Carolina.... I'm very happy to come back home to see what I can do for basketball in my home state."

Before his legendary NBA career, Jordan, playing as a college freshman, sunk the game-winning shot in the national championship game, handing Smith his first national title. It would not be his last spectacular moment.

Jordan was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

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