Although many rags to riches stories present America as the place where dreams come true, history showed (for example during the Great Depression or as regards African-Americans) that the American Dream cannot be reached at all times and cannot be attained by everyone. This was especially true for minorities, such as African-Americans, who did not have equal opportunities for a long time due to social and political exclusion and racial discrimination. Segregation policies and racial hatred denied those fundamental values described by the Declaration of Independence and minorities did not have equal opportunities to reach the American Dream. One of the first areas, where African-Americans could show their talent and start on the road leading to the dream was sports even if segregation was very much present in this field of life as well. Black-Americans invest a lot of energy to reach the dream in sports. Participation in professional sports provided African-Americans an opportunity to become famous and rich not just financially but also in terms of success. In addition, blacks could reach the dream by having the values mentioned above as well as American’s love for sports and its role in American culture. Basketball and the NBA played an important role in this process and Michael Jordan is a great example to illustrate the opportunities for reaching the American Dream through basketball and he also serves as a great example for the values necessary for reaching the dream.