- Michael Jordan was just about done with basketball back in 1991
- Jordan told his teammates that he would retire in five years
- Jordan did end up retiring in two years due to his father’s death
Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, but seven years into his career, he had just about had it with basketball. Sam Smith revealed in his book “Jordan Rules” that the Chicago Bulls icon told his teammates he’ll retire in five years.
“Five more years,” he eagerly told teammates early in January. “Five more years and I’m out of here. I’m marking these days on a calendar like I’m in jail. I’m tired of being used by this organization, by the league, by the writers, by everyone.”
What caused Jordan to feel this way about the NBA, in particular, might seem rather innocuous at first. It all really began when the league wanted Jordan to take part in the 1989 Slam Dunk Contest, but he wasn’t interested.
There were quite a few reasons for that, as per Smith, with one being that Jordan felt tired after the All-Star weekend. He had also won the contest in 1987 and 1988 and didn’t want to risk falling off the throne. As per Smith, he told Rod Thorn to increase the prize money to $20,000 from $12,500, thinking that they’d stop bothering him after that.
Instead, Thorn agreed and Jordan had to tell the Bulls to lie about him having a minor injury. He had finally found a way to skip it, but then the following year, he was asked to participate in the Three-Point contest.
Jordan was shooting more threes than ever before at the time and agreed, thinking it’d be fun and without any pressure. At the event, though, he felt a ton of it, and Jordan failed miserably at the 1990 Three-Point Contest, finishing with just five points.
He was done with all these contests after that. Still, Thorn wanted him to participate in the Dunk Contest in 1991, as it was going to be in Charlotte. Jordan refused to even answer his calls and was just about done with basketball at that point.
Michael Jordan Retired For The First Time In 1993
It didn’t take Jordan five years to retire, as he walked away from the game in 1993 after his father was shot dead. Jordan had, of course, just three-peated with the Bulls from 1991 to 1993 and was at the top of the basketball world, but he was done.
He had obviously thought of walking away in the past, and his father’s death gave him the push to retire. Jordan once revealed that his father was his biggest support system, and it was a crushing blow for him.
His father’s dream was for Michael to become a Major League Baseball player, and he decided to switch to baseball. That didn’t last for long, though, as Jordan returned to the NBA in 1995.
Michael Jordan Dominated The NBA On His Return
The time he had taken off from basketball might just have helped Jordan when he returned in 1995. The Bulls lost in the playoffs to the Orlando Magic despite his return, but the next three seasons would see Chicago dominate the NBA.
In 1995-96, they set the then-record by going 72-10 in the regular season and went on to win the title in dominant fashion. Two more championships followed in 1997 and 1998, as the Bulls three-peated for the second time in the decade.
Jordan would also be crowned MVP in 1996 and 1998, in what was one of the more incredible three-year stretches in NBA history. He would retire for the second time in 1998 but made another return in 2001 with the Washington Wizards. Jordan played for two more seasons with the Wizards before retiring for good in 2003.
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