Michael Jordan is probably one of the greatest players to ever lace a pair of basketball shoes. He earned that honor by being one of the most unstoppable players in an era of basketball that was full of legends of the game. MJ’s ascendance above all of them followed up with his championship pedigree has made the GOAT conversation incredibly leaned towards his side.
However, that conversation could be very different today if Jordan never came back to the sport for his second three-peat and chose to stay retired after he quit the game in 1994 and tried becoming a baseball player. The baseball dream didn’t work out for Jordan, so we got to see the title runs from 1996 to 1998. But what if he didn’t?
Many had assumed he wouldn’t, including the Chicago Bulls, who threw him a grand jersey retirement ceremony in 1994.
Jordan’s retirement in 1994 is one of the very few examples of an athlete leaving a sport in their prime. MJ was as good as anyone had ever been coming off the 1992-93 season, at the end of which Jordan completed his first three-peat. However, we all know now that his retirement never stuck. In fact, Jordan would retire from the Bulls again just to return to playing for the Washington Wizards.
Jordan had his iconic #23 retired, so he decided to come back to the game with his #45 jersey. However, that didn’t end up working out too well and Jordan would instantly switch back to his old number, while it was still hanging in the rafters.
The sport of basketball should be thankful that Jordan decided to come back and littered the end of the 90s with some incredible basketball and one of the greatest teams of all time.
His success through the late-90s is what solidified him as the greatest player in NBA history. If his first retirement stuck, we may not be talking about MJ as this mythical and unbeatable giant we know him as today.
