Michael Jordan had an incredible NBA career that could have been even better if he never retired from the game. His Airness was on track to breaking many more records than he broke, but a series of decisions prevented us from more years of him and prevented him from winning more championships.
One of those was Michael’s shocking retirement in 1993, right after he won his third consecutive NBA championship. Following the tragic death of his dad, MJ decided to try his luck on a different sport, becoming a baseball player. One year and a half later, rumors about his comeback started surfacing.
Amid the 1994/95 NBA season, many people talked about the possible Jordan comeback, with most people hyping up this return, including MJ’s former head coach and a couple of old rivals.
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“I really don’t know, but my heart says he’s gonna come back and play,” said Phil Jackson.
“I know the answer, you guys don’t. You all gotta wait and see,” Charles Barkley told reporters.
“It’s like running a bike, he’ll never forget it. And he’s gonna come back and still be the man, there’s no doubt,” Penny Hardaway claimed.
“I hope he comes back. It’ll be nice for the league, and that’s all I’m gonna say,” Reggie Miller stated.
Somebody that didn’t look very excited about MJ’s return was former rival Julius Erving, who dared to say that Jordan wouldn’t come out of retirement. Well, shortly after that, Jordan made his long-awaited return, playing in a series of games for the Bulls.
“Michael is not coming back to play basketball. If he’s gonna come back, he’s gonna give up the freedom that he enjoys right now. People search their whole life for freedom and security, and independence. How is he gonna come back to a game where there are rules, regulations, and curfews and prostitute the game of basketball by coming back for 15 games and the playoffs? I just don’t see it.”
Jordan returned that season and played in 17 regular season games. The Bulls ended up being eliminated by the Orlando Magic in the second round of the playoffs. Jordan then took it personally and got his revenge, starting his second three-peat in the league in 1996. Some say he could have won eight straight championships, but we’ll never know that.
MJ has lived a very entertaining life, and he’s still living in a great way. He was and is still very appreciated in the NBA community. Even his peers wanted to see him on the court, even if that was to beat him.
