Michael Jordan retired no less than three times during his career. His second freelance in the NBA only lasted three and a half years… However, this would be due to an obscure reason which has just been revealed by a former leader of the Bulls.
Returning in 1995 after having dropped everything following the death of his father, Michael Jordan offered himself a comeback with a bang on the floors of the league. Indeed, after a few months as a trial run, the back resumed his frantic race for trophies by going for a second three-peat in the colors of Chicago. Incidentally, he took the opportunity to sign the best collective record in history at that time, with a resounding 72-10 in 1995-96.
Following the Finals victory over the Jazz in 1998, the Hall of Famer felt it was time for him to retire, yet again. The feeling of accomplishment? Most of it, but only according to Jerry Reinsdorf. The latter was leader of the Bulls at the time, a fundamental member of their dynasty and who therefore knows a lot about the six-time champion. However, as he revealed to the microphone of NBC Sports, His Airness could not have played the following season, even if he had wanted to:
Michael Jordan injured at the start of the 1998-99 season
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAdbBVjYwAk
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The funny thing is that even if Phil Jackson had said he was coming back, Michael Jordan couldn’t have played that year. Because during the lockout, Michael made a mistake playing with a cigar cutter. He cut his finger, had to have surgery and couldn’t play that year.
This is information that was clearly not public knowledge, and so it’s not so surprising that His Airness decided to stop after his second hat-trick. On top of that, as Reinsdorf explains, the fact that his favorite coach decided to retire from the scene had already convinced the player to do the same. After all, The Last Dance was in honor of the Zen Master and not #23. Following this, the franchise therefore decided to blow everything up:
I asked Phil to come back after the end of the season. Phil said no, he said he wanted to retire. He basically told me he thought it was time. Michael replied, “I won’t play for anyone but Phil Jackson.” Without Michael Jordan, there was no point in trying to bring everyone else back, because without Michael Jordan, we weren’t going to win another title.
Even if he had wanted to, Michael Jordan would therefore not have played in 1998-99. Between that, the lockout and the departure of Phil Jackson, the fate was sealed for the back, even if he ended up returning to play under the colors of Washington.
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