Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time and had an illustrious 15-year-long career in the NBA. This period was marked by three surprising retirements that left fans stunned. The first time Jordan retired in October 1993, the news sent shockwaves throughout the community. Players from different teams shared their opinions regarding his retirement and one of the strangest and unexpected reactions came from Kevin McHale.
McHale while speaking to one of the reporters strongly emphasized that soon people will forget Jordan and the league will go on. He said, “I guarantee you, people may not believe it or not, but in 5 years, people will be saying ‘Michael who?’ and that’s the way it is in this league”.
Kevin McHale’s reaction to Michael Jordan retiring:
“I guarantee you, people may not believe it or not, but in 5 years people will be saying ‘Michael who?’…the names on the back of jerseys change, the league just keeps rolling on.” pic.twitter.com/DjYyHtL3pm https://t.co/WovFhzuLrc
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 6, 2023
Furthermore, the Boston Celtics legend stated how anyone could come and replace the dominance that Jordan exerted. In his own words, “There’s going to be someone that comes out, maybe it’s Shaquille, someone’s going to come out and dominate”. Even though there were players who played remarkably during the era, Jordan’s legacy remains undeniable.
Jordan prior to his retirement led the Chicago Bulls to win three consecutive championship titles. At the time of his first retirement, he was asked by the reporters whether he would come back. To which, His Airness responded, “If the urge comes back if the Bulls will have me, if David Stern lets me back in the league, I may come back”. He not only came back but also led to another three remarkable championship titles.
Michael Jordan returned two years after his first retirement
In March 1995, just two years after Jordan’s first retirement, he announced that he was coming back. Michael Jordan just spoke two words “I’m back”, and that was enough for his fans. The very next day, His Airness was ready to face off against Indiana Pacers at the Market Square Arena. The Pacers got one-day prior notice to have their grounds ready for this iconic come-back.
The PR representative David Benner revealed how he got numerous requests from media agencies to cover the game. Furthermore, Pacers star Reggie Miller said, “I’ve never seen a place where 16,000 were already in the seats before the teams came out (for warm-ups)”. The energy at the venue was something very different as noted by numerous people.
McHale comments “I guarantee you, people may not believe it or not, but in 5 years people will be saying ‘Michael who?'”, clearly were proved wrong. The return of Michael Jordan was celebrated widely. Even though MJ had a short-lived baseball career during his retirement period, he only came back stronger.When Jordan retired he was at the peak of his career, his personal life had a lot going on. He lost his father James Jordan in the July of 1993. Furthermore, his gambling was being highlighted and in fact, he got dragged into a dark controversy as well. However, MJ came back stronger, and with his performances, he strengthened that he is the greatest.
