Thirty years ago, Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan put the entire NBA on notice. After retiring for 17 months, Jordan announced his official return to basketball with arguably the two most iconic words in NBA history: “I’m back.”
Jordan made the announcement via fax. The one-page letter, which was released by Jordan’s agent David Falk on March 18, 1995, read:
“WASHINGTON, DC. (March 18, 1995) — The following statement was released today by Michael Jordan, through his personal attorney and business partner David B. Falk, Chairman of Falk Associates Management Enterprises, Inc. (“FAME”) located in Washington, D.C., in response to questions about his future career plans:
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The announcement came in the middle of the 1994-95 NBA season. The Bulls were 34-31 when Jordan rejoined the team. Jordan, who initially retired prior to the 1993-94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, spent the 1994 baseball season with the Birmingham Barons, a minor-league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.
Despite not being in basketball shape, Jordan returned to action a day after the announcement and dropped 19 points in a loss to the Indiana Pacers. In his fifth game back, Jordan scored 55 points in a win over the New York Knicks.
Jordan played in a total of 17 regular-season games with the Bulls, who went 13-4 with Jordan averaging 26.9 points. That performance earned the Bulls the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference and led to Jordan finishing 11th in MVP voting.
While the Bulls managed to defeat the Charlotte Hornets in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, Chicago lost to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
After spending the offseason getting back into basketball shape, Jordan returned to the Bulls for the 1995-96 season and led the team to a then-record 72 regular-season wins. He averaged a league-high 30.4 points, won the MVP and led the Bulls to yet another championship. The Bulls went on to win two more NBA championships during the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons, giving Jordan his second three-peat in Chicago. The emotion and drama of that 1997-98 season was featured on ESPN’s “The Last Dance.”
Michael Jordan returns to NBA after pursuing MLB dreams
Jordan’s first retirement from the NBA shocked fans. After leading the Bulls to a third-straight championship during the 1992-93 season — his first three-peat with the team — Jordan retired from basketball at 29 to pursue a career in professional baseball.
Jordan cited physical and mental exhaustion as his main reason for walking away from basketball. He decided to play baseball in honor of his father James, who was murdered in July 1993. James reportedly envisioned Michael as a professional baseball player, which inspired him to give baseball a shot.
Ahead of the 1994 MLB season, Jordan signed a minor-league deal with the Barons. The team was owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, who also owned the Bulls.
In his only season in the minors, Jordan hit .202/.290/.266 over 127 games. He added three home runs and stole 30 bases, though he was caught 18 times. At age 31, Jordan’s MLB prospects were muted. And with the league eight months into the 1994 strike, Jordan opted to leave baseball to return to the Bulls.
Given Jordan’s quick return to form — and subsequent second three-peat — it’s fair to say he made the right decision to return to the NBA.
