NBA legend and basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan previously revealed that he spoke with his late father, James Jordan, about retiring from the NBA before his murder in 1993.

Jordan’s first retirement from the NBA came in 1993 at 30 years old after winning his third championship. While speaking to his father at the time, the NBA icon said that regardless of his father’s passing, he still planned on retiring after defeating the Phoenix Suns 4-2 in the Finals and winning MVP honors.

In what seemed like the end of an era, Jordan addressed the basketball world during a press conference, announcing his retirement from the game he had dominated for nearly a decade. “It’s not because I don’t love the game,” Jordan explained.

“I love the game of basketball. I always will. I just feel that, at this particular time in my career, I have reached the pinnacle of my career.” At that time, the Chicago Bulls icon had already acquired three NBA tiles, three Finals MVP awards, three league MVPs, eight All-Star appearances, and six scoring titles.

“It’s not because I don’t love the game,” he continued. “I love the game of basketball. I always will. I just feel that, at this particular time in my career, I have reached the pinnacle of my career. I have achieved a lot in that short amount of time, if you want to call it short. But, I just feel that I don’t have anything else for myself to prove.”

Jordan said he probably would have opted to leave even if his father was still alive, that he had been thinking about walking away for some time. But he also left the door open to one day play again.

“Will I ever unretire? I don’t know,” he questioned. “If I desire to come back and play again, maybe that’s what I want to do. Maybe that’s the challenge that I may need someday down the road. I’m not going to close that door. I’ve always said I would never let you guys run me out of the game,” he said. “So don’t think that you’ve done that. This is my choice.”

Jordan retired after the 1993 NBA Finals

Jordan retired after the 1993 NBA Finals ( 

Image:

Getty)

Jordan’s father was murdered in 1993 with Daniel Green being sentenced to life in prison for the murder. Green has long argued his innocence about the murder, though he admitted to helping dispose of the body of Jordan’s dad.

James Jordan was murdered while sleeping in his car on a highway in North Carolina, a vehicle gifted to him by his legendary NBA son. His body was later discovered in a swamp in South Carolina and was identified through dental records.

During the original trial, Larry Demery testified that it was Green who pulled the trigger. Twenty-five years after the act, Green proclaims he wasn’t the man who pulled the trigger.

“I had nothing to do with this man losing his life, period. I wasn’t connected to the murder,” said Green in 2018. “I came in after he was already dead. The way I look at it is I denied his family the right to a proper burial because of what I did.”