NBA legend Michael Jordan announced his retirement thrice until he finally retired in 2003. He had to finally take the tough call as he was reaching his 40s. Every time he announced his retirement, he seemingly made a strong comeback, however, the final return arguably wasn’t fruitful. Despite two pauses in his basketball career, the six-time NBA champion made a lasting impression in the NBA world. However, ‘His Airness’ returned from retirement for the last time only to teach a lesson to his team.

In his interview with ABC Network, in February 2003, he explained the reason behind his return to the court and was candid regarding his fitness too. Jordan was 38 years old when he returned to the court on September? 25, 2001. He joined the Washington Wizards?and played with them until his final game during the 2002-03 season. Before joining the Wizards on the court, he was a part of the team’s management as the president of basketball operations.

Michael Jordan reveals the reason for his return

During the interview, Michael Jordan spoke about his preparation for the season as the interviewer said his performances “petered out” during the previous season. MJ agreed that he got tired at the later part of the game, but the summer break helped him get his game back. Jordan said, “All the work that I went through in the summer and all the rest helped me physically get myself ready“. That’s when MJ started opening up about his return. He called that period the “dog time of the season”.

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MJ’s response revealed that he returned only to teach a lesson to his team. He further said, “It’s easy to start barking at each other, but you got to start barking together at other teams“. His response revealed the lack of unity among the Wizards teammates, which required the legend to step in to teach the youth a lesson.

However, even Michael Jordan’s return didn’t provide the Wizards their chance at a place in the playoffs. Jordan played two seasons after his return but couldn’t take his team to the playoffs both times. In his last game, he lost against the Philadelphia 76ers. Jordan scored 15 points in 28 minutes on the night.

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Michael Jordan called it quits for the final time after a defeat in his last outing.

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