“I just feel that I don’t have anything else for myself to prove.” While at the peak of his career and fresh off a three-peat, Michael Jordan left the basketball world stunned in 1993 when he announced his retirement from basketball. Was this the end of the Jordan era? Surely, many fans believed so at the time. However, MJ wouldn’t be able to stay away from the game for too long as the shocking announcement was only the first of his three eventual retirements. Had he pushed through a little longer, Jordan could even have shared the court with LeBron James.

Not once! Not twice! But MJ bid farewell to the game three times over the course of his legendary career. And here’s how close he was to going head-to-head against his future GOAT comparison.

1993: Michael Jordan’s first retirement after his father’s tragedy

Well, this one might have been the most shocking of all. “If y’all don’t ease up, y’all are gonna drive him out of the game.” Even Magic Johnson warned the media of Jordan’s possible retirement amid the gambling controversy surrounding the Bulls star at the time. While there was no match to MJ’s greatness following his three championship wins, his rumored gambling “addiction” constantly made the headlines. Especially after he admitted to paying off $57,000 in gambling debt from playing golf and poker to a person on trial.

If that wasn’t enough, MJ also suffered a heartbreaking tragedy in August as his father James Jordan went missing while driving to his home from a funeral. When he missed his flight to Chicago the next day, the family became suspicious. Then, Michael’s world turned upside down as his father’s body was found in a creek with bullet wounds in his chest as two teenagers had murdered him. Shockingly enough, a month later on October 6, MJ made this announcement in front of a sea of cameras and reporters, “I’m very solid with my decision of not to play the game of basketball in the NBA.”

Revealing the reason behind his decision, he added, “When I lose the sense of motivation and the sense of, to prove something as a basketball player, it’s time for me to move away. It’s not because I don’t love the game. I always will. I just feel that I have reached the pinnacle of my career.” Already having won three titles and multiple MVPs, MJ stepped away from the game and decided to pursue a career in baseball at the age of thirty. But he left the door open for a potential return!

1998: From a miraculous return to a second three-peat and another retirement

Initially content with his decision, Jordan stayed away from the game for over a year and was actually excelling with the bat. But even while announcing his first retirement, he had addressed a possible return, “Will I ever unretire? I don’t know. 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.” Sure enough, his itch to dominate the hardwood once again brought him back to Chicago in 1995 as he announced to the world, “I’m back.”

Moreover, picking up right where he left off, Jordan and the crew were back to their winning ways the following season and miraculously pulled off another three-peat. And it was after the 1998 title win which is now famously known as The Last Dance, MJ decided that it was time to leave again. Sure, he had hopes to win another ring, “It’s maddening, yeah, because I felt like… we could have won seven.” However, GM Jerry Crause had no intentions of keeping the aging roster intact, leading to Jordan’s second retirement that summer.

“I don’t regret my decision at all. I think it’s the appropriate one or else no one else (will) have an opportunity to win if I keep playing.” MJ said, and now his journey seemed complete with six rings at the age of 34. However, he had one more run left in the tank!

2003: Michael Jordan’s final retirement was just months before LeBron James’ debut

With the dawn of the new century, it sure looked like Jordan’s time in the league was over. However, the legend stunned the world once again on September 25, 2001, by announcing his return for the third time. But he would no longer wear the Bulls’ uniform. Instead, MJ joined the Washington Wizards who he had recently taken over as the President of basketball operations. Although no longer competing for titles, MJ continued to be the most popular athlete during his third run and remained so for the two seasons he played for the Wizards.

Then, for the third and final time, MJ retired from basketball after playing the final game of his career on April 16, 2003, against the Sixers. “I have given everything I could to the game. It’s time. I know it. I feel it.” He remarked. Surely, many fans hope Jordan stayed just a little bit longer as only a few months later, LeBron James got drafted into the league by the Cavs and he made his debut on October 29 against the Kings. Sadly though, the two legends never crossed paths in the NBA. But they are somehow tied together for eternity because they are constantly being compared in the GOAT debate.