At the height of Michael Jordan‘s fame in the 1990s, the Chicago Bulls icon almost monopolized the limelight in the NBA world. However, Shaquille O’Neal had started to make some noise as well because of his dominant showing for the Orlando Magic right from the start of his NBA career. When MJ retired from basketball in 1993 to pursue a baseball career, newer stars like Shaq started to emerge as the face of the NBA. However, the big man soon found out that Jordan’s popularity transcended basketball and fans would follow him wherever he went.
During a recent appearance on Dan Soder’s Podcast, comedian Gary Vider reminisced about the time he met Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway in the Orlando Magic locker room. All he wanted was to click a photo and get an autograph.
However, while he was in there, another fan walked up to Shaq with an odd request. Vider recalled,
“This is how big Jordan was…I can’t get this out of my head, somebody went up to Shaq and gave him a baseball to sign. Just because Jordan was playing baseball they went up to Shaq [with one]… Because Jordan was that big and that’s how much he meant to the league.”
The comedian quipped that if LeBron James quit basketball and followed Jordan’s path, nobody would ask Kevin Durant to sign a baseball.
Vider’s story encapsulates how huge Jordan’s fan following was in the early 1990s, making his sudden retirement even more astonishing. Thankfully, the Bulls icon returned to basketball in 1995 and added several more accolades in his cabinet before retiring for a second time in the late 90s.
The 16-month hiatus reinvigorated Jordan’s hunger to dominate the NBA which had diminished after his father’s untimely passing in 1993.
Michael Jordan quit basketball to pay tribute to his father
Despite Michael Jordan’s nearly unparalleled dominance on the basketball court, his father, James Jordan, pushed him to pursue a baseball career. He often nudged his superstar son to quit the NBA and try to make it in the MLB, but the Bulls superstar resisted following his father’s advice.
However, after James lost his life to a senseless botched robbery in 1993, Jordan decided to pay tribute to his father by leaving basketball behind and becoming a professional baseball player. In an interview with NBC, the then-three-time Finals MVP outlined his motive for his shock retirement from the NBA, saying,
“[My father] tried to talk me into [quitting basketball and pursuing baseball] a couple of years before [I did it]. But I wasn’t ready and I guess in doing it now, it’s like a thank you to him.”
Jordan’s baseball career didn’t last long but his brief stint in the sport was an ode to his father’s memory and the fulfillment of a promise he had made to him before his untimely death.