Michael Jordan shocked the world when he announced his retirement in 1993. The Chicago Bulls had just won their third straight NBA championship, and Jordan was at the peak of his powers.
There was and is still a lot of speculation about what caused MJ to call it quits that year. However, in a 1998 article for Vanity Fair entitled “Being Michael Jordan,” the Bulls legend revealed that it wasn’t an out-of-the-blue decision.
“As early as the 1992 Olympics, I knew the next season would be my last,” admitted Jordan. “I had talked it over with my father, and he knew I was mentally drained. I needed a break, and I considered leaving after our second championship.”
The Bulls were beginning to fall apart
Playing for the Dream Team took away MJ’s free time between NBA seasons. At that point, he also said that critics were starting to pick on him personally, and a lot was happening within the Bulls organization. These things drained Mike and made him lose the motivation that brought him to the top.
“By the beginning of the 1992-93 season, I was tired, physically and mentally,” MJ added. “I had played for almost two years straight. There had been one minor controversy after another, and the cohesive unit that Bulls coach Phil Jackson had created was starting to come apart.”
Mike talked about his teammates “sniping at each other” and “taking shortcuts” after winning back-to-back titles. While he didn’t expound on either, he also mentioned Horace Grant’s displeasure about his contract as a distraction that zapped his desire to return for a three-peat.
However, Jordan always wanted to win three in a row, especially since Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, two of the guys he looked up to, couldn’t do that throughout their careers.
Mike confided to Dean Smith
Jordan added that only a few noticed that he communicated with his college head coach, Dean Smith, every other week throughout the 1992-93 season, asking for his advice on potential retirement. While Smith never talked him out of doing what he planned, the Tar Heels coach told MJ that he might need to rest.
“We would talk about life, the family, what was happening with the team, how I was feeling mentally and physically. As the season progressed I knew he could sense my desire to leave…He said, ‘It has been a great run, you’ve accomplished a lot, and you have had a lot of pressure. You probably do need a break,'” Jordan added.
“His Airness” played the 1992-93 season and led the Bulls to a three-peat. He then announced his retirement and plan to pursue baseball.