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Michael Jordan addresses the media holding the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy after the Bulls won Game 6 of the NBA Finals in June 1996. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Allsport/Getty Images)
Thirty years ago, Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan put the entire NBA on notice. After retiring for 17 months, Jordan announced his official return to basketball with arguably the two most iconic words in NBA history: “I’m back.”
Jordan made the announcement via fax. The one-page letter, which was released by Jordan’s agent David Falk on March 18, 1995, read:
“WASHINGTON, DC. (March 18, 1995) — The following statement was released today by Michael Jordan, through his personal attorney and business partner David B. Falk, Chairman of Falk Associates Management Enterprises, Inc. (“FAME”) located in Washington, D.C., in response to questions about his future career plans:
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The announcement came in the middle of the 1994-95 NBA season. The Bulls were 34-31 when Jordan rejoined the team. Jordan, who initially retired prior to the 1993-94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, spent the 1994 baseball season with the Birmingham Barons, a minor-league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.
Despite not being in basketball shape, Jordan returned to action a day after the announcement and dropped 19 points in a loss to the Indiana Pacers. In his fifth game back, Jordan scored 55 points in a win over the New York Knicks.
Jordan played in a total of 17 regular-season games with the Bulls, who went 13-4 with Jordan averaging 26.9 points. That performance earned the Bulls the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference and led to Jordan finishing 11th in MVP voting.
While the Bulls managed to defeat the Charlotte Hornets in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, Chicago lost to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
After spending the offseason getting back into basketball shape, Jordan returned to the Bulls for the 1995-96 season and led the team to a then-record 72 regular-season wins. He averaged a league-high 30.4 points, won…
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Author : Chris Cwik
Publish date : 2025-03-18 16:53:00
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