“I’m back”: Michael Jordan iconically shoved aside shoved think tank to write his own press release upon return to NBA
In 1995, Michael Jordan made his return to the NBA. The Hall of Famer announced his return in the best way possible, “I’m back”!
Michael Jordan left the sport of basketball in 1993, just a few months after winning his third NBA championship.
The reason behind this decision was the unfortunate death of his father. The passing of Jordan Sr. was too much for MJ.
So much so that he decided he couldn’t return to the hardwood court without his father’s presence. As such, in honor of his father, he decided to play his favorite sport, baseball.
Michael Jordan playing for the Chicago White Sox, 1993 pic.twitter.com/oXqeqGWtsE
— Baseball in photos (@baseballinpix) December 17, 2021
Also read: Michael Jordan’s last shot in the NBA was identical to Kobe Bryant’s Lakers’ final points
Jordan’s decision to leave basketball was a sad one for NBA fans. However, this made his decision to return from him even more legendary.
Michael Jordan took matters into his own hands when he returned to the NBA in 1995.
Almost a year after leaving the NBA to play baseball, Michael Jordan decided to reverse his decision. In fact, on March 18, 1995, MJ announced his return to the league.
Now usually ads of this magnitude are handled by their agents. This was supposed to be the case 27 years ago, but His Airness had different plans.
According to one of Jordan’s closest advisers, Curtis Polk, he handed him numerous scripts. However, neither of them resonated with Michael and instead he decided to take matters into his own hands with “I’m back!”.
“I thought he was a pretty good writer, I wrote a lot of stuff, but he was like, ‘Let me do this.’ So he sat at the table and thought about it for a couple of minutes and wrote, ‘I’m back.’ He said, ‘Okay, that’s it.’ He was classic Michael Jordan. He was elegant in simplicity, he communicated how he felt about him, he said it all.”
It was perhaps one of the most iconic moments in NBA history, and it’s no surprise that it came from GOAT himself.
Also read: “LeBron James, by far, is a better off-roader than Michael Jordan”: Gary Payton drops the truth bomb
