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Michael Jordan: A Look Back At His First NBA Return 20 Years Later

ByJames D. Tillman III|
Michael Jordan is unquestionably the greatest Chicago Bull of all-time. (Photo by Diegoestefano97/This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.)
Michael Jordan is unquestionably the greatest Chicago Bull of all-time. (Photo by Diegoestefano97/This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.)

The Chicago Bulls were a dominant team during the 1990s, winning six titles in the span of eight seasons. And a big part of their success had to do with a fellow by the name of Michael Jordan, who the team selected at the No. 3 spot in the 1984 draft.

However, following their three-peat run from 1991-93, Jordan decided that it was time to step away from the game following the stunning death of his father James. This move shocked many because Jordan was at the prime of his career and he was playing the game at a level that few of his peers were capable of reaching.

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In other words, it was far too soon for an icon to walk away from the sport.

As you can imagine, the Bulls were not considered the formidable opponent they had been during the team’s first trio of titles. But the next season would see them win 55 games without the team’s franchise player on the court. This was certainly proof that Phil Jackson‘s triangle offense was effective.

And without Jordan, Scottie Pippen became the team’s best player and posted impressive averages that included 22.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.9 steals per contest.

The Bulls concluded their first season sans Jordan with the third best record in the conference. And as they had done many times before, the Bulls eliminated the Cavaliers from the postseason, which would pit them against an all-too familiar foe in the next round–The New York Knicks.

While the Bulls did push the Knicks to a seventh and deciding game, without a true closer on the court in Jordan, the Bulls fell to the Knicks in Game 7, which ended an era of playoff dominance over their long time nemesis.

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    • And with Jordan playing baseball at a somewhat respectable level, batting .252 in the Arizona Fall League as a farmhand of the Chicago White Sox, it appeared that Jordan had hung up the basketball shoes for good and the Bulls would be forced to continue moving forward without him.

    The following 1994-95 season did not bring the same success as the previous campaign. And with the departure of Horace Grant, who signed with the Orlando Magic during the offseason, the Bulls were barely keeping their head above water. In fact, through the first 65 games, they compiled a pedestrian 34-31 record.

    And for the first time in many years, they were not a lock to make the playoffs.

    However, their fortunes were about to change in a big way. And thanks to the combination of a labor strike in baseball and Jordan’s sudden urge to begin playing basketball again, His Airness announced his return to the NBA with a two-word press release that simply read: “I’m back.”

    And with that brief statement, 20 years ago today, Jordan played in his first NBA game in 21 months against Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers. Or, as Bob Costas says in the video below: “The best in the world was back, the artist returning to his ‘true’ canvas.”

    In a game that had a playoff-like atmosphere, the Pacers jumped out to an 18-point lead in the first half. And although the Bulls did manage to send the game into overtime, the home team would prevail 103-96.

    How did Mr. Jordan fare in his first game in nearly two years?

    Well, it was not exactly a Jordanesque performance from a scoring standpoint, as the former Bulls star tallied just 19 points on 7-for-28 shooting from the field to go along with six points, six rebounds and three steals in 43 minutes. And while Jordan did not play as well as he would have liked, the court, as well as the league, became his stage once again.

    Next: Chicago Bulls: Is It Time To Move Forward Without D. Rose?

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