'The desire to play is not there any more.' With these words, Michael Jordan shocks the world of basketball and announces his retirement from the game at the age of 30 and at the peak of his powers. But the Chicago Bulls superstar doesn't rule out a return.
Jordan, with his wife Juanita at his side, tells a hushed news conference (right) he has accomplished everything he possibly could and has nothing more to prove. He will be giving up the final three years of a contract that pays US$3.9 million a season, but analysts estimate his marketing endeavours net him US$28 million annually. Jordan leaves on the heels of Chicago's third straight NBA championship and he takes with him seven consecutive scoring titles. He has been generally acclaimed as the greatest player in the history of the professional game and his incredible exploits have been heralded world-wide.
'I have always stressed that when I lose the sense of motivation and the sense to prove something as a basketball player, it's time to leave,' says Jordan. 'I never wanted to leave when my skills started to diminish because that's when I'd feel the foot in my back, pushing me out the door. My skills are still good. I am not on the downside of my career. This is the perfect time for me to walk away.'
The high-flying guard is coming off a personally tumultuous year in which his father is killed in an apparent roadside robbery and he had to defend himself from gambling charges. He says those incidents had nothing to do with his decision to leave the sport.
But His Airness leaves the comeback door open. 'Will I ever unretire? The word retire means you can do anything you want from day one and if I decide to come back and play again, maybe that's what I will want to do. Maybe that's the challenge I will face some day down the road. I won't close the door forever. I don't believe in never and don't believe it at this time.'
Part of Jordan's legacy is that, in addition to revolutionising the sport, he has helped the NBA to spread basketball throughout the world, while also generating untold millions for companies such as Nike that succeeded in exploiting his video-friendly skills. Jordan's talents transcend normal boundaries. 'I used to say this man was the Babe Ruth of basketball,' Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf says. 'I have now come to believe that Babe Ruth was the Michael Jordan of baseball.'