Michael Jordan was known for his remarkable ability to avoid injuries throughout his career. He possessed a deep understanding of how to condition his body to withstand the intense physical demands of the NBA. With his exceptional skills and unparalleled form, he consistently stood out as the top player on the court. MJ’s outstanding performance earned him numerous accolades over his impressive 15-season career. However, his journey was not without controversy.
The Chicago Bulls Hall of Famer retired from professional basketball twice before officially hanging up his shoes in 2003. He had a great stint with the Bulls winning six championships and five league MVPs with them. After retiring in 1998, he returned in 2001 to play for the Washington Wizards. Despite all these stops in between, Jordan managed to rack up unimaginably high numbers.
Just before his second retirement, MJ averaged 28.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. He won his sixth and final title with the Bulls after which the team parted ways with Head Coach Phil Jackson.
This ultimately broke up the entire dynasty that was created around MJ, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. Surprisingly, Jordan also ended up leaving a team everybody believed he would retire with after a few more years. But there may be an untold truth behind it.
We all know Michael Jordan was a man who had a few unhealthy habits. His gambling addiction was a big problem as it cost him a lot of money at times. Another habit that he carried with him was smoking cigars regularly and this may have caused his second retirement from the sport. It is believed that Jordan’s smoking habit caused an embarrassing off-court injury that kept him from playing basketball.
Apparently, during one of his trips to the Bahamas, MJ was using a cheap cigar cutter which broke and accidentally cut through his right index finger. While Jordan was already considering retirement, the two surgeries that were required to fix his finger would have sidelined him for the 1999 lockout season. Although, his reasons were completely different.
Mike stated that he did not want to play for any other coach besides Phil Jackson, who parted ways with the Bulls following the 1997-98 season. Jordan said that he had lacked motivation to play basketball and wanted to spend more time around family as well.
Jackson went on to coach the Los Angeles Lakers and repeated history with three back-to-back title reigns between 2000-2003. Jordan competed with the Wizards, a team that wasn’t necessarily the best during that time.
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