Michael Jordan Retires
Michael Jordan has made it official. Wednesday morning he announced that he is retiring from the NBA after 13 seasons with the Chicago Bulls. At a packed news conference, Jordan said, "I played it to the best I could play it. I tried to be the best basketball player I could be. I've had a great time."
News of Jordan's retirement surfaced Monday, but he refused to comment until Wednesday. "I thought about saying just two words-- 'I'm gone.' But I thought I owed my fans a lot more than that," he said. "My life will take a change," Jordan admitted. He also said he looks forward to spending more time being a parent, and said he would live vacariously through his children, whether or not they play basketball.
Jordan said he's mentally exhausted, but physically feels great. "This is the perfect time for me to walk away from the game. I'm at peace with that," Jordan said.
He admitted that he will always have the desire to play, but he said he must make sure the desire was there "not one fourth of the time I step onto the court, but every time." Although he did say, "Never say never," he ruled out the possibility of returning to the game. Jordan briefly retired once in 1993 to pursue a professional baseball career. But today he said, "I'm secure in my decision."
Jordan is third in all time points scored, with over 29,000. He helped win six NBA championship titles this decade, two of those over the Utah Jazz. He also has ten scoring titles and 11 m.v.p. awards.
Jordan goes out on top. The last shot he might ever take in the NBA was a last second shot that gave the Bulls a championship win over Utah last June.
