What If Michael Jordan Never Retired in 1993?

Would Jordan have won eight straight 90s championships? Would MJ have fallen to Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets? Let’s set the record straight with our handy dandy sports time machine…

Brandon Anderson
SportsRaid

--

WHAT IF MICHAEL JORDAN NEVER RETIRED IN 1993? Would the Chicago Bulls have gone on to win championships in 1994 and ‘95 if Jordan was still playing roundball instead of hardball? Would the Bulls still have won titles in ‘96, ‘97, and ‘98, tying the Boston Celtics’ unprecedented run of eight straight championships in the 1960s?

We’ll never know. Jordan shocked the world when he retired. Conspiracy theories abound, and some believe Jordan was suspended for gambling, but sometimes the simplest answer is right. Jordan was exhausted physically and mentally after three grueling title runs and his father’s recent murder. With nothing left to prove, Jordan told the world, “The desire is just not there anymore.” He walked away from the game he loved.

But what if Jordan hadn’t retired in 1993?

It’s a question many have asked, including serge’s new podcast Hypothetical Adventures in Sports History. Some believe Jordan would have won eight straight; others think MJ would’ve fallen to Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets. The answer might be somewhere in between. Maybe Jordan wouldn’t have won eight straight, but perhaps he wouldn’t have lost to the Rockets either…

--

--

Brandon Anderson
SportsRaid

Sports, NBA, NFL, TV, culture. Words at Action Network. Also SI's Cauldron, Sports Raid, BetMGM, Grandstand Central, Sports Pickle, others @wheatonbrando ✞