How Many Times Jordan Retired, the Stories Behind Each Exit, and More

by Richard Janvrin, November 27, 2025

Michael Jordan, drafted No. 3 overall in the 1984 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls, is routinely referred to as the best basketball player to have ever lived.

However, it wasn’t a straight-line career. There were numerous retirements.

How many times Jordan retired is three, including his final one in 2003.

One of the others, though, was related to his leaving the NBA to play baseball.

Here, I’ll explore the premise of “did Michael Jordan quit basketball to play baseball,” and also explore another question: “What if Michael Jordan played 20 seasons,” among other things.

Let’s dive in.

• Did Michael Jordan Quit Basketball to Play Baseball?
• How Many Times Jordan Retired
• What If Michael Jordan Played 20 Seasons?

Did Michael Jordan Quit Basketball to Play Baseball?

In the days of when Jordan played basketball, there wasn’t the top NBA sportsbooks that we have today. If there were, you better believe that these apps would receive a plethora of bets on the player commonly referred to as the G.O.A.T. in the NBA.

That said, did Michael Jordan quit basketball to play baseball? In short, yes.

On Oct. 6, 1993, Jordan stated he lost his desire to play basketball. A big part of it was that his father, James R. Jordan Sr., was murdered three months before.

If you were to look up “Michael Jordan age retired,” you would find that he was 30 years old.

To honor his father, Jordan signed with the Chicago White Sox. He was assigned to the Double-A Birmingham Barrons on March 31, 1994.

Things didn’t go well for Jordan there, though.

That season, he hit .202 with an on-base percentage of .289.

He had 88 hits across 436 at-bats. He recorded 17 doubles, one triple, three home runs, had 51 RBIs, and 30 stolen bases.

Remember, this was at the Double-A level.

For those unaware of what that means in baseball, Double-A is a developmental level. It’s two steps removed from Major League Baseball. Some players have gone from Double-A to the Major League Baseball, but a typical progression would be Triple-A.

Given Jordan’s statistics and that he was 31 years old, making it to the Majors may have been doable, but he wouldn’t have been anything close to what we know him for at the NBA level.

Even Terry Francona, who went on to be the manager for the Boston Red Sox when they won the World Series in 2004 for the first time in over 80 years, said that Jordan had the drive to improve and potentially make the majors.

So, why did Michael Jordan retire in 1993? It was to pursue baseball, but that ended after just one season.

On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced he would return to the NBA.

How Many Times Jordan Retired

As mentioned, the answer to “how many times Jordan retired” is three.

The first came in 1993 to pursue baseball.

The second one came on January 13, 1999. At that time, the Bulls and Jordan won championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998. While the team was a dynasty, things were beginning to come undone.

Head coach Phil Jackson wasn’t renewed, and key players like Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman left the team.

There were issues across the board, including the front office.

At that time, Jordan said he was unlikely to return to basketball, giving it a “99.9% chance.”

Jordan didn’t play in the 1998-99, 1999-2000, or 2000-2001 seasons.

The second retirement came amid an NBA labor dispute.

In those seasons, the Bulls went 13-37 (1998-99), 17-65 (1999-2000), and 15-67 (2000-2001). It was just as Jordan suspected, as the team hired Tim Floyd. He finished with a 49-190 record as the Bulls coach.

During his time away, Jordan was a part-owner and President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards.

However, in September 2001, at 38, he came back and pledged his salary to the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. He joined the Wizards as a player.

While noble, Jordan dealt with knee and wrist injuries. He even broke a rib during a pickup game.

Across 60 games in his first season with the Wizards, he averaged 22.9 points, 5.2 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game. He finished 13th in MVP voting and was an All-Star.

In his second and final season, he was 39 and played 82 games. He averaged 20 points, 3.8 assists, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. He was an All-Star.

Throughout the 2002-03 season, it was known that it would be Jordan’s final season. There were tributes to him throughout the NBA.

His final game was played on April 16, 2004, in Philadelphia. He scored 13 points, went to the bench, and in the fourth quarter, the crowd erupted for Jordan. He came back in and received a three-minute long standing ovation from the crowd.

So, answering the question, “Michael Jordan age retired” is a three-part answer. He was 30, 35, and 40 across all three retirements, respectively.

What If Michael Jordan Played 20 Seasons?

From 1984 to 2003, Jordan played a total of 15 seasons. In that span, he was retired for four seasons.

So, at most, he would’ve played 19 seasons.

For this exercise, we’ll go season by season, and he could have played within the span of his career.

This includes 1993-94, 1998-99, 1999-2000, and 2000-2001.

• 1993-94: This was during Jordan’s first retirement when he left for baseball. He was coming off a three-peat. In 1992-93, he averaged 32.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 2.8 steals per game. He finished third in MVP voting. He was the MVP in the two seasons before that. Across his career, he averaged 30.1 points per game. He averaged at least that from the 1986-87 to 1992-93 season. Leading up to this potential season, he averaged 74 games. However, one of those seasons was his second season, where he played just 18 games due to a foot injury. If you remove that season, he averaged about 81 games. So, at 30.1 points per game across 81 of them, he would’ve scored about 2,438 points to add to his total.
• 1998-99: This season included a labor dispute. Thus, just 50 games were played. Jordan was coming off another three-peat. In 1997-98, he was the MVP and averaged 28.7 points per game. He saw a dip of about a point per season since the 1995-96 season. So, let’s continue with that. If he averaged 27.7 points per game that season across 50 games, that would’ve been about 1,385 points.
• 1999-2000 and 2000-2001: We’ll continue with the one-point loss per season. He played 82 games each season from 1995-96 to 1997-98. However, to compensate for being in his late 30s, let’s say 75 games per season and one point less per season. In all, at 26.7 and 25.7 points per game across 75 games, that’s about 3,930 more points.

So, in all, this would be about 7,753 more points. He scored 32,292 points across 15 seasons. Adding all of that up, it would just be over 40,000 points.

Today, Jordan ranks fifth in points. At over 40,000 points, only one player would have more than him: LeBron James, who has over 42,000.

As for championships, I’m not convinced that Jordan would’ve won any other than in 1993-94. The Bulls were still at their best then.

If that were the case, he would have seven NBA titles. I don’t think he would’ve won any after that due to all the franchise-altering moves.

Overall, Jordan would only have a stronger resume for being the best NBA player of all-time, which, to me, he already is.