Basketball players dedicate their lives to the game, so when they retire, they usually miss it and decide to return. Today, you’ll learn about five players who quit the game but couldn’t stay away.
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan entered the league in 1984 as the third pick in the draft behind Akeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie.
Jordan took the league by storm, averaging 28.2 points per game and winning rookie of the year. Despite his dominance, he did not win his first championship until his 7th season. He won titles in the following two seasons.
His father was murdered in July 1993. The trauma led Jordan to retire in October 1993. He said he had lost his desire for the game. In February 1994, he announced he had signed with the Chicago White Sox.
He spent time in the minors and played in an off-season fall league in late 1994.
He returned to basketball in March 1994, but the Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs in the conference semifinals by the Orlando Magic. Nick Anderson later stated that “didn’t look like the old Michael Jordan.”
Jordan regained his old form after working hard in the offseason and led the Bulls to championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998. He retired again in January 1999 and became a part owner and president of basketball operations for the Wizards.
Many thought they would never see him step on a court again, but he returned in September 2001. At 38, he wasn’t the same Jordan people were used to seeing. He wasn’t able to lead the Wizards to the playoffs and retired after the 2003 season.
Kevin Johnson
Kevin Johnson was similar to Jordan because he had baseball aspirations. In 1986, he was drafted in the 23rd round of the MLB draft, but ultimately he saw basketball as his path to greatness.
He played four years of college ball at California University before being drafted by the Cleveland Cavs 7th in the 1987 NBA draft.
He only played 52 games with the team before they traded him to Phoenix, where he became a three-time All-Star and a five-time All-NBA performer.
He and the Suns almost reached the mountain top in 1993 as they made it to the finals, but they lost in six games to Michael Jordan and the Bulls.
Johnson played four more seasons at a high level. His performance declined in the 1997-1998 season.
He played in 50 games, primarily off the bench, and averaged 25.8 minutes per game. He retired after the season.
He returned to the Suns at the end of the 1998-1999 season after the team lost Jason Kidd to injury.
Johnson played in six regular-season games and nine playoff games. After the Suns got bounced from the playoffs, he retired again for good.
Rasheed Wallace
Rasheed Wallace teamed up with Jerry Stackhouse at the University of North Carolina in 1993. They made it to the final four in 1995, but were unable to win it all.
The draft was calling, and Rasheed decided he was ready for the pros. He was selected with the fourth pick in the 1995 NBA draft by the Washington Bullets.
He played one season with the team before being traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. He had his best offensive season with the Trail Blazers, but they got a bad reputation with the media, referring to them as the Jail Blazers. Despite their deep, talented roster, they could not get over the hump and never made it to the NBA Finals.
During the 2003-2004 season, Wallace was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, but after one game, he was traded again to the Detroit Pistons.
He proved to be the missing piece for the Pistons as they ran through the Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals.
The Pistons were good enough to win multiple championships, but they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in 2005 and never went back to the finals.
Wallace moved on to the Pistons in 2009. They had the title in 2008, and in 2009, they might have repeated it if Kevin Garnett hadn’t gotten injured.
The Celtics made it to the NBA Finals again in 2010, but after taking a 3-2 lead, they lost the last two games on the Lakers’ home court.
Wallace retired in August. He missed two years before returning to the league in 2012, this time with the New York Knicks.
He played in the first 20 games of the season, averaging 17.8 points per game, but his efficiency was poor, as he shot only 39% from the field.
He missed most of the season due to injury, but played 4 minutes in the second-to-last game of the season on April 15th, 2013.
He retired for good on April 17th, 2013, and was waived before the playoffs started.
The Knicks went on to beat his former team, the Celtics, in the first round before losing to the Indiana Pacers.
Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson spent two seasons playing college basketball with the Michigan State Spartans. He ended his college career by defeating Larry Bird and Indiana State in the championship game.
Johnson entered the draft citing financial hardship, and he was picked first.
Johnson didn’t beat out Bird for Rookie of the Year, but he made it to the Finals, where he won his first championship and his first Finals MVP.
Johnson would go on to become one of the best players ever to play the game. He won four more championships, two more Finals MVPs, and three regular-season MVPs.
In 1991, he made it to the NBA Finals against Michael Jordan and the Bulls. The Bulls won the series in five games, but Johnson was only 32 years old, so people thought they could match up again the following year, but it wasn’t meant to be.
On November 7th, 1991, Johnson held a press conference and announced he was retiring from the NBA because he had HIV. His wife, Cookie, was pregnant at the time, but luckily she and her unborn child were not infected.
Johnson later acknowledged that he slept with many women during his career and denied rumors that he was involved in homosexual activity.
Johnson was voted to the 1992 All-Star Game. Karl Malone spoke publicly, saying Johnson shouldn’t play, but he did anyway. He scored 25 points, dished out nine assists, and grabbed five rebounds. He was named the game’s MVP.
He also played with the Dream Team at the 1992 Olympics and won a gold medal.
He was training to play during the 1992-1993 season, but he decided not to return because some players were against it.
He coached the team for 15 games at the end of the 1994-1995 season, but resigned because he didn’t like coaching.
During the 1995-1996 season, the 36-year-old rejoined the Lakers and played power forward. He was heavier and slower than he had been years earlier, but he averaged 14.6 points and 6.9 assists in 32 games. After losing in the first round of the playoffs, Johnson considered signing with another team, before retiring for good.
