Michael Jordan's final words with father before his death forced him to play baseball

Michael Jordan's retirement and baseball career was one area of focus in the recent The Last Dance episodes. Jordan's decision to play baseball was closely related to his father's untimely death, which Jordan briefly discussed during this week's episodes. When the six-time NBA champion had announced his first retirement, there were various rumours revolving around his decision, including his alleged gambling addiction. 

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James Jordan death: Michael Jordan played baseball for two years because of his father

In 1993, Michael Jordan shocked the world by announcing his NBA retirement right after winning his third straight NBA title. While he provided no proper reason back then, Jordan later revealed it was due to his father's murder. Jordan spoke about his decision during The Last Dance's episode 7, where he discussed his father and his motivation to play baseball. 

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As per Jordan, his final conversation with his father was about him leaving basketball and playing baseball. Jordan had been debating playing baseball with his father. He wanted to retire and his father told him to 'do it' as he was the one who got Jordan into baseball. A few months after his death, Jordan told the Chicago Bulls and owner Jerry Reinsdorf that he would be retiring.

During an interview, Reinsdorf added that it was always James Jordan's dream to see his son become a baseball player. Though Reinsdorf did not try to talk Michael Jordan out of his decision, he did warn him that baseball was much more difficult than he thought it was.

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Jordan played outfield for the minor league Birmingham Barons for a year and returned to basketball after two years. His brother also featured during the episode, stating that both he and Jordan thought they would end up as Major League Baseball players. Ahmad Rashad added that Jordan loves baseball and his father had always wanted him to play the sport. While retiring in 1993, Jordan had expressed the loss of his desire to play basketball.

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