“Michael Jordan was forced out of the league in 1993”: Skip Bayless yet again claims billionaire’s 1st retirement was NBA’s response to deal with his gambling addiction

“Till death do us apart” is the mantra of Skip Bayless while hating on LeBron James or showering love on Michael Jordan.

After leading his Chicago Bulls to 3rd straight championship and winning three straight Finals MVP, Michael Jeffrey Jordan, before the start of the 1993-94 season, said he had lost his desire to play basketball. He announced his retirement and also his willingness to play Baseball.

There was a wild theory around the league for more than 25 years that NBA forced MJ to retire due to his gambling addiction, which drastically increased after his father’s death in the month of July that same year.

David Stern, the then commissioner of the NBA, publicly denied those claims in 1995 and 2006 that it was a secret suspension by the league for gambling. Even Jordan insisted on the same in a couple of interviews but still, the rumour spread widely.

And until now, His Airness’ fandom believes in that conspiracy theory because that’s what keeps their idea of “Jordan would have won 8-straight if he didn’t retire” alive.

Also read: Michael Jordan would’ve gotten 13 years in jail if he killed the man who murdered his father, according to John Salley

Skip Bayless again brings up the first Michael Jordan and says it was NBA’s secret suspension

It might be hard to believe that Skip Bayless admires somebody, but the man loves MJ. That love might not be even close to his hatred for LeBron James, but it is still considerable.

— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) June 20, 2022

Considerable enough that he never forgets to bring up this subject sporadically. The man is among several others who believe that Jordan got suspended because of his gambling addiction and that he would have won 2-more titles if he didn’t retire then. And NBA Reddit cannot understand why.

In 2020, when the docuseries “The Last Dance” came out showing the Bulls dynasty’s last season together (1997-98) also his journey since he came into the league in 1984, all that made it pretty clear.

His retirement at his peak after 3-peating the championship and FMVP for the second time proved his earlier retirement was just him getting away, taking time off from his brilliance on the court so that he doesn’t completely lose the desire to do what he does best.

The more one thinks about it, the more they should be justified that the man who was considered an alien or a God was showing his human side for once. But instead, these conspiracy theorists do the opposite of it.

The chances of him not winning even six championships in his career was much higher than him winning eight had he not retired at the time. His cooling off for a year and a half and finding a new desire to get back at it did the magic.

Also read: “You’re the Michael Jordan who walks on water?!”: When rookie Reggie Miller was held to 12 points after 6’6 Jordan went off for 37

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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