“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career, I’ve lost almost 300 games!”: Michael Jordan played his final NBA game on this day in 2003

Michael Jordan will be remembered as perhaps the greatest player to ever touch the basketball. 19 years ago, he played his last game.

There was a time when the name Michael Jordan inspired fear in the hearts of men. There was a time when his presence on the court was akin to a god walking amongst men.

But, he is human after all and his retirement took quite the time. Although in the most, “err, he isn’t human” level, MJ did boldly retire once. When he was in the prime of his career. This was in 1993.

He came back, won the league thrice in a row, and retired again! The audacity of this man! Yet maybe, just maybe dominance bored him. This happened in 1999.

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He came back to the league in 2001, joining the Washington Wizards. His love for the game could no longer keep him out of a court.

Both retirements shook the world, but his actual retirement, i.e. the one people take when they reach old age, came about in 2003, nearly 19 years after he was drafted.

April 16, 2003, Michael Jordan laced up his iconic Air Jordans for one last time.

He put up a stat line of 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. A sign that the ember inside him was finally extinguishing.

He played for only 28 minutes and yet the fans gave him 3-minute-long applause. Such was the love that the fans had for him.

For once they truly knew that he wouldn’t come back and torch their teams. This was the final time MJ would play. He is still admired and revered by the best players in the league and we think that admiration will not go away for a long time.

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