“Who Is Gonna Be My Inspiration”: Michael Jordan’s 1st Retirement Had 9 Y/O LeBron James in Tears

Many basketball fans were devastated when Michael Jordan decided to hang ’em up for the first time in 1993. His Airness had just come off leading the Chicago Bulls to a three-peat, and many believed he wasn’t finished balling yet. They were right, but MJ needed to get baseball out of his system. The retirement left many in shambles, including LeBron James.

Back in 2021, The King appeared on Uninterrupted and was asked about Jordan’s 1993 NBA departure. “I’m smiling now, but I wasn’t back in ’93,” claimed James. “It didn’t make sense for me.” LBJ wasn’t alone. The hole that Jordan’s retirement left in NBA fans may have never been filled. Fortunately, that was a horror that didn’t last too long.

But neither James nor the world, didn’t know that then. The then 9-year-old was looking for someone to inspire him while he was growing up in Akron. “Michael Jordan was that guy. He was that angel sent from heaven,” the future Hall of Famer said. “I used him to get through some of the darkest days that I had.” 

LBJ revealed that even at 9, he had a lot of tough challenges due to growing up in a single-parent household. When MJ did leave, it sent him into an emotional spiral. “What do I do now?” he asked himself at the time. “Who is gonna be my inspiration? And that brought tears to my eyes.”

James has never been shy to speak about how much Jordan meant to him. The two don’t speak often due to MJ’s competitive nature, but that doesn’t mean His Airness wasn’t a major influence on The King.

LeBron James wears the same number as Jordan to honor him

James even wears Jordan’s famed No. 23 because of his love of the GOAT, something he confirmed during an appearance on The Crossover in 2019.

“I wear No. 23 because of the great Michael Jordan that’s here in Charlotte,” he responded when asked by a fan. It’s not just the number that he tried to share. LBJ also wanted to fly the same way Jordan did.

Asked why he wears No. 23, LeBron said, “For the great Michael Jordan that’s here in Charlotte.” pic.twitter.com/LNJevhg5FU

— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) February 16, 2019

“I wanna be able to fly like him,” James said at the time.. “I wanna be able to shoot like him. I wanna be able to dunk on somebody like him. I wanna be able to stick out my tongue like him in the air and yell in somebody’s face like MJ.”

It’s a shame that basketball fans will always try to pit Michael Jordan and LeBron James against one another. The GOAT conversation is a fun one to have, but the two are on the Mount Rushmore of professional basketball, no question. And while Jordan may not be public about his admiration for James, James has always been a supporter of Michael.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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