Paul George hosted Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Brian Shaw on the latest episode of Podcast P. During the nearly ninety-minute-long episode, the panel discussed numerous topics, one of them included Michael Jordan coming out of retirement in 1995. Shaw recollected how, during the Orlando Magic-Chicago Bulls playoff series that year, Nick Anderson taunted Jordan, which resulted in the latter switching his jersey numbers from #45 to #23.
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Following his father’s tragic demise after the 1993 season, Michael Jordan announced his unexpected retirement from the NBA. For the entire 1993-1994 season, MJ tried his luck in baseball. However, after 65 games of the 1994-1995 campaign passed, the 6ft 6” star decided to put an end to his baseball dreams and announced his return to basketball.
Despite rejoining the Bulls franchise, MJ decided to wear the number #45 instead of his iconic #23. The reason behind the same – #45 was the number he wore in high school. However, Jordan was not quite his former self in this new jersey.
Come playoff time, during the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Bulls and the Orlando Magic, Orlando star Nick Anderson made the fatal mistake of taunting the Bulls legend about his poor form. Following the Bulls’ Game 3 loss, Anderson dissed Jordan by stating that #45 wasn’t as good as #23. Known for “taking things personally”, Jordan came out the next game, donning the #23 jersey. Brian Shaw recounted the entire incident on Paul George’s podcast.
“Within that series, I think after Game 2 when we went to Chicago, Jordan changed his jersey back to 23 because Nick Anderson after we had won (the previous) game, he said ‘number 45 ain’t what 23 used to be’. And then everybody was like, ‘You need to shut you’re a** up’,” Shaw added.
Usually, such stories end up with MJ humiliating his opponent. However, this time around, Anderson was lucky enough. The next game, MJ did erupt for a 26-point, 7-rebound, and 4-steal performance, leading the Bulls to a 106-95 Game 4 win. However, Shaquille O’Neal’s brilliance allowed the Florida side to emerge victorious eventually, finishing off the series 4-2.
Michael Jordan caused the Bulls to be slapped with a hefty $100,000 fine
Michael Jordan’s #23 was iconic. Apart from winning a national championship for the University of North Carolina, Jordan also wore the number from 1984 to 1994. In those 10 years, MJ won three MVPs, seven scoring titles, three Championships, and three Finals MVPs. Despite being extremely successful repping the number, Jordan didn’t want to wear #23 as it was the last number that his father saw him wear before his passing.
“When I came back, I didn’t want to play in the last number that my father had seen me wear,” Jordan said.
After a short stint with the number #45 on his back, Jordan switched back to number #23. Explaining the decision, the Bulls superstar simply stated, “That’s me, #23 is me. So why try to be something else? #23 is something that I really feel comfortable with and that’s the reason I went to it.”
For allowing their star player to switch numbers in the middle of a playoff series without notifying the league, the NBA commissioner slapped the Bulls with a hefty $100,000 fine. While the Illinois side failed to win the 1995 championship, they did manage to lift the title in 1996, 1997, and 1998… with Jordan representing the number #23.
