In March 1995, if Michael focused and stayed in baseball he would have gotten into major leagues. But later on, Michael decided to go back to the NBA. During those times when Michael was out of the basketball, the Chicago Bulls went down. Horace Grant’s contract with the Chicago Bulls was not extended so he left and joined the Orlando Magic. The Chicago Bulls lost their power forward and rebounder. When Michael came back, the Chicago Bulls seemed to go back to their track.
After a year and a half without playing basketball, on March 19, 1995, Michael Jordan had his first game against the Indiana Pacers. This was the first time he was going to play without his father being around.
“I just felt naked, you know, because my father just wasn’t there.” – Michael Jordan
Michael renewed his jersey number into 45 which was his first number when he played in high school. He did not want to go with number 23 because he knew his father was not there to watch him, and he felt it was a new beginning for him. It was a tough adjustment for him on the court, his shots were missed and his offense was not that good. Six days later, when they fought against the Atlanta Hawks, Michael proved that he is still the Michael Jordan that they knew.
When Michael came back from playing baseball, Nick Anderson stole his spotlight in the NBA. Michael was continuously losing its head in the game. He decided to wear his jersey number 23 again, and he was back on beating up his opponents. But he was still not in shape to beat all his opponents, he’s still lost somehow.
“I just felt like 45 wasn’t natural. I wanted to go back to the feeling I had with 23.” – Michael Jordan
After the season when they lost against the Orlando Magic, Michael knew he had an obligation to his fans and team. He had a movie over his summer called “Space Jam” by the Warner Bros production. While doing his film, Michael was still doing his job as a basketball player and continuing improving the lapses that he missed when he got out from the NBA. He worked day and night, balancing his career in his movie and basketball.
The 1995-1996 Regular Season came and it was Dennis Rodman’s first play in the Chicago Bulls. The Chicago Bulls were back on track to win all their games and so as the almighty Michael Jordan. The Chicago Bulls were entitled as the “Best Team of All Time”.
“Because of last year and the number change, and 45 didn’t look like 23 and, you know, whatever, but… we all were disappointed last year. We came back to redeem ourselves as a unit and I think we did that effectively.” – Michael Jordan
The Chicago Bulls won their Championship game against the Seattle Supersonics. It was Father’s day at the time when the Chicago Bulls won. Michael did his best to win it for his father.
