Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James says he remembers how emotional he was on the day Michael Jordan announced his first retirement from basketball.
On Sunday night, ESPN aired the seventh and eighth episodes of its highly-acclaimed documentary series The Last Dance, which follows Jordan and the Chicago Bulls over the course of their six championship runs during the 1990s.
The latest episodes dove into one of the most significant points of Jordan’s life — when he announced his sudden retirement from the NBA following the murder of his father, James Jordan, in 1993. The revelation came just a short time after the star won his third straight championship with the Bulls.
Jordan’s shocking announcement grabbed the attention of media around the world and it was a day that basketball fans — including a young LeBron James — will always remember.
“Definitely cried this day. 9 years of age,” James, 35, tweeted on Sunday night during the broadcast. “Just Couldn’t believe it.”
RELATED: Michael Jordan Allegedly Didn’t Let Teammate Horace Grant Eat After a Bad Game, Author Says
It was in July 1993 that James Jordan was shot and killed while sleeping in his car at a highway rest stop in Robeson County, North Carolina. His body was found 11 days later after being dumped off a bridge in South Carolina. He was 56.
During a press conference at the time, which was shown in the documentary, Jordan said retiring would mean his late father was able to see his last game in the NBA — though he left open the door for making a return down the line.
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“He’s very, very selective in the things he wants to be involved in,” Michael Jordan’s former agent, David Falk, shared this week
“I guess the biggest positive thing that I can take out of my father not being here with me today is that he saw my last basketball game,” Jordan said. “And that means a lot. The word ‘retire’ means you can do anything you want from this day on. So if I desire to come back and play again, maybe that’s what I want to do.”RELATED: Kobe Bryant Praises ‘Big Brother’ Michael Jordan in The Last Dance Appearance
Of course, Jordan would make his return to the NBA in 1995 after a stint in minor league baseball. Though the Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs that year, Jordan and the team returned in 1996 to win their first of another three straight championships.
Andy Lyons/Allsport/Getty Michael Jordan in 1998
LeBron James — a three-time NBA Champion — has publicly spoken about how much Jordan has influenced his career.
“I think I fell in love with the game because of Mike, just seeing what he was able to accomplish,” James previously said in 2017. “But I felt like Mike was so — you know, when you’re growing up and you’re seeing Michael Jordan, it’s almost like a god. So I didn’t ever believe I could be Mike. So I started to focus myself on other players and other people around my neighborhood, because I never thought you could get to a point where Mike was. So I think that helped shape my game.”
The final episodes of The Last Dance air Sunday, May 17, at 9 and 10 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN2.
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