Only 9 days after announcing his retirement from baseball in 1995, Michael Jordan was back to play in the NBA.
After spending 21 months away from basketball from 1993-95, Jordan's return sent shockwaves all over.
His debut game was against the Indiana Pacers, so let's look back at what the NBA fraternity's reaction was at the time.
At this time, Stephen Curry's father Dell Curry was a guard for Charlotte Hornets. On hearing about MJ's return, he admitted that it's going to make it a lot tougher for teams like them, Indiana, and Cleveland. And although Jordan is yet to play his first game, the Chicago Bulls should be considered championship contenders.
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Houston Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon was actually thrilled to have Jordan back because he believed this was good for the league. He even said MJ made the right decision.
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Of course, Charles Barkley had to be cocky. Even though he called Chicago Bulls a good team, he claimed that it will be very difficult for them to win three series in a row and MJ makes the team better but still he stuck to his opinion.
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Back then, Pat Riley was the New York Knicks' head coach and he agreed with Barkley's latter part of the opinion, that Jordan does elevate the Bulls' game but he was actually looking forward to how exciting it's going to get with him back.
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Doc Rivers joined the overconfidence club with Barkley and blatantly said that if he sees him this year, he and the Spurs will be in the Finals. "I like my chances," he said.
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It's true Michael Jordan and Reggie Miller have butted heads quite a few times but at the time, Miller was quite young and was supposed to play against the GOAT in his debut after his retirement. Reggie confessed he had trouble sleeping the night before but he was also excited.
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