Basketball legend Michael Jordan’s decision to retire in 1993 was followed by rumors of his father’s death.
There was much speculation that gambling was the reason basketball legend Jordan retired from the game, but it has been revealed that the death of his father was the reason the Chicago Bulls star left the sport .
In the latest installment of the documentary The Last Dance, which aired on Netflix and ESPN, Jordan brought many fans to tears as he recounted the death of his father, James Jordan Snr.

The 10-part documentary will give us an in-depth look at Jordan’s incredible rise to the top of the NBA and his final season in Chicago, while also delving into the off-court issues and heartbreaking events that led to the 1957-born legend’s decision to retire.

Michael Jordan and his family

On July 23, 1993, Jordan’s world changed forever when his father suddenly disappeared. For a long time afterward, Jordan and his mother, Deloris, did not hear from James.
“I dropped everything when my mom said she couldn’t get in touch with my dad,” Jordan said on The Last Dance. “He drove down to Wilmington to visit an old friend, stayed there for a few days, then drove back home. My mom was in touch with him the whole time.”
That evening, James Jordan Snr, after attending a funeral in Wilmington, was driving back to his son’s charity golf event. Because of the long drive, he decided to pull over and take a nap. Tragedy struck when he was robbed and shot by two 18-year-olds, before his body was found 10 days later in a creek near the North and South Carolina border. The two perpetrators were later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Not yet over the heartbreak of the tragedy, Jordan suffered another shock when the media again put forward a conspiracy theory that Mr. James’s death was the result of his son’s gambling habit.

Michael Jordan is considered a legend of basketball.

“It hurt me. Everyone was pointing fingers at me. It wasn’t from people I loved, people who knew me, people who cared. It was people who were jealous that I was the best,” Jordan said.
James Jordan was a man with a strong love for baseball. After his father passed away, Jordan decided to fulfill his father’s wish of seeing his son play baseball. He retired from basketball to play baseball for a season before returning to the NBA at the end of the 1994-1995 season to continue to consolidate his legendary status.