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Michael Jordan was on top of the basketball world in 1993 when his father, James Jordan, was shot dead by Daniel Green. “His Airness” was so depressed following his father’s murder that he retired from the NBA.
Jordan was supposedly so furious that he wouldn’t be able to hold himself if he was placed in the same room as his father’s murderers. Green, however, had this to say about those reports (via VladTV):
“I don’t believe that and I’ll tell you why I don’t believe that. If Michael Jordan wanted me dead, I’d be dead years ago. I would’ve been dead before they picked us up.
“I could have been dead through the death penalty because I believed the trial was rigged to find me guilty. If he wanted me dead, I would’ve received the death penalty. With the money he has and with the connections he has, if he wanted me dead, I would’ve been dead years ago.”
(1:50 mark)
James Jordan was driving home from a party when he decided to take a nap along the road. Green and Larry Demery allegedly planned to rob him before Green shot Michael Jordan’s father in the heart.
Investigators later concluded that the killers didn’t know the man they murdered until after they went through his belongings. MJ’s father drove a red Lexus SC400, which had the plate “UNC023.”
The car was found 60 miles away from the murder scene while James Jordan’s body was recovered 11 days later in McColl, South Carolina.
Larry Demery later told prosecutors that it was Daniel Green who pulled the trigger that killed Jordan’s father. Both were 18-year-olds when they committed the crime.
To this day, Green has insisted that he is innocent. He admitted that he helped in disposing of the body where he got MJ’s 1986 All-Star ring.
In 1996, Daniel Green and Larry Demery were both sentenced to life imprisonment.
Michael Jordan added to his legacy after mourning his father’s death
Michael Jordan spent 1 ½ seasons away from basketball to play baseball and mourn the loss of his father. He sensationally announced that he was back in the latter part of the 1994-95 season.
MJ had played just 17 regular-season games before the Chicago Bulls headed to the playoffs where they were eliminated by Shaquille O’Neal’s Orlando Magic.
In the next three seasons after the semifinal loss to the Magic, the Chicago Bulls will win another three-peat. MJ was named the NBA Finals MVP in each of those times.
The Bulls had a then-record 72-10 season in 1996 and beat the Seattle Supersonics in the championship round. Over the next two seasons, Chicago spoiled Karl Malone and John Stockton’s bid to win at least one NBA championship.
Jordan retired after the 2002-03 season after having built a GOAT resume. He is still considered by many to be arguably the best player to ever play the game.
You may also want to read: "Jordan as a player talking shit to Larry Bird when he was a coach" - Prominent soccer columnist on his favorite part from "The Last Dance" docuseries featuring Michael Jordan and Chicago Bulls
