Michael Jordan’s return to the NBA was derailed due to a pick-up game where his ribs were broken.
By 1998, Michael Jordan had nothing to prove. He had won six NBA Championships among a plethora of other accolades and earned the GOAT title in the eyes of basketball fans around the globe.
He was 35 years old at the time and it seemed like a perfect time to retire and MJ did just that. But the fire to play basketball hadn’t completely come off inside the Chicago Bulls legend.
So Jordan would make appearances in pick-up games here and there. Ahead of the 2001-02 season, MJ announced that he would return for one last time to the league.
How Metta World Peace derailed Michael Jordan’s NBA return
Metta World Peace a.k.a Ron Artest is widely regarded as one of the toughest players to ever step foot on the hardwood. He is also known for being among the main culprits of the infamous Malice in the Palace incident.
Artest was a strong athlete and wasn’t afraid to use his physicality to get the better of his opponent. Speaking of which, while Jordan was preparing for his much-anticipated NBA return, the 6x NBA champion engaged in a private pick-up game against Artest.
Artest, who claims he was just 19 years old at the time, gave his best against ‘His Airness’ and accidentally hurt Jordan.
“I played against Michael for the first time in the summertime when I accidentally broke his ribs, I didn’t hit him, I was 19. I don’t think he realized how strong I was coming in,” World Peace said on the Fast Break podcast.
“But the story comes out and people said, I punched Mike,” he added.
Considering Jordan’s stature, it was no surprise that World Peace was displayed in a bad picture. After all, who would believe a 19-year-old’s side of the story about hurting arguably the greatest basketball player of all time?
What really happened between Jordan and Artest
At the time, Jordan had been out of the league for three years. Evidently, he was no longer in NBA shape and was enjoying retirement life.
On the other hand, Artest was a young player trying to make his name in the biggest basketball league in the world. Keeping that in mind, the 19-year-old used his fundamentals to stop Jordan in his tracks.
“But what happened was, on the play as he was posting up, and I was like denying a fundamental three-pointer, just moved his arm out of the way, light work, and then, um, my elbow, cracked his ribs. So I broke his rib accidentally,” Artest continued.
“He called me and said, ‘You know, don’t worry about it, young fella. I know what they’re saying in the media, but I want you to come back,'” he concluded.
Despite Jordan injuring his ribs, he made a stunning comeback and featured in 60 games for the Washington Wizards in the 2001-02 season.
He averaged 22.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game for the team. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the Wizards to book a berth in the 2002 playoffs.
MJ played for one more season. Following that he retired for the third and final time from the league after playing in 82 games in the campaign.
