Be it Michael Jordan's unparalleled mental drive to perpetually outperform every opponent on the court or his relentless competitive spirit that made him give 100 percent every single time, these attributes eventually began to take a considerable toll on His Airness. In fact, even though the general consensus among fans suggested that MJ's first retirement was initiated by the tragic demise of his father, the 6'6" shooting guard already started contemplating taking a break at the age of 29 after leading the Chicago Bulls to a third consecutive title as he was clearly spent, both mentally and physically.
Michael Jordan had already thought about retiring in 1993
By the end of the 1992-93 season, Mike had already accomplished the feat of leading the league in scoring in seven consecutive seasons and had topped the NBA in steals in three seasons. Moreover, he also played in 78 games or more in eight of the nine regular-season campaigns. Unsurprisingly, MJ was drained—physically but more so mentally.
If this level of exertion wasn't enough to take a toll on a player, the tragic murder of his father, James Jordan, was irresponsibly linked to Mike's gambling addiction.
However, even before his dad passed, Jordan was so worn out that he had already decided to take a break from basketballing festivities. Safe to say, given Mike's status as the epitome of how a global superstar and elite athlete should handle himself, the unrelenting scrutiny on his every move, coupled with his unyielding determination to win, had undoubtedly begun to affect the mental well-being of the New York native.
"Physically I was exhausted, but mentally I was way past exhausted," Mike said in The Last Dance documentary. "When you try to do something repetitively, you lose some of the hunger, and some of the edge."
This showed Michael Jeffrey Jordan was only human
No one can refute that Jordan's decision to pursue a baseball career was influenced by his need to take a break from basketball stardom and also because he wanted to honor a sport that James was an avid fan of. But given how relentlessly he had worked, the six-time Finals MVP remained certain to take a break regardless of this tragedy.
Safe to state that this circumstance only serves as a testament to the reality that even the greatest athletes can succumb to the tiring effects of the unrelenting demands and taxing work ethic required to maintain their elite status.
