LeBron James Says He 'Definitely Cried' When Michael Jordan Retired in 1993

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Michael Jordan's first retirement from the NBA hit hard for Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.

While watching The Last Dance, which drew attention to when Jordan walked away from basketball in October 1993, James tweeted he "definitely cried" upon hearing the news:

LeBron surely wasn't the only person stunned to see the NBA's best player hang it up while he remained near his prime. The Bulls had captured their third straight championship in 1993, and Jordan had led the league in scoring (32.6) for the seventh straight season.

The Hall of Famer later explained he was fulfilling the dream of his father James, who was murdered in July 1993. His dad had first thrown out the idea of pursuing a baseball career, and Jordan decided to give it a try for the 1994 season.

Luckily for LeBron, he didn't have to wait long for MJ to get back to the hardwood.

Jordan made his return on March 19, 1995, in a 103-96 defeat to the Indiana Pacers. Four games later, he showed little had changed as he dropped 55 points on the New York Knicks.

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While he almost certainly did so unintentionally, one could argue LeBron had a similarly shocking moment on par with Jordan's retirement when he made The Decision in July 2010.