The fact that an NBA team he never played for retired his jersey number perfectly captures Michael Jordan’s unmatched legacy and aura.Although he also wore No. 12 and No. 45, Jordan made the No. 23 legendary and will always be connected to the number.His Airness spent 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six championships with Chicago Bulls and cementing himself as arguably the greatest ever player to step on to a court.At the very end of his career, he also played for the Washington Wizards before retiring in 2003.In April of that year, Miami Heat made the unprecedented decision to retire the No.23 shirt.Despite the fact that Jordan had never worn a Heat uniform, the group respected him much for his achievements outside of basketball.Heat president Pat Riley explained that No. 23 was hoisted from the rafters “in honour of your greatness” and promised that no one would ever wear No. 23 again.Other teams were also asked by him to do the same, but they never did. Riley said, “I think it’s honourable that our guys walk onto the court and look up to see how high you have to climb to reach what he has achieved.”All I think is that he deserves it. I believe it wouldn’t be a bad idea for every team in this league to hang the number of the guy in the rafters as a reminder of what greatness is all about. He has been the best player in the history of the game.As a result, no player for the Heat has worn number 23 in more than 20 years, and Jordan was astounded by the greatest compliment he was given.Jordan stated, “It was by far the best gift I could have received,” according to Sports Illustrated.It speaks a lot to have your jersey retired in someone else’s edifice. Undoubtedly, it’s something very, really unique. In 2020, the Dallas Mavericks honoured the memory of the late Kobe Bryant in a similar manner, and after Bill Russell’s passing in 2022, the NBA retired his No. 6.
Why Michael Jordan’s shirt number was retired by NBA team even though he never played for them.
