"I'm back."
With those two simple words, Michael Jordan ended his 17-month hiatus from basketball, the sport he once ruled. He is returning, ending more than a week of speculation, wild rumors and media-mobbed practices for the Chicago Bulls."He walked in this morning, shook my hand and said, `It's a done deal,' " Bulls coach Phil Jackson said Saturday.
Jordan will make his return today against the Pacers at Indiana in a nationally (except Utah) televised game.
Terms of the deal were not revealed. Jordan, 32, had this year and next left on his previous contract that called for about $4 million annually.
But all the Bulls really needed to know was that No. 23, perhaps the most popular and well-known athlete in the world - certainly one of the most well-paid, with a line of endorsements that brings in a reported $30 million a year - was going to rejoin them.
"I think after having him on the floor tomorrow, I'll be able to describe it . . . maybe I won't be able to describe it," Jackson said. "But once we see him out there in that red uniform playing for the Chicago Bulls, that'll be the emotional moment we've looked for and we've all waited for."
Jordan's jersey was retired Nov. 1 and a statue of him unveiled in front of the United Center - across the street from the old Chicago Stadium, where the thrills he provided included a run of three NBA titles.
Jordan's two words Saturday came in a statement released by his agent David Falk. After practicing with the Bulls, Jordan sped out of the parking lot in his Corvette to a rousing ovation from hundreds of fans perched above a fence across the driveway from the Berto Center.
The Bulls then announced Jordan's return with a short release.
"Michael Jordan today informed the Chicago Bulls that he is ending his retirement from professional basketball," it said. "He will make his return to the Bulls lineup tomorrow when the Bulls face the Indiana Pacers."
Jackson said he didn't know how much Jordan would play Sunday. Jordan has not played in an NBA game since June 20, 1993, when he helped the Bulls beat Phoenix in Game 6 for their third straight title.
"He knows he's going to be tired in this kind of contest, where he hasn't played a 48-minute game," Jackson said. "The only way he can prepare for it is game conditioning. So we'll try to save him for six-, seven-minute bursts to start with and see how his conditioning is right away."
Jordan isn't out of shape. He gave up a short-lived baseball career with the Chicago White Sox this month rather than be caught in the middle between the owners and players during the strike. But he'll need to get his wind and legs back on a basketball court.
"A lot of us are excited," Bulls center Bill Wennington said. "We hoped he would do it last year but didn't have the opportunity. It'll be neat. There will be some adjustments, but Michael is talented and he already knows the offense. He brings everyone's level up."
It was unclear immediately what contractual arrangements Jordan and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf had discussed because clubs are banned from negotiating with players until a new league-wide collective bargaining agreement is in place.
"He's talked with Jerry," a source said. "But what they've talked about is anybody's guess."
After the third championship, Jordan stunned the NBA when he stepped away a month before the start of the 1993-94 season, saying he had little left to accomplish in the game.
His high-leaping, creative, incomparable style made him a worldwide figure, both as a performer and a pitchman.
Kids dribbling basketballs on playgrounds everywhere wanted "To Be Like Mike," a ferocious, tongue-wagging competitor who could not be guarded but who was, at the same time, charming with a big smile.
Jordan's basketball career launched a lucrative string of endorsements for shoes, food, sports drinks, automobiles and underwear that made his name known from North Carolina to Chicago to Japan to Paris.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
KUTV's plans
KUTV (Ch. 2) will show the Jazz-Hornets but "cut liberally to Chicago-Indiana. Hopefully the network will allow us to do that," said Con Psarras, managing editor.