At about 9 a.m. on Oct. 6, 1993, a black Mercedes slowly pulled into the Bulls training facility. More than a half-dozen men wearing White Sox jackets jogged alongside to form a rim of protection worthy of a pope or president.
Turned out the driver was an even bigger attraction _ Michael Jordan.
And his retirement news conference would be even more memorable than the human motorcade.
"It was a fiasco," sportscaster Mark Giangreco said, "one of those events you never forget."
It featured audio glitches. A rude question that got under Jordan's skin. A halfhearted remark about NBA Commissioner David Stern that would become fodder for conspiracy theorists. And jokes from Jordan about his new life: watching the grass grow and developing a pot belly.
Chicago Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf spoke first, calling it "a very bittersweet day. There is a certain sadness because the greatest athlete to ever play a team sport is leaving the game. But it's a very happy day because somebody I admire and respect is doing exactly what he wants to do. And I'm absolutely convinced he's doing the right thing."
Then Jordan, dressed in a tan suit, fielded questions for a full 40 minutes.
"I probably should have stopped it about 15 minutes earlier," said Brian McIntyre, the NBA's PR chief. "It was getting a little redundant."
Reporters formed a massive semicircle around Jordan. The standing-room-only crowd at the Berto Center in Deerfield drew so many reporters, "it felt like a high school reunion," Melissa Isaacson said.
Jim Gray was there and recalled his feeling: "As a reporter and lover of basketball, it was a sad day."
David Falk, Jordan's agent, sat at a crowded podium with Stern, Jordan, wife Juanita, Reinsdorf, coach Phil Jackson, general manager Jerry Krause and Jordan business adviser Curtis Polk.
"At the time Michael was the most successful and popular athlete in the world," Falk said. "How many great athletes retire at age 29 with no injuries in the prime of their careers? It's rare. And it was a huge news event."
Here are more recollections from an event that will be featured Sunday as ESPN's "The Last Dance" sashays into Episodes 7 and 8.
