Michael Jordan to Return to NBA with Wizards
September 25, 2001 4:55 pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Basketball legend Michael Jordan, who retired three years ago after winning his sixth world championship with the Chicago Bulls, announced on Tuesday he will return to the NBA this season to play with the Washington Wizards.

"I am returning as a player to the game I love because during the last year and a half, as a member of Washington Wizards' management, I enjoyed working with our players, and sharing my own experiences as a player," Jordan, 38, said in a statement. "I feel there is no better way of teaching young players than to be on the court with them as a fellow player, not just in practice, but in actual NBA games.

"While nothing can take away from the past, I am firmly focused on the future and the competitive challenge ahead of me," he added.

As a tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, Jordan said he would donate his entire salary for this season to relief and victim assistance efforts. There have been reports he will earn a $1.3 million salary this season. In his last year for the Bulls, his salary exceeded $33 million.

Since the National Basketball Association does not allow players to have an ownership stake in any team, Jordan will relinquish his 5 percent to 10 percent share of the Wizards.

He will also resign as the team's president of basketball operations, a position he had held since January 2000.

Considered by many to be the greatest basketball player ever, Jordan retired after winning his sixth title in 1998, sinking a game-winning shot against the Utah Jazz. But as he worked his way back into playing shape this summer, Jordan suffered two broken ribs, back spasms and recurring bouts with tendinitis in his knees.

-- Anonymous, September 25, 2001