 The sculpture was installed on October 31 and unveiled on November 1 , 1994 in front of a national audience by Jordan , Reinsdorf and Larry King . Jordan 's jersey number was retired during the ceremony . Only Jordan 's knee is attached to the base via a triple @-@ steel post . A stationary basketball hoop was almost part of the sculpture too . The sculpture , which is hollow , was designed to withstand the natural elements . After his second retirement following the 1997 – 98 NBA season , the following quote from the 1992 film A River Runs Through It was added to the base : " At that moment I knew , surely and clearly , that I was witnessing perfection . He stood before us , suspended above the earth , free from all its laws like a work of art , and I knew , just as surely and clearly , that life is not a work of art , and that the moment could not last . " 
