 In March 1995 , Jordan decided to quit baseball due to the ongoing Major League Baseball strike , as he wanted to avoid becoming a potential replacement player . On March 18 , 1995 , Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a two @-@ word press release : " I 'm back . " The next day , Jordan wore jersey number 45 ( his number with the Barons ) , as his familiar 23 had been retired in his honor following his first retirement . He took to the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana <unk> in Indianapolis , scoring 19 points . The game had the highest Nielsen rating of a regular season NBA game since 1975 . 
