I am here to announce my retirement from the game of basketball. It won’t be another announcement to baseball or anything to that nature.

Mentally, I’m exhausted, I don’t feel I have a challenge. Physically, I feel great. The last time in 1993 I had other agendas. I felt that I wanted to play baseball and I felt that at my age, it was a good opportunity and time to do it. And with the death of my father, and I was basically trying to deal with that.

Actually I talked to Jerry last year once the season ended and I told Jerry at that time, mentally, I was a little exhausted. I didn’t know if I would play next year. I wanted to put him on awareness so that he could possibly prepare going into next season. And Jerry, once we had our conversation, wanted me to take time as I did in 93 to make sure that it was the right decision because it was going to be the final decision.

I retired the first time when Phil Jackson was the coach. And I think that even with Phil being the coach I would have had a tough time, mentally finding the challenge for myself. Although he can somehow present challenges for me. I don’t know if he could have presented the challenge for me to continue on to this season." Even though middle way of this season I wanted to continue to play a couple more years, but at the end of this season I was mentally drained and tired. So I can’t say that he would have restored that.

I will support the Chicago Bulls. I think the game itself is a lot bigger than Michael Jordan. I’ve been given an opportunity by people before me, to name a few, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Doctor J, Eljohn Baylor, Jerry West. These guys played the game way before Michael Jordan was born and Michael Jordan came on the heels of all that activity. Mr Stern and what he’s done for the league, gave me an opportunity to play the game of basketball. I played it to the best I could play it, I tried to enhance the game itself. I’ve tried to be the best basketball player that I could be.