The Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan is renowned for his iconic sneaker brand and No.23 Bulls jersey. During his time with the Bulls, he donned the No. 23 jersey with Jordan written on the back. However, Jordan has worn 2 other numbers during his time with the Bulls. One of the being No. 45 when he came back from retirement, and No.12 when his jersey got stolen.
Yes, Jordan decided to try out 2 other jersey numbers besides his iconic No.23. Michael Jordan decided to wear the No. 45 jersey when he came back from retirement. However, he didn’t stick with the number for long and eventually got back to his original No. 23. This was the time when he wished to wear some other number for the Chicago Bulls. However, he wore the No. 12 jersey out of frustration after it was stolen.
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Michael Jordan on Valentine’s day in 1990, the Chicago Bulls played the Orlando Magic in an away game. He was forced to wear a No. 12 jersey after the staff wasn’t able to find his jersey an hour before the game. The staff in a desperate attempt tried to find a No. 23 jersey in the crowd that would fit him. However, after numerous attempts, Jordan was left frustrated. Eventually, the staff gave Jordan a jersey with just No. 12 written on the back.
“That has never happened to me before,” said Jordan. “It’s pretty irritating because you’re accustomed to certain things and you don’t like to have things misplaced.” Nonetheless, this didn’t stop him from putting up a show in Orlando. His Airness finished the game with 49 points. The Bulls eventually lost the game in OT after a dismal 4th quarter from the Bulls, 135-129.
How was Michael Jordan’s jersey stolen?
In 2020, Rodney Powell, the Orlando Magic’s Director of Team Operations explained what happened that night. “A couple days later, they found out from security that one of their personnel had set up a plan to get the jersey, had actually gone through another locker room, climbed over the ceilings, came through a ceiling tile, grabbed the jersey, put it back in the ceiling,” said Powell. “Planning for, I guess, a few days later to come back and get it after thinking no one would figure it out.”
You may know about the time No.23 played as No.12, but do you know the 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 story?#TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/zGPhvKlgki
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) April 20, 2020
The Orlando Magic didn’t reveal the name of the employee behind the heist, which took place almost 3 decades ago. As for the employee, he couldn’t get to keep Jordan’s jersey after orchestrating such a heist. Michael Jordan after that incident didn’t wear the No. 12 jersey again for the Chicago Bulls.