When Michael Jordan retired for the first time in 1993, he had a heartbreaking statement about his father seeing his last basketball game ever.

At the time, Jordan was done with basketball after winning three straight titles with the Chicago Bulls. In The Last Dance, the emotional quote Jordan had about his late father was revisited:

“I’m a very optimistic person. I guess the biggest positive thing I can take out of my father not being here with me today is he saw my last basketball game and that means a lot,” Michael Jordan said in The Last Dance.

Jordan's dad was tragically murdered in June of 1993, right after MJ and the Bulls won their third straight title. It was a very emotional time for Mike, who decided he needed to step away from basketball despite being the best player in the world.

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If you search “Father’s Day 1996” on Google, a picture of Michael Jordan shows up with his 1996 NBA championship hat on. To recall, the Bulls defeated the Seattle SuperSonics in Game 6 of the 1996 Finals for Jordan's fourth title and fourth Finals MVP.

Right after winning the title, Jordan ran into the locker room, fell to the floor and started crying. He was thinking about his dad since he had just won his fourth championship on Father’s Day. It was a very heartwarming scene for America to watch.

In his first full season back in the NBA after playing a year of baseball, Jordan averaged 30.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists. MJ won the 1996 regular-season MVP award and led the Bulls to 72 wins.

Chicago defeated the Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic and Sonics in the '96 playoffs to capture the title. Jordan averaged 30.7 points in the 1996 postseason.