Did Jordan play as a substitute before retirement? Revealing the only time that the "God of Basketball" bows his head!

Did Jordan play as a substitute before retiring? If this matter is put on others, it may not be worth mentioning, but if it is put on the "God of Basketball", it will be big news! After all, Jordan's dictionary has never had the word "substitute". From North Carolina's final victory to the six-time champion, he will always be the most shining star on the court. But in the last season of his career, there was really one time when Jordan almost became a substitute...

This matter has to go back to the 2003 All-Star Game. At that time, 40-year-old Jordan had announced that it was the last season of his career, and fans naturally wanted to send other legends with the All-Star first. But that year, in the Eastern Conference backcourt vote, Jordan (1.08 million votes) lost to McGrady (1.31 million votes) and Iverson (1.15 million votes). According to the rules, he should have played as a substitute. This is the first time Jordan may appear as an All-Star as a substitute in his career. His old opponent "Smiling Assassin" Thomas (Eastern All-Star coach) can't stand it anymore and directly found the starting striker Carter at the time, hoping that he could give way to Jordan.

Carter refused at first, with a tough reason: "More than 1.3 million fans cast me as the starter, how can I let them down?" Even a week before the All-Star Game, the reporter asked about this again, and Carter directly threw out the "next question". But the pressure is really great - McGrady and Iverson both publicly expressed their willingness to give way, Nike even put pressure secretly, and even the Eastern Conference All-Star teammates voted that Carter should give way (after all, he and Jordan are both North Carolina alumni). In the end, Carter compromised on the day of the game. He held Jordan while warming up and said, "You have to start for me, otherwise I will go back to the locker room!" Jordan refused, and that was the classic scene. When the host announced that Carter gave way, the audience booed first and then cheered, and the old hooligan's rogue was full.

So strictly speaking, Jordan has never really played as a substitute, but this All-Star aside is the only time he has "passively accepted the substitute arrangement" in his career. You should know that with his status as a world leader, even if he returns with the Wizards at the age of 38, he still starts every game by 20+6+3, and even scores 51 points in a single game. Going forward, the Bulls era in the 1990s was even more exaggerated - from 1990 to 1998, Jordan led the team without losing three consecutive times in seven years. This dominance is a substitute? It doesn't exist!