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By Andrew Stern
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Michael Jordan announced his retirement from professional basketball Wednesday, saying he no longer felt mentally challenged by the game he dominated as no other man has.
``I don't want to fool myself going into a situation knowing that I'm not 100 percent challenged mentally,'' the 35-year-old Jordan told a news conference on the basketball court of Chicago's United Center.
``Physically I feel fine ... Mentally I felt like I just didn't have the challenges in front of me,'' he added.
``This is a perfect time for me to walk away from the game and I'm at peace with that.''
Asked if there was any chance he would change his mind, Jordan said: ``No. I'm very secure with my decision,'' calling it ``99.9 percent ... it's not 100 percent but its close.''
He retired once before, in 1993, to try his hand at professional baseball, but returned to the Chicago Bulls in 1995 after a stint in the minor leagues to lead the team to three more championships. This time he said it was for good.
``I'm doing a good job trying to hold back the emotions because it's taking away something that I truly have loved for the last ... 24 years I have been playing the game,'' he said.
``It's sad that I'm leaving the game, but it's happy because my life is going to a whole different stage,'' added Jordan.
``I chose to walk away knowing that I could still play the game and that's exactly the way I wanted to end it.''
NBA Commissioner David Stern, who joined Jordan, Jordan's wife Juanita and Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf at the event, told Jordan ``your contributions to the NBA are immeasurable.''
Reinsdorf said it was ``the toughest day in the history of the Chicago Bulls ... a tough day for basketball fans all over the world.
``Michael is simply the best player who will ever put on a basketball uniform,'' added Reinsdorf, who re-retired Jordan's jersey number 23 and presented him with the sixth and final championship ring of his awe-inspiring career.
Jordan said a severed finger tendon he recently suffered cutting a cigar had no influence on his decision not to come back for this year's lockout-shortened season, even though he faces surgery and could not have played for two months.
Jordan's decision to walk away ended an unmatched and magical playing career that shattered records and awed fans worldwide.
There were more than 2,000 media personnel on hand for the announcement at the arena, in front of which stands a soaring bronze statue of Jordan in flight that carries an inscription few would dispute: ``The Best There Ever Was. The Best There Ever Will Be.''
He announced no specific future plans other than to spend more time with his family, and to remain in Chicago. He said he might channel his energy into some business ventures, but mostly he wanted time with his family.
``Being a parent is very challenging ... and I welcome that challenge,'' he said. He said he would live ``vicariously'' through his children if they play basketball, ``or if they don't.''
Jordan said he looked forward to driving his children to school and picking them up, ``things that seem so simple in a lot of peoples' lives that have never been enjoyed by me....
``For the most part, I'm just going to enjoy life and do some of the things that I never had a chance to do before.''
In walking away from the game after 13 seasons and a few weeks shy his 36th birthday, Jordan left behind six world championships for the Chicago Bulls, 10 scoring titles, a stack of most valuable player crowns and unforgettable memories of dead-on shots in an airborne ballet that defied gravity and the best defenses the game could throw at him.
In addition to making a fortune on the court -- his paycheck for last season was $33 million -- Jordan became a twinkling, one-man commercial marketing machine for products ranging from sneakers to batteries.
Fortune Magazine once estimated his marketing prowess added $10 billion to the world economy. In advance of his announcement, marketing experts said his appeal was timeless and would no doubt continue to generate fortunes.
His departure from the game left not only a hole in the Chicago Bulls, which now face a major reorganization, but in the entire NBA where Jordan was the top draw at every venue.
One reporter asked Jordan's wife how her life would change with Michael retired.
``Actually, my life won't change at all. I see Michael doing
more car pooling, that's about it,'' she said.
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