"When Michael came back from baseball.." - How Tim Grover got Michael Jordan in basketball shape using 'bowls of uncooked rice' in 1995

After 21 months away from basketball to fulfill his lifelong dream of playing baseball, Michael Jordan returned to the NBA in March 1995. “His Airness” looked different in his first appearance on the hardcourt since fans saw him lead the Chicago Bulls to the 1993 championship.

No, it wasn’t just the No. 45 that stunned fans, but it also was how the usually svelte Jordan had packed on the muscles.

Tim Grover had this to say about how he tried to get the superstar back in basketball shape in an interview with Sports Illustrated:

"Take baseball. When you throw a baseball, you're trying for a low, flat trajectory. You want to get that ball from one place to another as fast as possible. In basketball, it's totally different. You're looking to throw up a shot with a high trajectory. Different muscles.

“That's why, when Michael came back from baseball, he had problems. We'd been working different muscles. Even he was surprised. He thought it would be a lot easier. I told him it was going to take a year, and it did. Different muscles.”

An excerpt of Tim Grover's interview with Sports Illustrated in 1996.

Grover, Jordan’s renowned trainer, came up with a program that was unorthodox but efficient. SI reported:

“Grover put together exercises for Jordan's fingers using rubber bands and bowls of uncooked rice. He designed exercises for Jordan's ankles and wrists.”

In his first game back in the NBA, Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls took on a familiar foe - Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers. Fans inside Market Square Arena, the Pacers’ home floor, watched “His Airness” hit just 7-28 of his shots and missed all four of his three-pointers.

Jordan’s greatness, however, still emerged despite being out of basketball shape. A few days after his dud in Indiana, he torched his rivals the New York Knicks for then record 55 points at Madison Square Garden.

Here's the full Sports Illustrated report

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Tim Grover’s program for Michael Jordan ultimately paid off

The Chicago Bulls were eliminated by Shaquille O’Neal and the Orlando Magic in 1995. Magic guard/forward Nick Anderson told reporters after the Bulls’ Game 1 loss:

"No. 45 doesn't explode like No. 23 used to. No. 45 is not No. 23. I couldn't have done that to No. 23."

Michael Jordan wore his No. 23 after that game and re-captured some of his old fiery form. Still, it was not enough to overcome the young and talented team from Orlando.

Tim Grover was right. Jordan needed a year to get his old basketball muscles working as expected and needed again. “His Airness” captured three more championships from 1996-1998.

Michael Jordan won three more Finals MVPs and kept his championship record spotless (6-0). No. 23 was truly back and he proved it with the help of Grover’s exercises and uncooked bows of rice.

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