"Number 45, he revs up, but he doesn't really take off": Former Magic star once made a brutal comparison between Michael Jordan's #23 and #45 days 

Michael Jordan is arguably hailed as the best basketball player in NBA history. Along with his accolades are great stories from the 90s that are retold to this day.

Back in 1994, Jordan retired from basketball right after the death of his dad. He then pursued a short-lived career in baseball but made a comeback in the 1994-95 season.

The Bulls were not on top of the food chain anymore once Jordan came back and the Orlando Magic, led by Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, were seen as the team that will be the next NBA dynasty.

Upon returning to the league, Jordan kept his baseball number 45 and opted to keep his jersey 23 retired.

Both met in the 1995 NBA playoffs during the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Orlando was seeded first in the East while the Bulls were climbing up after getting the 5th seed.

In Game 1, the Orlando Magic edged the Chicago Bulls by three points, 94-91. Jordan shot a poor 8-for-22 from the field to just finish the game with 19 points. Guarding him at that time was Nick Anderson, who talked to the media about Jordan.

"Number 45 doesn't explode like number 23 used to,'' said Anderson. "Number 23, he could just blow by you. He took off like a space shuttle. Number 45, he revs up, but he doesn't really take off.''

Michael Jordan took Anderson's comments as a challenge and came in Game 2 wearing number 23 instead of 45. The Bulls went on to tie the series at 2-2 after Jordan shot better, doing 17-of-30 from the field to finish with 38 points, seven rebounds, four steals and four blocks.

After the game, Orlando head coach Brian Hill took a shot at Anderson's comments as it helped the Bulls gain motivation to tie the series.

"I'm a big believer in letting sleeping dogs lie,'' said Hill. "We talked about how everything that's said is magnified in the playoffs, about not saying things to pump the other team up, but I guess not everybody paid attention.''

Orlando managed to win the series over Chicago in six games but got swept in the NBA Finals by Hakeem Olajuwon's Houston Rockets.

Michael Jordan and the 72-win Chicago Bulls had the last laugh against the Orlando Magic

After losing to the Orlando Magic, Michael Jordan made sure that his team will come prepared to face them again the next season. While shooting Space Jam, the 'Jordan Dome' was set up near the filming area to keep MJ in top basketball shape entering the 1995-96 season.

Dennis Rodman also came in during free agency and the Bulls scored a rematch against the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. Michael Jordan averaged 29.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game as Chicago swept Orlando.

The Bulls went on to win the first championship of their second three-peat in the 90s while the Magic core of Shaq and Penny was disbanded the following season.