Which pro basketball team retired Michael Jordan’s number, even though he never played for them?

Michael Jordan finished a legendary career with the Chicago Bulls in 1998, then came out of retirement to play two years with the Washington Wizards, starting with the 2001-02 NBA (National Basketball Association) season.

The Bulls and Wizards are the only two professional basketball teams that Jordan ever played for, but of the two, so far only the Bulls have retired his iconic jersey number (23). Nevertheless, Jordan's number has been retired by two NBA teams; the other team that retired his number, was a team he often played against.

Miami's NBA team, the Heat, retired Jordan's jersey in 2003, when the superstar was playing out his last season before final retirement. In a pre-game ceremony, the Heat, represented by coach and team president Pat Riley, honored Jordan’s final trip to South Beach as a pro. Presiding as Jordan’s number 23 (in a mix of Bulls and Wizards colors) was hung from the rafters, Riley stated “No Heat player will ever wear the number”, as a tribute to the greatest player of all time.

Possibly the powers that be in Miami figured that Jordan's jersey deserved to be retired league-wide, as integration pioneer Jackie Robinson's number was in Major League Baseball. Then again, maybe it was just a publicity stunt.

Somewhat ironically, Jordan not only got his number in the rafters a second time, but his team got the win, too, when the Wizards beat the Heat 91 to 87.