As the likes of Joakim Noah, Jamal Crawford, and J.R. Smith make comeback attempts in the bubble, we take a look at nine players (aside from the obvious, Michael Jordan) who actually declared retirement but then later came back to play again.
1) Magic Johnson (1992, 1996)
Johnson's 1991 announcement that he had contracted HIV and was retiring immediately from the NBA stands as possibly the most shocking and culturally seismic event in league history. It was evident from the beginning that the superstar considered his career to be unfinished business, as he made highly-publicized "comeback" appearances in the 1992 All-Star Game (when he memorably won MVP) and the 1992 Olympics with the Dream Team. Convinced that his body could still hold up to the rigors of an NBA season, and sorrowful that he had retired prematurely, Johnson announced his intentions to return to the Lakers for the '92-'93 season. It was an attitude indicative of a highly competitive motor that could match his biggest rivals, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird, but was often overshadowed by his happy-go-lucky veneer. Even though Johnson cited doctors stating that he was of no threat to transmit HIV to teammates or opposing players, his comeback was immediately met with derision by many, most notably his Dream Team teammate Karl Malone. Discouraged by the backlash, Magic gave up his comeback during the preseason, tearfully specifying a desire to not potentially sully the game he so loved. He managed to stay away for about 18 months, concentrating on his business ventures, charity events and HIV/AIDS awareness outreach, but returned to the Lakers in March of 1994, this time as head coach. Lured in by general manager Jerry West after he fired the ineffective Randy Pfund, Magic had some initial success on the sidelines, but found it slipping away quickly as he failed to connect with the newer generation of players (despite the presence of longtime teammates James Worthy and Kurt Rambis on the roster). He stepped down after the season ended with 10 consecutive losses, but his time away was again short lived. Johnson was back on the roster in January of 1996, nearly 4 1/2 years removed from his last competitive NBA experience. A little more muscular and a little paunchier, Magic played in the final 32 games of the season, mostly coming off the bench as a power forward. He was, at times, resplendent, and also, at times, a sad reminder of the ravages of entropy. There's no doubt he made the Lakers a more exciting team, but it's questionable if they were a better one, as they fell in the first round to the two-time defending champions from Houston. In spite of the disappointing finish, Johnson felt now like he was finally going out on his own terms, and retired for the final time after the season ended.
2) Robert Reid (1983)
Most NBA retirements happen when no team in the league has the need for a player anymore due to injury or ineffectiveness. Reid's 1982 retirement was conversely because he no longer had a need for the league. Though he had established himself as a premier small forward in a six-year career, with a reputation as a defensive stopper (especially against Larry Bird in the 1981 NBA Finals), Reid stepped away after the '81-'82 season to re-devote himself to his Pentecostal faith. He packed up and moved to Florida, where he attended church five days a week and worked part-time at a convenience store. It was a move that shocked many fans and journalists, but to those who knew Reid well it came as no surprise. A quiet, introspective man who came from humble beginnings in Atlanta, he had been named NBA Humanitarian of the Year in 1981 for his fealty to charity. Citing a desire to recommit to those Houston-based charity organizations, Reid returned from his sabbatical for the '83-'84 season, re-signing with the Rockets. Even though his stats turned out to have peaked before his brief retirement, his defensive intensity and versatility (he shifted to point guard for a while during the '85-'86 run to the NBA Finals due to injuries and suspensions) was a major factor in Houston's revival, as they rebuilt around Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon. Reid's second act lasted all the way through the '90-'91 season, when he retired again, this time devoting himself to running youth basketball clinics around the world.
3) Dave Cowens (1982)
It was a symbolic moment when Cowens retired in 1980. His pro career had started with the Celtics just one year after Bill Russell's had ended, and now 10 seasons, two championship, and one MVP trophy later, Cowens was passing the torch to Larry Bird, who had just completed his rookie season. Though Cowens' final game in Boston green was a disappointment for the team, as they dropped their Conference Finals series against the 76ers, it was a fitting end for him individually, with a turn-back-the-clock performance of 22 points and 10 rebounds. The quirky big man had stepped away from the game before, famously taking a two-month leave of absence during the '76-'77 season to sell Christmas trees on a farm in Kentucky, and retiring at age 31 certainly left the door open for a comeback. Sure enough, after a brief gig as athletic director at Regis College, a tiny Catholic school just outside of Boston, Cowens announced his intentions to return to the NBA for the '82-'83 season. The Celtics had fully restocked their front line by then, with Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, leaving little need for a rusty 34-year-old with achy knees. His old friend and former Celtics teammate Don Nelson was now the coach in Milwaukee, and decided to trade Quinn Buckner to the Celtics for Cowens' services. To be fair, he didn't completely embarrass himself, as he showed up to training camp in top notch shape, and did manage to average 8.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game during the season. His knees failed him however, and after just 40 games played, Cowens was forced to shut down for the season and couldn't contribute for Milwaukee in the playoffs (they swept the Celtics in the first round, then lost to Philadelphia in the Conference Finals). He retired again, this time for good, and embarked on a career in coaching, eventually landing the head position in Charlotte and Golden State.
4) Brandon Roy (2012)
Any star player forced to retire early due to an injury situation inevitably leaves behind a trail of what-if scenarios. Roy got the rare chance to rekindle his career when a what-if came to fruition, and a potential restorative surgery for his ailing knees became available. A Rookie of the Year, three-time All-Star, and budding franchise centerpiece for the Blazers when his knees began to fail him during the '09-'10 season, Roy likely made the situation worse when he returned too early after reconstructive surgery to play in the 2010 playoffs. He showed only flashes of his former elite self during '10-'11, and with the lockout looming, he knew there was a difficult choice pending. Rather than continue playing at a reduced clip, Roy announced his retirement in December of 2011 and Portland used the newly instituted amnesty clause to waive him. It seemed like a melancholy denouement to a promising career (and a story sadly indicative of Portland's history of injuries ravaging star players) until a controversial procedure performed on Kobe Bryant in Germany gave Roy new hope. The treatment, where platelet-rich plasma was separated in a centrifuge and re-injected into Roy's knee, spurred his intentions to return to the NBA. He signed with the Timberwolves for the '12-'13 season, but the ending was not quite fairy tale ready. A collision during a preseason game caused further knee pain for Roy, and after appearing in just five regular season games he was forced to endure yet another surgery. After Minnesota waived him that May, Roy called it quits for good, stating that he'd come to terms with the limitations of his career and a life outside of playing basketball. That life ended up including coaching basketball, and in 2016 Roy won the Naismith High School Coach of the Year while coaching Nathan Hale High School in his native Seattle.
5) Sidney Moncrief (1990)
Everyone remembers Magic Johnson spending his entire career with the Lakers and Larry Bird with the Celtics, but the unsung loyal hero of the NBA '80s was Moncrief with the Bucks. He played the entire decade with the Milwaukee team that drafted him fifth overall in 1979, winning Defensive Player of the Year twice, playing in five All-Star Games, and leading Milwaukee to the Conference Finals in 1983, 1984, and 1986. A knee injury suffered during the '86-'87 season was the beginning of the end, and when the Bucks didn't offer him a new contract for the '89-'90 season, Moncrief opted to retire. He was running a car dealership back in his native Arkansas when the Bucks retired his jersey in a January of 1990 ceremony, but later that year accepted a free agent offer from the Hawks. Still feeling the effects of his bum knee, and never quite looking comfortable wearing red instead of forest green, Moncrief wasn't a major contributor that season but still had his moments in helping the Hawks reach the playoffs. He saved his best moment that year for nearly last, putting up 23 points in a playoff game four against the Pistons, helping Atlanta stave off elimination (Detroit would eventually win the series in five).
6) Richie Guerin (1968)
About to turn 38 and having logged nearly 1,000 total games in his career (and this was in the '60s, before private jets, personal chefs, and state-of-the-art weight rooms), Guerin must have known coming in that game four of Atlanta's 1970 Conference Finals series against the Lakers was his last. He had already retired in 1967 to concentrate on being the Hawks' full-time coach, but was coaxed back into on-court duty due to various injuries to his players. He appeared in eight games in the '69-'70 season, scoring just seven total points in eight total minutes of play. Led by Guerin's coaching, plus the stellar play of Lou Hudson and Walt Bellamy, the Hawks managed to reach the Western Conference Finals for the sixth time in eight years. They matched up against the same powerhouse Lakers team that had eliminated them the year before, and quickly fell behind 3-0 in the series. With his star guard Hudson struggling, and figuring he had nothing left to lose, Guerin put on a turn-back-the-clock performance for the ages in game four, scoring a team-high 31 points, though it was in a losing effort as the Hawks fell 133-114. He coached the Hawks for two more seasons, but resisted the temptation to ever take the court again.
7) Jonathan Bender (2009)
A pet project of then Pacers general manager Donnie Walsh, Bender was taken #5 overall in the 1999 Draft (by the Raptors, who dealt him on draft day to Indiana) straight out of high school, but never got his promising career off the ground. By the time a knee injury forced him to retire in 2006 at age 25, he was generally derided as one of the biggest flops of the prep-to-pro era. Possessing an entrepreneurial spirit, Bender embarked on several failed business ventures until inspiration struck one day in the form of a homemade device designed to assist athletes with weak knees. The JB Intensive Trainer, as he called it, has since become a massive success, and Bender was its first real beneficiary, using his own contraption to return to basketball playing shape. He announced his intention to return during the '08-'09 season, and Walsh, then the embattled general manager of the Knicks, signed him in December of 2008. With New York on the skids, Bender saw his first playing time almost immediately. He entered an otherwise unassuming game against the Clippers at Madison Square Garden, with the Knicks already trailing by 18 late in the first quarter. He quickly hit his first two shots from the field, sparking a Knicks comeback that ended with a 95-91 victory. Though Bender scored just nine points in the game, and finished the season with just 4.7 points per game in 25 appearances, it was a memorable and triumphant return for the pride of Picayune, Mississippi. After the season Bender retired again to concentrate on his business ventures and charity work.
8) Rasheed Wallace (2012)
Wallace's '09-'10 season with Boston was full of ups and downs. He was widely blamed for everything that was supposedly wrong with the seemingly apathetic and lethargically ancient Celtics as they slumped through the regular season and wound up with the East's #4 seed. Aside from an occasional outburst reminiscent of the old 'Sheed (like his 29 point, eight rebound performance in January against Toronto), Celtics fans were left wondering why the team sacrificed chemistry in order to sign the aging and obviously overweight big man. Then the playoffs started up and the professedly dead-in-the-water Celtics made a surprising run to the NBA Finals, with Wallace contributing key performances all along the way. All was relatively forgiven, even though Wallace fouled out of game seven of the Finals and after the game supposedly tried to track down the officials for an explanation of some of the calls (such a potentially fitting end to a career that smashed every technical foul record imaginable). He announced his retirement after the season, citing his struggles with conditioning, but before the '12-'13 season Wallace decided to give it another go. He signed with the dysfunctional Knicks, much to the delight of beat writers and disdain of officials. The comeback unfortunately lasted just 21 games, when a foot injury led to surgery in February of 2013 and another retirement.
9) George Mikan (1955)
After six years in the NBA netted five titles for Mikan with the Minneapolis Lakers, his 1954 retirement secured his legacy of efficient domination. With several rule changes implemented specifically to hamper his sovereignty over the paint, including the shot clock, he got out at just the right time. But whatever competitive spirit drove Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson to return also seemingly brought Mikan back out of retirement for the '55-'56 season. The Lakers took an obvious step back in his absence in '54-'55, but didn't exactly fall apart, reaching the Conference Finals behind new star center Clyde Lovellette. Not only was Mikan not the same player anymore, averaging just 10.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game that season (his previous career marks were 24.3 points and 14.1 rebounds per game), he was disrupting team chemistry, creating a rift between players loyal to him and players that wanted to move on with Lovellette as the anchor. The Lakers finished below .500 for the first time in franchise history, and after they were knocked out of the first round of the playoffs, Mikan retired once again. The seemingly innocuous comeback decision wound up having long-term ramifications on both the franchise and its star. With their rebuilding plans disrupted, the Lakers fell into a prolonged slump for the remainder of the decade, which directly led to the team relocating to Los Angeles. Mikan, with his impenetrable facade suddenly cracked, found difficulty in seemingly every post-playing venture he attempted for a long time - from coaching the Lakers, to starting a law firm, to running for congress - as if his comeback had cursed him.