that was the height of MJ's career... he was on a roll and I do not believe that the Rockets could have stopped him if he had not 'retired'.
Now coming back the next year does not count because he was hardly in BB shape, and as I keep saying even he knew that by not wearing #23 until the following season in which he again led Bulls to the first of another three in a row.
Oh cut it out. Jordan was in shape for most of his career if not all. He stayed in tha gym. The man dropped 55 against tha Knicks his fifth game back. He worked his way back into rhythm, not shape. As far the Rockets stopping him, that's a debate for another day but they definitely wouldn't have been a pushover.
And your only line of defense for tha G.O.A.T is tha number of his jersey? He would be disappointed in you. Jordan could have and would have won with any number. What you have to say about Kobe when he changed from #8 to #24? He won championships with both numbers. A jersey number is really irrelevant. He came back as #45 because his original #23 jersey was retired. Also 45 was his number with tha Barons and his brothers number in HS, so he had ties to that number.
To wrap this up, I think Jordan had a fairly decent return to tha NBA. He came back to a team that lost Paxson, Grant, Cartwright, and Williams but still finished 5th in tha East. A jersey number might change, but not necessarily tha player.