Michael Jordan is widely looked at as the greatest basketball player of all time. After winning almost every accolade possible with the Chicago Bulls, Jordan decided to play for one last time when he returned to the league in 2001, but this time around, as a member of the Washington Wizards.
Sure, Jordan was no longer in his prime, but that doesn’t mean he gave up on the habits that made him the GOAT. So much so that his then-teammate Tyronn Lue recently opened up on Mike’s training habits even as a 40-year-old.
“MJ being 40 years old, we called him Black Jesus. You know MJ being 40 years old, and he’d be the first guy in the gym. Practice at 11; you walk in the gym, you think you’re early at 9 o’clock, he’s already got a full lather. He’s done and lifted, court workout and everything. Then we’re coming to practice; he’s on one leg. He was hurt, the second year; he was on one leg the whole year and played 82 games. He practiced every day, and he played every game on one leg.”
Lue then explained the reason behind Michael Jordan giving his 100% even as a 40-year-old in the final season of his NBA career.
“MJ, why don’t you sit down? ‘How can I be the leader of the team and sit out and y’all going through all of it? I gotta be there, or I lose my power as being a leader. Like I can’t tell you what to do if I’m sitting on the sideline.’ It was like, damn, he’s 40 years old on one leg, the greatest of all time.”
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Michael Jordan has always spoken highly about the importance of practice in his career. In fact, ‘His Airness’ once revealed he wouldn’t have become a legend in the NBA without his insane work ethic eliminating fear.
In the two seasons that Jordan played with the Wizards, Jordan averaged 21.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.5 SPG, and 0.5 BPG. Not bad for a player on his last leg, right?
Michael Jordan Is The GOAT
Many players may come and go in the NBA, but there is a very slight chance that any will match the level of Michael Jordan.
There are many reasons why MJ is considered to be the GOAT, but one of the lesser talked about things regarding Jordan was his consistency on the court. In his career, Jordan played all 82 games of the regular season nine times. It also includes a run from March 1995 to June 1998 when MJ didn’t miss even a single game.
Even as a 40-year-old, Jordan played every game of the season and averaged 37.0 MPG, which would be enough to lead the league in minutes played per game in the 2022-23 NBA season.
Playing at the highest level and still being this consistent is rarely seen nowadays. But if that is not enough for you to believe that Michael Jordan is the GOAT. Our writer Eddie Bitar penned a fantastic piece about the 10 reasons why Jordan is the best basketball player in NBA history.
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