Michael Jordan is widely known as the “Greatest Player of All Time” by many basketball scholars. When you think of Jordan, you picture him in that red Chicago Bulls jersey winning championships.
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But as you all know and some try to forget, Jordan made a second comeback in the 2001-2002 NBA season as a member of the Washington Wizards.
Jordan’s Wizards Comeback
Despite what you might think, Jordan’s years in Washington were not a complete waste, and he wasn’t a “washed” player, as some people say he was.
Jordan, who was minority owner and vice president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards, couldn’t stand to watch his team put up a pathetic 19-63 record during the 2000-01 season.
Jordan felt like he could help his young players learn better by lacing his “Js” up and returning to the floor as a player, rather than sitting in the front office.
So, that’s exactly what Jordan did about two weeks after the terrible September 11 terrorist attacks. He announced his (second) comeback to the game he loves.
“It’s an itch that still needs to be scratched here and I want to make sure this scratch doesn’t bother me for the rest of my life,” Jordan said in a press conference.
Jordan made his comeback, and though he wasn’t quite as explosive as his former Chicago Bulls self, he still showed fans, and his young opponents, that he could play the game of basketball.
Fans witnessed Jordan’s fadeaway jumper, his spectacular one-handed ball-fakes, and his unforgettable tongue wagging after made baskets.
But one thing fans witnessed that they weren’t used to, was a game where Jordan scored under 10 points.
The date was December 27, 2001, and the Wizards were in Indiana taking on the Pacers. The Wizards were getting destroyed by the Pacers, and Jordan had 6 points on 2-10 shooting.
The Pacers defeated the Wizards by a score of 108-81, and Jordan’s double-digit scoring record would end at 866 consecutive games.
This terrible performance clearly bothered Jordan, and he’d respond the only way he knew how, by destroying his next opponent.
The Wizards next opponent just so happened to be the team Jordan would own in the future, the Charlotte Hornets, and Jordan would, in fact, destroy them.
Jordan scored 51 points on 21-38 shooting in a Wizards 107-90 victory. But Jordan wasn’t done quite yet.
In the next game against the New Jersey Nets, Jordan scored 45 points on 16-32 shooting in a Wizards 98-76 victory.
After his low for the season, Jordan bounced back with two of his best games since coming out of retirement.
Next up for Jordan would be the first time in his career where he’d play against the Chicago Bulls.
Jordan Plays The Chicago Bulls And Comes Up With A Career Block
January 4th, 2002 will go down in basketball history as one of the oddest days. Michael Jordan played in a basketball game where the Chicago Bulls took the floor.
The problem was Jordan wasn’t wearing the iconic red Bulls jerseys, instead, he wore the Wizards white jerseys.
Still to this day, it’s an odd sight to see, but as basketball fans, we were excited to see how he’d do against the club where he won six titles.
Jordan started the game the same way he did in his previous two; on fire. By halftime, the Wizards led 57-37 and Jordan had 25 points.
At the 5:28 mark in the second quarter, Jordan scored his 30,000 career point at the free-throw line. It was fitting that it happened against his former team.
The second half was a different story. Jordan struggled, scoring only 4 points to finish with 29 in the game, and the Bulls stormed back into the game.
With about 23 seconds left in the game, the Wizards were holding on to an 87-81 lead when Ron Artest blocked Jordan’s jump shot.
Jordan thought he was fouled on the shot attempt, and this angered him. So, as the Bulls were running a fast break with the ball in Ron Mercer’s hands, Jordan chased after.
Mercer beat the Wizards guard, Hubert Davis, at the basket, looking like he was going to make an easy layup.
Then, out of nowhere, a 38, soon-to-be 39 years old Michael Jordan soared through the sky and pinned the ball with two hands against the backboard.
The crowd in Washington erupted, as Jordan got rid of the ball but continued to scream and show his frustration with the no-call on the other end.
The Wizards went on to win the game by a score of 89-83, and Michael Jordan proved to everyone once again that he could do anything he set his mind to.
