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After three seasons in retirement, Michael Jordan relinquished his role as President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards, opting to return to the court for two seasons, selling his ownership shares, and trading his suit for a uniform.
The result, at least as most remember it, was a lackluster, forgettable era in which an elderly Jordan hobbled up and down the court, failed to score, and was constantly embarrassed by younger players, leaving a permanent blemish on the previously pristine résumé of the greatest player in history. Are those memories accurate? Not one bit.
A few people have gone on so far as to say that the biggest myth in sports history is that Jordan ruined his legacy with the Wizards. The magnitude of the myth is a moot point, but by all means, it is definitely a myth.
Prior to a torn meniscus derailing his 2001-02 campaign, Michael Jordan was putting up per-game averages of 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. You know how many other players in the league were putting up those numbers at that time? The list is pretty short, and it starts and ends with the second greatest guard of all time in Kobe Bryant.
The following are the 5 most legendary performances by His Airness in a Wizards uniform:
#5 Wizards at Phoenix, January 26th 2002
Statline: 41 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals
With Jordan finding his feet within the new environment during the first couple of weeks, the Wizards started off slow in the 2001-02 season.
But during a 23-game spell smack in the middle of the season, they ran off a 19-4 record as Jordan averaged a barely believable 32 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in this period.
While the Suns were a middling team at this time, they had several capable players on the roster at the time - Penny Hardaway, Stephon Marbury and Shawn Marion rounded out an extremely lethal perimeter trio, while an old but still elite Dan Majerle came off the bench as a sharpshooter.
At the time of this game, the Suns were battling for a playoff spot in a stacked Western Conference at a 21-21 record, while the Wizards were in a similar position in the Eastern Conference.
Jordan still outperformed the elite trio of players in front of him by himself and led the Wizards to a relatively comfortable 112-102 win.
#4 Cavs at Washington, 24 January 2002
Statline: 40 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 0 turnovers
The Cavs, along with the Knicks, the Pacers and the Heat, bore the brunt of Jordan's wrath for several years during his years with the Bulls - both in the playoffs as well as during the regular season.
Indeed, Jordan scored 69 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in his greatest ever regular season showing of all time against the Cavs in March 1990 - less than a year removed from the time he knocked down a game winner so iconic that it's still known as 'The Shot'. These feats came during a time when the Cavs were a pretty good playoff team.
Therefore, it wasn't much of a surprise when during his return with the Wizards (a time when the Cavs were having some of their worst years in the league), Jordan managed to turn the clock back and drop 40 points en route to leading the Wizards to a 94-85 win.
#3 Nets at Washington, 21st February 2003
Statline: 43 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 1 block
The Wizards stuttered their way to a 37-45 record in Jordan's final season in the league, as he dealt with a torn meniscus on top of the preposterous workload he had to carry as a 40-year-old.
All those miles he accumulated over the years weighed him down from performing at his best, but to onlookers near and afar, his play during his final season was like a lover saying goodbye to their beloved, and he was greeted with packed stadiums everywhere he went.
The Wizards' home crowd remained boisterous as ever, and they were treated to one last outburst by the greatest player of all time as Jordan turned the clock back to lead Washington past the Conference's best team which had made the Finals the previous season and would go on to repeat the same feat in the 2002-03 season as well.
In an 89-86 win, Jordan scored 43 points, as the rest of the Wizards' starters combined for 33 points by themselves ov
#2 Nets at Washington, 31 December 2001
Statline: 45 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals
The Nets had newly acquired Jason Kidd in a trade that sent Stephon Marbury the other way before the 2001-02 season commenced.
They'd also drafted Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson in successive drafts as lottery picks, and they were a team on the come-up.
As we've talked about earlier, of course, the Nets made the Finals for 2 consecutive seasons with a team built around this core.
During this game, however, the Nets were nowhere close to their best. This was a time when they started two power forwards (Martin and Keith van Horn) together while Jefferson came off the bench.
MJ took 32 shots, converting 16 of them. He also made 12 of his 13 free throw attempts as the Wizards played the Nets off the floor, mainly due to their offensive rebounding, en route to a 98-76 win.
#1 Hornets at Washington, December 29 2001
Two nights after the lowest-scoring game of his career, His Airness had one of the best games in Washington Wizards history
Statline: 51 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
On December 26, 2001, Michael Jordan's legendary double-digit scoring streak of 866 games was snapped when he scored only 6 points in a defeat to the Indiana Pacers.
Two nights after the lowest-scoring game of his career, His Airness had one of the best games in Washington Wizards history.
Jordan scored 51 points and set franchise records with 24 first-quarter points and 34 points in a half last night as the Wizards snapped a two-game losing streak with a 107-90 victory over the host Charlotte Hornets.
Jordan made 21 of 38 shots from the field, 9 of 10 free throws and had 7 rebounds and 4 assists in 38 minutes.
He had a shot at Earl Monroe's franchise game record of 56 until the Wizards blew the game open in the third quarter, allowing Coach Doug Collins to sit his star for good with 3 minutes 8 seconds remaining in the game.
There are so many levels of greatness to this man that one really is lost for words when we examine his career in depth.
