He averaged 28.5 points a game in the last 20 games he played before he tore his miniscus. Was averaging 29 a game in the 10 games leading up to the injury. He was GETTING BETTER as the season went on
Before injury: Jordan = 25.1 ppg 6.2 rpg 5.3 apg 1.5 spg 0.5 bpg on 42% through 46 games Wizards = 26-20 in those 46 games Rip Hamilton missed 5 weeks in those 46 games Wizards were 15-1 in the last 16 games that MJ and Rip played together before the injury After injury: Jordan = 15.7 ppg 3.8 rpg 4.8 apg 1.2 spg 0.3 bpg on 39%. Wizards lost 9/10 games after injury The numbers speak for themselves.
@@mistameff3528 yeah exactly he was getting better as he got deeper into the season. No one realizes that when he got injured he was literally playing at the level he was when he retired after his 6th title. If he hadn’t been injured and played the next season he easily would have averaged 28 a game
I remember that Jordan was on an absolute tear before the knee injury and the Washington area was excited, but after that injury he was never the same. It remined me of Pete Maravich in 1977 when he torched the Knicks for 68 points and was the best he had ever been and no one could stop him, then he had that kind of knee injury and there was no medical miracles in the 70's and after that he was just a shell of themselves. I can only imagine how many more years Jordan would have performed and Pete would have risen to is they didn't have those knee injuries or had 2024 medical technology back when they played.
The other misconception the REAL ONE is when people try to compare Wizards MJ to Lebron LA Is that Jordan didn't STUNT like he was still a top 5 player who could lead a team to a championship. He was pretty much BRUTALLY honest and told everybody don't expect that Bulls MJ, but we will be granted with one last treat from the GOAT.
@@trigun442 in the end, he missed the playoffs without AD, missed the playoffs with aD, and then almost missed the playoffs this year again until trades and refs helped push them in, and they got perfect mismatches with no size to deal with AD until Denver. A sweep was inevitable. AD was the MVP of the Lakers playoffs and it as disgusting how much the media and lebron fans were blaming it all on AD when he really only had like 2 bad offensive game, while still playing elite defense and rebounding. They want him to put up 50 and 20 every night or else LeBron needs more help!!
@@HailKingCeezer definitely agree that AD was the literal MVP in that forgettable bubble mickey mouse ring. The NBA wants to incetivise lebum to generate as much revenue as possible so they catered to his diva like stature and tries to milk the media the best way they can. Little does the NBA know that international foreign athletes are racking up sales and making the NBA more approachable than it was. Also a new rule regarding the "lebron rule" - flopping accounts for a technical + possession. There wasn't anything like that during Jordan's tenure with the Wizards.
Real NBA fans already know, Wizards Jordan, before his knee injury was playing like a top 10-15 player in the NBA. Only NBA cauals think Jordan Wizards years were trash. Thank you for making this video 🎉
In a half court offense, Jordan at 40 was still one of the top 5 isolation players in the league. It was the full court stuff that hurt, due to his knee.
He should have stayed retired.. he was old and didn’t accomplish anything but stat padding … Those extra numbers is what had Kobe playing well past his expectation date because he wanted to pass MJ in scoring…
@@repentyasharahla7632 If he was "padding" numbers, he wouldn't have come back. Cumulative stats are worthless. Those years brought down all his career averages, which are far more telling than cumulative stats.
thing I remember most from his time with the Wizards was a game they played against the Bulls: MJ lost the ball then ran back down after the Bulls’ player, think it was Ron Mercer, then he snatched the ball down from the backboard and the crowd went crazy…
Dare I say it was his most iconic Wizards moment. Heck, it might be the most iconic moment of the Wizards entire existence (not including the Bullets).
Yes i remember and love this play even though it was against one of my UK boys Mercer. But let's be clear that was a snatch block he pinned against the backboard with two hands! Any young person reading this should look it up.
This vid changed my mind on MJ with the Wizards. I too thought he shouldn't have come back after 3 years off (he was 38 when he first played for the Wiz in 2001). He had THE PERFECT ending to an amazing career (the steal, and the last shot to beat the Jazz in 98 Finals). But this vid shows not only how effective a 38-40 year old MJ was... he was a legit all-star! I like the comparison of MJ's team offense % vs. Devin Booker and his Suns (btw: Suns avg. around 114 points per game since 2020 vs. Wizards 92.8 ppg in MJ years). Was he the dominant MJ of old? No...but he had flashes of MJ brilliance. Plus the dude played 82 games at the age of 40! Booker? Hasn't played more than 70 games in last 5 seasons!
Narrator didn't mention Jordan's horrible FG%. MJ was just a volume scorer or selfish iso ballhog. MJ at age 38 shot 41%, Lebron at age 38 shot 52%.... and don't even bother looking at Jordan's 3pt%, its just laughable.
@dinewalton NBA Casual...SMH. The Narrator mentioned his fg% but I guess you missed that part. Why would he mention it, everybody knows Jordan didn't shoot 3's like that because he didn't have to but when he did he was an average shooter from 3.
Kenton Lebum always had better players, which equals more spacing and less double teams , which helped to a better field goal percentage, and MJ played on bad knees , cause he played BOTH ends of the court his entire career, as much can’t be said for that other guy who was scared of KOBE
@@dinewaltonMJ took 3 years off and still played under the old contact rules..right before his injury all his play was improving and was at 47% his last 10 games and 45% his last 20. You’re off
Watching him with the Wizards was so frustrating. He was empirically still great, and you just knew with a better team they could be legitimate playoff contenders. But as it was, his effort seemed wasted, and all I could do was appreciate him riding off into the sunset without much glory. Also made me think about what he could have done in those missed retirement years. But what I appreciate most, which players these days can barely say, is that he played every game he physically could.
Thats the thing, he improved the team to be on of the better defensive teams in the league on had them on track for the playoffs before the injury. Dude was proving his doubters wrong.
@@MicroWave233 Spot on, and I'm surprised this point wasn't really touched on. He turned the dial defensively for them. His offensive output is usually what gets talked about, but his defensive influence I thought was one of his biggest strengths.
Plus he did have a stake ownership in the wizards. And president of operations. He definitely wanted to help anyway he could improve the team, sell tickets and jump start their future in his mind I'm sure that's plenty motivation
It's very easy to criticize MJ's run when he was playing for the Wizards. But basketball fans back then were very excited to watch him play. MJ had quite a few big games as a Wizard.
He was the reason why the team was losing wouldn't let nobody else shoot the ball.Stackhouse had just averaged like 29 a game and rip was on the team averaging 18 and jordan wouldn't let them shoot and they had a number draft pick and couldn't win in the east that was so weak,the weakest it had ever been😂😂😂
@@ballers101ify I think I might have been wrong about the 6th spot in mvp, I might have gotten it mixed up with something else. But that doesn't change the fact jordan was receiving votes for mvp and if he continued to play the entrie season he might have gotten into the the top ten cause the wizards would have improved so much from the previous season. Jordan pre injury was averaging 25.1 PPG, 6.2 REBS, 5.3 AST, 1.5 steals on 42.1% percent shooting when the leagues FG% was 43.6%. Not bad for a 39 year old. Also he didn't play the rest of the season, he missed the last 22 games cause his knee blew out.
As a Knicks fan I hate MJ guts, but I can't deny he was otherworldly. I don't think will ever see another player like him again. and for those who didn't watch him play STFU with this modern-day nonsense. players today have it easier on the offensive end. that's why we're seeing these ridiculously inflated numbers.
Do you know how hard and how good somebody got to be to be like MJ again?that means from the jump out the gate from your rookie year you better be putting up 40 and 50 your rookie year!
@@AlexanderRodriguez-nc8yu Cause he hurt his knee the 01-02 season, and never was all-star caliber player he once was playing at. He had the Wizards 26-21, before all-star weekend 2002
If you looked at MJ’s rookie season, and then asked yourself how he would do post 35 yr’s old, you’d never have thought he would be anything once his athleticism was gone. But MJ was completely adaptive. He always found a way to dominate.
@@doitall36come on 😅 Jordan was getting better his numbers don't lie 28 ppg before the knee injury Jordan started slow with the wizards cause he came.bsck from a 3 year without playing he was not in shape also he was 38 years old Jordan was still breaking legs
in 2001-02, MJ was closer to a 25 ppg scorer before his knee injury. He had MVP stats, but they all dipped fast as he started coming off the bench and playing low mins because of the knee. If not for the knee injury, he was on pace for an MVP level season as well as leading the wizards to the playoffs easily (with a series win or 2, most likely).
@@martherfarckabeach2026 yeah nah you're not allowed to say that. Despite having the best all round player in the game, the best rebounder in the game, the best European player in the league at the time, the best 3pt shooter percentage wise in the league and an all-time coach people act like Jordan played with janitors while Lebron played with gods in Wade and Bosh.
At that point Jordan had championship experience sixfold times. Sucks that Bulls ownership wasted his career at the end. The Spurs showed you can age gracefully and still compete til the end.
The great MJ had a different type of role in DC, he was a minority owner & president of 🏀 operations. Winning championships wasn't a priority...... getting ppl to the games was!!!
The wizards jordan showed how he mastered the fundamentals since he did not have the same athleticism compared to his prime and his younger age and actually plays defense when he got older even thru injuries when he played.
@@philipstrotherjr8842 I meant to say jordan is the only player that plays defense even when he got older meanwhile other players relax on defense to conserve there energy on offense.
People really do a bad job at considering eras and what defined em when it comes to comparing players. Like what Curry is doing is amazing cause it's so far ahead of everyone else that he'd be successful in any era, but people are quick to discount players like Reggie Miller not counting for the era he played in when defense what much different. Go back and see how brutalized MJ, AI, Penny, and others were in the 80's, 90's, and even early 00's. Defense today has had to shift to different techniques and it's just made certain things more difficult to pull off which makes certain types of offense easier to do. So some of what they were able to pull off back in the day is far more impressive than some of what people are doing today which is why young folks don't seem to understand why some of us older basketballheads just don't value some of the stuff going on the same. Like LeBron might have phenomenal genes and be in great physical shape but I just don't see the same long career with so few injuries happening in the 90's or before, especially if he came in with that same attitude. He came in after some of those significant rule changes and it shows in his stats and durability which says the rule changes are in many ways doing their job.
First of all people these new generation should stop talking talking about eras because the fact is everybody who plays in this present day would make less points back then, and everybody who played in Jordan days will make more points today. That is an absolute certainty. It does not go with their narrative.!
Mj was rusty games just before his knee injury he was gaining his old self avg 27 ppg and shooting around 48%. Then his knee injury he never recovered from it
82 games at 40 on one leg (even had fluid removed during the game)...hurt finger (cigar cutting accident)...and recent broken ribs (Ron Artest)...and STILL put up numbers against professional players half his age...GOAT
He was great before the leg injury in 02, I swear the wizards were on track to be one of the best teams in east if he didnt miss the rest of the season
If MJ hadn't hurt his knee, and the wizards owner would have let him trade Kwame Brown for Elton Brand, they would have been legit contenders in the East that year
As a Chicagoan I purchased the DirectTV NBA season pass those two Wizard years and personally loved watching those games, as a Bulls fan in the 90’s we were so spoiled with championships that it seemed constantly like okay let’s get another and another and it seemed we didn’t slow down to truly appreciate what we were watching with him on the Wizards I personally just enjoyed what I was watching, there were so many moments on the Wizards for a 40 year old and he was definitely bringing it to the young stars!
MJ was from the era were guys prided themselves on playing 82 games a season, hated missing games, everything was about bragging rights and being competitive, there will never be another MJ, his love for the game is unparallel
Absolutely, he was a freak of nature at 39-40. Best 40 year old ever, he did amazing things, couldve done even better if not for that injury. But it was within the foreseeable that he could get injured, players at that age get injured ... so it wasn't surprising, MJ must have known this Finally, was his return necessary to show that he could be the best 40-year-old player in history? NO. Would his return now be necessary to show that he could be the best 60-year-old player in history? NO. His legacy is by far the best of all time and he should have left the game forever, with the last shot in 1998.
His fadeaway got more lethal at that advanced age. It really makes you wonder, if he didn’t retire and stayed with that bulls roster, I’m just about sure he would have won 2 chips, making that 5 years in a row of winning the championship.
Great video, displaying a deep understanding of the game statistics and the nuances between the eras. This is why I don't get into the endless debate. The game has changed so much over the years, plus the NBA being a team game, comparing individual players between the eras is nothing more than entertainment. (entertainment that generates a ton of money...) What most people don't understand is that MJ was so dominant due is mastery of the fundamentals in addition to his talent and skills. This is why he was able to still be a significant piece to a bottom seed team on an injured leg.
i think they could have gottten even better if he did not get injured he was forsure getting better and better once he came back even when he was 40 he was able to go up against guys like tracy and vince carter and more
All stats are from basketball reference. Mike averaged 21.5 ppg in 01-03. The Wizards averaged 91ppg in 01-03. Mike was scoring 24% of his teams points. Lebron averaged 29.5 ppg in 2021-23 The Lakers averaged 115ppg in 21-23. Lebron was scoring 26% of his teams points. In 01-02 and 02-03 seasons the average 3s being shot was 14.7 per gamI In 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons the average 3s being shot was 34.7 per game. 2001 through 2003 the average possessions per game in the NBA was 91. 2021 through 2023 the average possessions per game in the NBA was 99. Wizards pace in 01-03 was 88.2 Lakers pace in 21-23 was 100.7 This is the context that is needed when LeCult fans want to prop Lebron up and tear Mike down. They both were scoring about the same % of their teams points but today's game has more possessions, a faster pace, and 20 more threes being shot. I know Lebron was not mentioned in this video but the comparison always comes up because LeCult fans love to bash Jordan on the Wizards and prop up Lebron's play right now with the Lakers. They believe Lebron at age 38 is doing something that's never been seen before. It's simply not true. Also, in 21-23 Lebron played in 111 regular season games. In 01-03 Mike played in 142 regular season games. If you put age 38 Lebron back in the early 2000s he'd score less. If you put age 38 Mike in today's game he'd score more. The video pointed out Jordan's knee injury and he did have surgery after the 01-02 season. During the 22-23 season we were told over and over that Lebron had a leg injury. Yet he never had surgery to fix this 'severe injury' that the media and LeCult fans kept telling us about. Yes Lebron has a higher FG% but he's shooting the majority of his shots 3 ft in or closer vs Jordan whose majority shots came from mid range.
Again like you said the man was still scoring 40 an 50 at that age 40 with a bad knee injury he was still making the playoffs here an there to before his injury an still a All Star an still was a monster defensively for his age. So even doe atfer his injury you he was still in his 40's an not fully in his prime or fully healthy the fact that he was still hungry enough to not only play the game but push himself an dig deep an still have 40 point games shows you just how dangerous he truly was when he was healthy alot of players would be on the bench just watching the game but to have that drive an that hunger to tell the coach iam still good to play makes you wonder
He was a beast.. Great video. I stopped follow bball for a few years around then and did miss this part. But i was a deteoit fan when Jordan was coming up. Now im Jordan all the way for goat
Jordan's time with the Wizards mirrored his first three seasons with the Bulls. He instantly brought a trash team coached by Doug Collins into playoff contention, which just couldn't quite make the next step due to injury and lack of other talent. It wasn't really that bad of a ride off into the sunset, even if it was marred by injury.
Jordan would have a field day in today's league even at that age. They could still play some sort of defense when he was in the league. What lebron is doing now has an asterisk beside it for all eternity. Put leepo in that league Jordan played in as a wizard at his age now and he would of retired by now
I truly dislike people who have no real knowledge or even truly saw Michael Jordan play as a Wizard. The real basketball fans already know, Wizards's Jordan, before his knee injury was performing unimaginble like a top 10-15 player in the NBA league. He was in all practise and function still a great player (NOT best, but great), and most observers with real knowledge of basketball knew that with a better team roster and a more dynamic woreking teamplay, they could be good playoff contenders! Not championship level at the time obviously but non the less good enough to be a good play-off contender in the EAST. But as it was, his effort seemed beside entertainment value wasted, and all we could do was appreciate him doing his last ride before riding off into the sunset. Indeed it makes you think and wonder about "what he could have done" in those missed retirement years (1998-2000. But what I personally in retro perspective most take with me is near non top level NBA players these days can barely say they give there all, is that he played every game he physically could with a bad knee and advanced age!
I’d argue higher than top 10-15. The guy was 38-39 coming off retirement with broken ribs from a pickup game against Ron arrest before the season started and he was averaging 27 the last 20 games before being injured and 30-6-6 for 10 games prior to getting injured
I was 9 years old when I witnessed Michael Jordan played with the Wizards. I would watch him play every time there's a game. At his age he still dominated. He had teammates like Richard Hamilton, Jahidi White, Tyrone Nesby, Ty Lue, Christian Laetner, Chris Whitney, Kwame Brown, Bryon Russell, Charles Oakley, etc etc.... Y'all young ones know any of those names? Can everyone imagine had Jordan played with the like of Duncan, Nowitzki, Shaq or any other superstars at that time? He never jump ships, he didn't have a super team, he played all 82 games with one his leg being injected and pumped to remove fluids almost every other day. He probably would have had 7-8 titles if he played with a legit superstar when he came back after his 2nd retirement.
I was around the same age and i remember the hype and excitement i had at that age that MJ was coming back. Every Wizards game was must see TV. It was unprecedented. You had the 90s watchers wonderin why he would come back, the 90s watchers who had the excitement of the disciples seeing Jesus after the resurrection when we found out Jordan was coming back, and us young ones that felt so blessed we were going to watch this guy play even if it meant he was older and on a bad team. Every game felt like must see tv! You were watching sportscenter just to see what Jordan did that night.
People forget that 38-39 year old Jordan, after being retired for 3 years, and having tendinitis in both knees, came back on a TRASH team & was putting up 23/5/5 a night, before the knee injury forced him out after the break.
Any other player with those numbers would be considered great but Michael set the bar so high when he was playing for Chicago that his Washington years are considered a letdown. This is why Michael is the true G.O.A.T. of the NBA to me. I remember him in his prime. There are a lot of great players who have come up after he retired but none has surpassed MJ. Not even close.
I've been trying to explain this to people for years. The fact he averaged 30 ppg in his career when at least 5 of those seasons (96-99, 02-03) were played during eras where the top offensive teams averaged 105 ppg (compared to like 118 today). If you JUST take his number from those few seasons and do the math on league pace, his scoring during those seasons goes up from like 28-30 ppg to 31-34 ppg.
Just imagine if he'd have had that 01-02 team in 02-03, with Rip and all of them healthy. Even with Jordan not at his best, that would have still been a deep playoff run team.
He wasn’t close to be a monster. He was putting numbers but with a little positive impact on his teammates and on the team. It was really his farewell tour with MJ showing what he still can do.
He was making clutch plays in the All Star game against guys like Kobe, KG, Shawn Marion who were all taking crunchtime seriously. He still had it but no longer that explosive and the injury kept him from being consistent. LeBron has great longevity but I think the physical freaks like him from the 80s/90s would've benefited from scientific progress and have similar longevity/prolonged primes (guys like Jordan, Malone, Stockton, etc.). Bird had a playstyle that would've aged well and he would probably not get injured the way he did back then if he played today.
Important to not that the only reason he averaged 23 that ‘02 season was because he tore his miniscus and still played with it for multiple games. Before getting injured jordan for a 10 game stretch was averaging 30
After their 2-9 start, the Wizards were 24-11 (.686) before MJ’s meniscus tear. For reference, the Nets finished the season with the best record in the East at 52-30 (.634). Of course it’s a big what if, but the Wizards were coming out of the East if MJ didn’t get hurt.
I laughed when you mentioned "one good knee". I mean, if you consider a 39 year old knees "good" then sure 🤣 MJ's "one" good knee was still bad. Not only was he older, but it was still hurt and sore. Then we add a bad shooting finger that would have certain players today wearing a cast and out for the season. Then there's his bad back from carrying Pip all those years the injuries add up. In regards to his bad knee. It wasn't just sore or injured, they literally HAD TO DRAIN BLACK OOZE EVERY GAME. Forget about just having ice bags and therapy. He needed an exorcism performed after every game. Plus he still smoked cigars, didn't sleep and played golf every day.
i watched mj play both years with the wizards and he was only a little less of his early years but that was do to some rust and the bad knee. his fg% was low only because of the disfigured index finger on his shooting hand. he still rebounded and played great defense at times shutting down elite playes at the time.
He was most certainly not "only a little less" of his early years. He was not close. MJ on the Wiz was still a really good player, but he was nowhere near any iteration of 'Bulls Jordan'
@@AnHebrewChild when he really wanted to score and play hard defense he would but sometimes his injuries prevented him from doing it all the time. When he played that way the announcers would say it's was the Jordan of old playing. Obviously he wasn't going to be able every game.
The fact that he came and played in another era when it was claimed that he was only Superior because the competition wasn't as good and still put up 25 points at age 40 with a bad knee there should be really no debate on who's the greatest basketball player of all.
Rough calculation 114.7/95.5 = 1.201, or about 20% more scoring. Multiply 22.9 by 1.201 = 27.5. That would place him 8th on the 2023 list just ahead of Kylie Irving and behind Donovan Mitchell… at 40 years old. Now for the really impressive part. Because Jayson Tatum is the only top-ten per-game scorer who played more than 68 games (Lillard only played 58), Tatum leads the lead in TOTAL points with 2225. But 27.5 times 82 games is 2255, so 40 year old Jordan would lead the lead in total points. Can you say MVP candidate?
Jordan at 40 was better than Lebron at 40. Jordan played all 82 games with an injury at 40 instead of Lebron only playing 55. Although his stats were not nearly as good as than they were in the 90s, what he did at his age and with inuries is still incredible and very damn impressive, like how you artfully explained in this video. Totally agree! There is no comparison.
MJ's last 2 seasons were as good as they can get at that age and I agree with you about the points as the context is very important, scoring 20+ points in a team that average 90 ppg is much more impressive than let's say 24-25 ppg on a team that average more than 110 ppg And since the media keep comparing MJ to LeBron, it doens't take a genius to see that MJ was a better defender, had better footwork, better fundamentals, he was a far far better shooter than LeBron not even a question, he attempted more than 70% of his shots from over 3 feet when LeBron this past seasons attempted more than 30% under 3 ft and more than 30% from 3, so he scores mostly from under the rim or uncontested 3s (and just by watching games anyone can see he doesn't have to fight to shoot from 3) but from 3 to 24 ft only less than 40% so no wonder why LeBron is more efficient in fg%!
Wish he never retired either time to put these talks to rest. Gaurds/SF's who are great imo deserve more credit due to the inate advantage big guys have. And to play both ends of the floor at a high level... We won't see that again anytime soon.
Wizards MJ was not out to get Championships anymore he wanted to teach the young guys how to be elite by showing them at his advanced age he was still able to match them at their prime. He did exactly what he intended, and the stats dont lie.
I'd take a healthy pre-injury Wizards MJ over prime LeBum at any given time of year. Am I crazy? Nope. LeBum at his prime got shut down by JJ Barrea, who is not even a tenth the player that old man MJ was 😂
Putting up numbers worthy of an all star selection at age 40 / 41 shows you just what a freak of nature this man was...There will never be another and the comparisons to Lebron are a joke an absolute joke...Forever the greatest...Michael Jordan.
If you take a look at the stat sheet, you will know that there were 3 Wizards players who could have put up more points than Jordan if given the same opportunity as Jordan. Jordan was shooting around 41%, while the other 3 were shooting a better percentage, they just didn't get enough opportunity to do so because of Jordan. They never mentioned how many games Jordan scoring in a single digit. It's call cherry-picking to make one player looks better than he really was. They'll tell you 9 game winning streak, but they won't mention 8 game losing streak. They'll tell you how many points he scored, but they won't tell you how many shots he put up or his actual FG%. If Jordan was willing to share the basketball, I almost certain that the Wizards would make the playoffs. I will go as far as LeBron would have led that very team to the playoff if not the finals.
MJ just did A FAVOR for NBA so they can have the revenue and get back his money with Wizarda since its not generating revenue. It's like a farewell 2 season so people can watch that he still got it even if he is on a bad shape and bad knee
He averaged 28.5 points a game in the last 20 games he played before he tore his miniscus. Was averaging 29 a game in the 10 games leading up to the injury. He was GETTING BETTER as the season went on
Before injury:
Jordan = 25.1 ppg 6.2 rpg 5.3 apg 1.5 spg 0.5 bpg on 42% through 46 games
Wizards = 26-20 in those 46 games
Rip Hamilton missed 5 weeks in those 46 games
Wizards were 15-1 in the last 16 games that MJ and Rip played together before the injury
After injury:
Jordan = 15.7 ppg 3.8 rpg 4.8 apg 1.2 spg 0.3 bpg on 39%.
Wizards lost 9/10 games after injury
The numbers speak for themselves.
@@mistameff3528 yeah exactly he was getting better as he got deeper into the season. No one realizes that when he got injured he was literally playing at the level he was when he retired after his 6th title. If he hadn’t been injured and played the next season he easily would have averaged 28 a game
I remember that Jordan was on an absolute tear before the knee injury and the Washington area was excited, but after that injury he was never the same. It remined me of Pete Maravich in 1977 when he torched the Knicks for 68 points and was the best he had ever been and no one could stop him, then he had that kind of knee injury and there was no medical miracles in the 70's and after that he was just a shell of themselves. I can only imagine how many more years Jordan would have performed and Pete would have risen to is they didn't have those knee injuries or had 2024 medical technology back when they played.
Injury… think it fell just short of the top 10 for the greatest turnaround seasons in history.
❤
The other misconception the REAL ONE is when people try to compare Wizards MJ to Lebron LA
Is that Jordan didn't STUNT like he was still a top 5 player who could lead a team to a championship.
He was pretty much BRUTALLY honest and told everybody don't expect that Bulls MJ, but we will be granted with one last treat from the GOAT.
If he had a player of AD's caliber at that age, say KG on the Wolves with good role players, they certainly would have been contenders all the same
@@HailKingCeezerGarnett, Duncan, Dirk, Shaq, Heck any superstars just 1 I'm sure the Wizards would be deep in the playoffs.
@@trigun442 in the end, he missed the playoffs without AD, missed the playoffs with aD, and then almost missed the playoffs this year again until trades and refs helped push them in, and they got perfect mismatches with no size to deal with AD until Denver. A sweep was inevitable. AD was the MVP of the Lakers playoffs and it as disgusting how much the media and lebron fans were blaming it all on AD when he really only had like 2 bad offensive game, while still playing elite defense and rebounding. They want him to put up 50 and 20 every night or else LeBron needs more help!!
AD always carried the lakers WAY more than Lebron
@@HailKingCeezer definitely agree that AD was the literal MVP in that forgettable bubble mickey mouse ring. The NBA wants to incetivise lebum to generate as much revenue as possible so they catered to his diva like stature and tries to milk the media the best way they can. Little does the NBA know that international foreign athletes are racking up sales and making the NBA more approachable than it was. Also a new rule regarding the "lebron rule" - flopping accounts for a technical + possession. There wasn't anything like that during Jordan's tenure with the Wizards.
Real NBA fans already know, Wizards Jordan, before his knee injury was playing like a top 10-15 player in the NBA. Only NBA cauals think Jordan Wizards years were trash. Thank you for making this video 🎉
If he was in a playoff series Jordan would still dominate every shooting guard. Even Vince and Kobe.
Not to mention Metta World Peace said he broke Jordan's rib in a pickup game before the season even started.
Agreed
He wouldn’t have dominated Kobe but he had Vince number a lil bit. They would’ve made the ECF.
Before knee injury he was playing like top 7-12 player
In a half court offense, Jordan at 40 was still one of the top 5 isolation players in the league. It was the full court stuff that hurt, due to his knee.
He should have stayed retired.. he was old and didn’t accomplish anything but stat padding … Those extra numbers is what had Kobe playing well past his expectation date because he wanted to pass MJ in scoring…
@@repentyasharahla7632 If he was "padding" numbers, he wouldn't have come back. Cumulative stats are worthless. Those years brought down all his career averages, which are far more telling than cumulative stats.
thing I remember most from his time with the Wizards was a game they played against the Bulls: MJ lost the ball then ran back down after the Bulls’ player, think it was Ron Mercer, then he snatched the ball down from the backboard and the crowd went crazy…
Dare I say it was his most iconic Wizards moment. Heck, it might be the most iconic moment of the Wizards entire existence (not including the Bullets).
And yes it was Ron Mercer.
Yea that was the game winning block against Mercer.
Yes i remember and love this play even though it was against one of my UK boys Mercer. But let's be clear that was a snatch block he pinned against the backboard with two hands! Any young person reading this should look it up.
Correct . He was pisssed he didn’t get a foul and Mercer has just blocked him on jumper . Yup !
This vid changed my mind on MJ with the Wizards. I too thought he shouldn't have come back after 3 years off (he was 38 when he first played for the Wiz in 2001). He had THE PERFECT ending to an amazing career (the steal, and the last shot to beat the Jazz in 98 Finals). But this vid shows not only how effective a 38-40 year old MJ was... he was a legit all-star! I like the comparison of MJ's team offense % vs. Devin Booker and his Suns (btw: Suns avg. around 114 points per game since 2020 vs. Wizards 92.8 ppg in MJ years). Was he the dominant MJ of old? No...but he had flashes of MJ brilliance. Plus the dude played 82 games at the age of 40! Booker? Hasn't played more than 70 games in last 5 seasons!
So good comment I even printed
Narrator didn't mention Jordan's horrible FG%. MJ was just a volume scorer or selfish iso ballhog. MJ at age 38 shot 41%, Lebron at age 38 shot 52%.... and don't even bother looking at Jordan's 3pt%, its just laughable.
@dinewalton NBA Casual...SMH. The Narrator mentioned his fg% but I guess you missed that part.
Why would he mention it, everybody knows Jordan didn't shoot 3's like that because he didn't have to but when he did he was an average shooter from 3.
Kenton
Lebum always had better players, which equals more spacing and less double teams , which helped to a better field goal percentage, and MJ played on bad knees , cause he played BOTH ends of the court his entire career, as much can’t be said for that other guy who was scared of KOBE
@@dinewaltonMJ took 3 years off and still played under the old contact rules..right before his injury all his play was improving and was at 47% his last 10 games and 45% his last 20. You’re off
Watching him with the Wizards was so frustrating. He was empirically still great, and you just knew with a better team they could be legitimate playoff contenders. But as it was, his effort seemed wasted, and all I could do was appreciate him riding off into the sunset without much glory. Also made me think about what he could have done in those missed retirement years. But what I appreciate most, which players these days can barely say, is that he played every game he physically could.
Thats the thing, he improved the team to be on of the better defensive teams in the league on had them on track for the playoffs before the injury. Dude was proving his doubters wrong.
@@MicroWave233 Spot on, and I'm surprised this point wasn't really touched on. He turned the dial defensively for them. His offensive output is usually what gets talked about, but his defensive influence I thought was one of his biggest strengths.
Plus he did have a stake ownership in the wizards. And president of operations. He definitely wanted to help anyway he could improve the team, sell tickets and jump start their future in his mind I'm sure that's plenty motivation
It's very easy to criticize MJ's run when he was playing for the Wizards. But basketball fans back then were very excited to watch him play. MJ had quite a few big games as a Wizard.
He was the reason why the team was losing wouldn't let nobody else shoot the ball.Stackhouse had just averaged like 29 a game and rip was on the team averaging 18 and jordan wouldn't let them shoot and they had a number draft pick and couldn't win in the east that was so weak,the weakest it had ever been😂😂😂
Wizards Jordan was a top 10 MVP player at 38 to 40 years of age.
@@ballers101ify he was surprisingly, he was 6th in mvp voting in 02 before the leg collision.
YOU ARE MAKING THIS UP..THIS IS HILARIOUS
YOU DEFINITELY DID NOT WATCH JORDAN WITH THE WIZARDS
@ballers101ify yah cause he tore his meniscus in Feb 02 and missed the rest of the season, did you not catch that part?
@@ballers101ify I think I might have been wrong about the 6th spot in mvp, I might have gotten it mixed up with something else. But that doesn't change the fact jordan was receiving votes for mvp and if he continued to play the entrie season he might have gotten into the the top ten cause the wizards would have improved so much from the previous season. Jordan pre injury was averaging 25.1 PPG, 6.2 REBS, 5.3 AST, 1.5 steals on 42.1% percent shooting when the leagues FG% was 43.6%. Not bad for a 39 year old. Also he didn't play the rest of the season, he missed the last 22 games cause his knee blew out.
Jordan is on a whole diff level
As a Knicks fan I hate MJ guts, but I can't deny he was otherworldly. I don't think will ever see another player like him again. and for those who didn't watch him play STFU with this modern-day nonsense. players today have it easier on the offensive end. that's why we're seeing these ridiculously inflated numbers.
And his ppg is STILL the highest on NBA history… unreal
PREACH!!!!
Every game was exciting because you never knew what MJ would do every night. So glad we got WGN on cable back in the days.
@@potentially__9445what he's saying is the truth
Do you know how hard and how good somebody got to be to be like MJ again?that means from the jump out the gate from your rookie year you better be putting up 40 and 50 your rookie year!
Thank you for making this video. I've been arguing this against so much recency bias that it's unbelievable.
He was around 60% of his peak self which was still unreal
The real ones know MJ was a legit baller in Washington. Only LeBron stans act like he was some bum off the street
Facts
Yet!! Still didn't go nowhere, so what the point!
@@AlexanderRodriguez-nc8yu
Cause he hurt his knee the 01-02 season, and never was all-star caliber player he once was playing at. He had the Wizards 26-21, before all-star weekend 2002
If you looked at MJ’s rookie season, and then asked yourself how he would do post 35 yr’s old, you’d never have thought he would be anything once his athleticism was gone. But MJ was completely adaptive. He always found a way to dominate.
JORDAN DID NOT DOMINATE WITH THE WIZARDS..DID YOU GUYS EVEN WATCH HIS LAST SEASONS
@@doitall36 Did you even watch the video? 2002 Jordan was still a legitimate All-Star.
@@doitall36come on 😅 Jordan was getting better his numbers don't lie 28 ppg before the knee injury Jordan started slow with the wizards cause he came.bsck from a 3 year without playing he was not in shape also he was 38 years old Jordan was still breaking legs
in 2001-02, MJ was closer to a 25 ppg scorer before his knee injury. He had MVP stats, but they all dipped fast as he started coming off the bench and playing low mins because of the knee. If not for the knee injury, he was on pace for an MVP level season as well as leading the wizards to the playoffs easily (with a series win or 2, most likely).
You could had given Jordan a super team like they did for Lebron and he would have ended his career with 8
LeBron in the same shoes would have joined Shaq and Kobe. Front runner.
@@HailKingCeezer You’re clearly speaking out of context
He did have a super team tho. Him, Pippen, Rodman, and Ron Harper. Ron Harper was a baller!
@@martherfarckabeach2026 post injuries ron Harper and his 7 ppg if only lebron had that much help!
@@martherfarckabeach2026 yeah nah you're not allowed to say that. Despite having the best all round player in the game, the best rebounder in the game, the best European player in the league at the time, the best 3pt shooter percentage wise in the league and an all-time coach people act like Jordan played with janitors while Lebron played with gods in Wade and Bosh.
At that point Jordan had championship experience sixfold times. Sucks that Bulls ownership wasted his career at the end. The Spurs showed you can age gracefully and still compete til the end.
The great MJ had a different type of role in DC, he was a minority owner & president of 🏀 operations. Winning championships wasn't a priority...... getting ppl to the games was!!!
I'll admit that I thought Jordan's Wizards comeback was an ill-thought out idea but after I looked at the stats he was still a very good player.
Facts.
Same here.
The wizards jordan showed how he mastered the fundamentals since he did not have the same athleticism compared to his prime and his younger age and actually plays defense when he got older even thru injuries when he played.
Jordan always had fundamentals ever since he played for the tar heels.His high flying theatrics in his early years fooled people.
Jordan always played Defense.
@@philipstrotherjr8842 I meant to say jordan is the only player that plays defense even when he got older meanwhile other players relax on defense to conserve there energy on offense.
@@Burn_In_Oled_On_Purpose I agree
People really do a bad job at considering eras and what defined em when it comes to comparing players.
Like what Curry is doing is amazing cause it's so far ahead of everyone else that he'd be successful in any era, but people are quick to discount players like Reggie Miller not counting for the era he played in when defense what much different.
Go back and see how brutalized MJ, AI, Penny, and others were in the 80's, 90's, and even early 00's.
Defense today has had to shift to different techniques and it's just made certain things more difficult to pull off which makes certain types of offense easier to do.
So some of what they were able to pull off back in the day is far more impressive than some of what people are doing today which is why young folks don't seem to understand why some of us older basketballheads just don't value some of the stuff going on the same.
Like LeBron might have phenomenal genes and be in great physical shape but I just don't see the same long career with so few injuries happening in the 90's or before, especially if he came in with that same attitude. He came in after some of those significant rule changes and it shows in his stats and durability which says the rule changes are in many ways doing their job.
First of all people these new generation should stop talking talking about eras because the fact is everybody who plays in this present day would make less points back then, and everybody who played in Jordan days will make more points today. That is an absolute certainty. It does not go with their narrative.!
the fact that je played 82 games at age 40 with busted knees
82 games played nownis a rarity
Mj was rusty games just before his knee injury he was gaining his old self avg 27 ppg and shooting around 48%. Then his knee injury he never recovered from it
MJ was averaging 29/6/6 shooting 47% his last ten games before he was injured..he was knocking all the rust off
Wasn’t going nowhere with that team let it go!
@@delmarfrazier2727 true but he was performing like his 97-98 before the injury..
@@delmarfrazier2727 not true they started 2-9 and where 26-21 when he got injured by his own teammate and they were giving the nets hell that year
@@mannyneva1760 the last play of their season Mike driving for lose balls while 20 year olds picking it in. 123 Cancun!
82 games at 40 on one leg (even had fluid removed during the game)...hurt finger (cigar cutting accident)...and recent broken ribs (Ron Artest)...and STILL put up numbers against professional players half his age...GOAT
If Mike played in today's League, he'd probably get 15 to 20 a game, with about 5 rebounds. That's only because he's 60 years old.
😂😂✅
All of that without eating anabolic chicken like some self proclaimed GOAT
Nah, he eating the whole cow! 😂
It’s crazy how the King 👑 is sauced to the gills 🧃 but his fans won’t admit it. Like it’s natural to put on more and more muscle as you get older.
@@DynamicUnrealand have multiple primes
Most important point: Jordan did all this without illegal Ped's.
He was great before the leg injury in 02, I swear the wizards were on track to be one of the best teams in east if he didnt miss the rest of the season
If MJ hadn't hurt his knee, and the wizards owner would have let him trade Kwame Brown for Elton Brand, they would have been legit contenders in the East that year
As a Chicagoan I purchased the DirectTV NBA season pass those two Wizard years and personally loved watching those games, as a Bulls fan in the 90’s we were so spoiled with championships that it seemed constantly like okay let’s get another and another and it seemed we didn’t slow down to truly appreciate what we were watching with him on the Wizards I personally just enjoyed what I was watching, there were so many moments on the Wizards for a 40 year old and he was definitely bringing it to the young stars!
MJ was from the era were guys prided themselves on playing 82 games a season, hated missing games, everything was about bragging rights and being competitive, there will never be another MJ, his love for the game is unparallel
Absolutely, he was a freak of nature at 39-40. Best 40 year old ever, he did amazing things, couldve done even better if not for that injury. But it was within the foreseeable that he could get injured, players at that age get injured ... so it wasn't surprising, MJ must have known this
Finally, was his return necessary to show that he could be the best 40-year-old player in history?
NO.
Would his return now be necessary to show that he could be the best 60-year-old player in history?
NO.
His legacy is by far the best of all time and he should have left the game forever, with the last shot in 1998.
Great breakdown and video as usual!
Not to mention his impact on defense and how the team transformed into one of the best defensive teams.
I could only imagine MJ in 2003 if he didn't have the 2002 injury. I could only imagine him in full basketball shape
Give Jordan the ball he will still make it TODAY..
His fadeaway got more lethal at that advanced age. It really makes you wonder, if he didn’t retire and stayed with that bulls roster, I’m just about sure he would have won 2 chips, making that 5 years in a row of winning the championship.
Thanks bro your more informative than ESPN an you don’t have a agenda ….if you ever blow up I’ll come work for you ! Keep up the good work !
Wizards Jordan shot 79% on fadeaway jumpers over the 2 years he played there.
Whoa. Where'd you get that stat? 79% is beyond incredible
@@AnHebrewChild ESPN has a way to look at the types of shots and I took his fadeaway numbers from both years and averaged them.
ill take wizards jordan over most players who get selected to all star teams today lol.
It's that bad huh😂
Give Jordan Wizards the same team Lebron has with the Lakers and he wouldn’t miss the play off or getting swept like him
Great video, displaying a deep understanding of the game statistics and the nuances between the eras. This is why I don't get into the endless debate. The game has changed so much over the years, plus the NBA being a team game, comparing individual players between the eras is nothing more than entertainment. (entertainment that generates a ton of money...) What most people don't understand is that MJ was so dominant due is mastery of the fundamentals in addition to his talent and skills. This is why he was able to still be a significant piece to a bottom seed team on an injured leg.
MJ's 25.1ppg at 39 before his knee injury equals averaging 30 in this era. Didn't they praise lebron for averaging 30 at age 38?
He retired for 2 years twice and came back _like it was nothing_ *both times!*
i think they could have gottten even better if he did not get injured he was forsure getting better and better once he came back even when he was 40 he was able to go up against guys like tracy and vince carter and more
Him playing with the Wizards shows his greatness but also how important Scottie was.
nope this had nothing to do with scottie if jordan was injured with the bulls like he was with the wizards it would be the same fate
STOP THE CAPPING, PUT MJ ON PORTLAND ,INSTEAD OF SCOTTIE HAS NO SPINE PIPPEN , AND THEY GET TWO TO THREE CHAMPIONSHIPS
All stats are from basketball reference.
Mike averaged 21.5 ppg in 01-03. The Wizards averaged 91ppg in 01-03. Mike was scoring 24% of his teams points.
Lebron averaged 29.5 ppg in 2021-23 The Lakers averaged 115ppg in 21-23. Lebron was scoring 26% of his teams points.
In 01-02 and 02-03 seasons the average 3s being shot was 14.7 per gamI
In 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons the average 3s being shot was 34.7 per game.
2001 through 2003 the average possessions per game in the NBA was 91.
2021 through 2023 the average possessions per game in the NBA was 99.
Wizards pace in 01-03 was 88.2
Lakers pace in 21-23 was 100.7
This is the context that is needed when LeCult fans want to prop Lebron up and tear Mike down. They both were scoring about the same % of their teams points but today's game has more possessions, a faster pace, and 20 more threes being shot. I know Lebron was not mentioned in this video but the comparison always comes up because LeCult fans love to bash Jordan on the Wizards and prop up Lebron's play right now with the Lakers. They believe Lebron at age 38 is doing something that's never been seen before. It's simply not true. Also, in 21-23 Lebron played in 111 regular season games. In 01-03 Mike played in 142 regular season games.
If you put age 38 Lebron back in the early 2000s he'd score less. If you put age 38 Mike in today's game he'd score more. The video pointed out Jordan's knee injury and he did have surgery after the 01-02 season. During the 22-23 season we were told over and over that Lebron had a leg injury. Yet he never had surgery to fix this 'severe injury' that the media and LeCult fans kept telling us about. Yes Lebron has a higher FG% but he's shooting the majority of his shots 3 ft in or closer vs Jordan whose majority shots came from mid range.
Again like you said the man was still scoring 40 an 50 at that age 40 with a bad knee injury he was still making the playoffs here an there to before his injury an still a All Star an still was a monster defensively for his age. So even doe atfer his injury you he was still in his 40's an not fully in his prime or fully healthy the fact that he was still hungry enough to not only play the game but push himself an dig deep an still have 40 point games shows you just how dangerous he truly was when he was healthy alot of players would be on the bench just watching the game but to have that drive an that hunger to tell the coach iam still good to play makes you wonder
Further confirmation that MJ is the GOAT (obviously).
Thanks for including the historical perspective-soi important!
Great video, you put a lot of light on the situation! 👍
He was a shell of his former self and still played at a high level.
He was a beast.. Great video. I stopped follow bball for a few years around then and did miss this part. But i was a deteoit fan when Jordan was coming up. Now im Jordan all the way for goat
Jordan's time with the Wizards mirrored his first three seasons with the Bulls. He instantly brought a trash team coached by Doug Collins into playoff contention, which just couldn't quite make the next step due to injury and lack of other talent. It wasn't really that bad of a ride off into the sunset, even if it was marred by injury.
Great video. Old enough to be there. Jordan was a MONSTER in Chicago. For the Wizards, he was putting up Dwade big 3 numbers. The team was bad though.
You forgot to mention how much Michael improved the Wizards defense
Jordan would have a field day in today's league even at that age. They could still play some sort of defense when he was in the league. What lebron is doing now has an asterisk beside it for all eternity. Put leepo in that league Jordan played in as a wizard at his age now and he would of retired by now
Wizards Jordan had a torn meniscus which he had to have surgery on, and still played 82 games and still put up 20 ppg!!
Michael Jordan would be unstoppable in this era. He would score 60+ points in every game. Nobody would be able to stop him with his skills.
Wizards MJ still gave ppl buckets
MJ🥰 MY GOAT FOREVER~ 💯💯🌟🌟無與倫比
If he went to the Spurs, Knicks, Sacramento, he would've gotten another title.
Facts Bro MJ is the Goat
I truly dislike people who have no real knowledge or even truly saw Michael Jordan play as a Wizard. The real basketball fans already know, Wizards's Jordan, before his
knee injury was performing unimaginble like a top 10-15 player in the NBA league.
He was in all practise and function still a great player (NOT best, but great), and most observers with real knowledge of basketball knew that with a better team roster and a more dynamic woreking teamplay, they could be good playoff contenders! Not championship level at the time obviously but non the less good enough to be a good play-off contender in the EAST. But as it was, his effort seemed beside entertainment value wasted, and all we could do was appreciate him doing his last ride before riding off into the sunset.
Indeed it makes you think and wonder about "what he could have done" in those missed retirement years (1998-2000. But what I personally in retro perspective most take with me is near non top level NBA players these days can barely say they give there all, is that he played every game he physically could with a bad knee and advanced age!
I’d argue higher than top 10-15. The guy was 38-39 coming off retirement with broken ribs from a pickup game against Ron arrest before the season started and he was averaging 27 the last 20 games before being injured and 30-6-6 for 10 games prior to getting injured
@@sososnagahae8169 Well said my friend!
I was 9 years old when I witnessed Michael Jordan played with the Wizards. I would watch him play every time there's a game. At his age he still dominated. He had teammates like Richard Hamilton, Jahidi White, Tyrone Nesby, Ty Lue, Christian Laetner, Chris Whitney, Kwame Brown, Bryon Russell, Charles Oakley, etc etc....
Y'all young ones know any of those names? Can everyone imagine had Jordan played with the like of Duncan, Nowitzki, Shaq or any other superstars at that time? He never jump ships, he didn't have a super team, he played all 82 games with one his leg being injected and pumped to remove fluids almost every other day. He probably would have had 7-8 titles if he played with a legit superstar when he came back after his 2nd retirement.
I know rip hamilton, he was putting up around 20 ppg, and he had stackhouse who was also putting up 20 ppg.
I was around the same age and i remember the hype and excitement i had at that age that MJ was coming back. Every Wizards game was must see TV. It was unprecedented. You had the 90s watchers wonderin why he would come back, the 90s watchers who had the excitement of the disciples seeing Jesus after the resurrection when we found out Jordan was coming back, and us young ones that felt so blessed we were going to watch this guy play even if it meant he was older and on a bad team. Every game felt like must see tv! You were watching sportscenter just to see what Jordan did that night.
Wizards years for Jordan don't give him excuse for having a losing record. If we comparing, LeBron is the better old guy.
People forget that 38-39 year old Jordan, after being retired for 3 years, and having tendinitis in both knees, came back on a TRASH team & was putting up 23/5/5 a night, before the knee injury forced him out after the break.
Any other player with those numbers would be considered great but Michael set the bar so high when he was playing for Chicago that his Washington years are considered a letdown. This is why Michael is the true G.O.A.T. of the NBA to me. I remember him in his prime. There are a lot of great players who have come up after he retired but none has surpassed MJ. Not even close.
The fact that MJ is still relevant 20 years later, just tells you all you need to know 💪🏾💪🏾
I've been trying to explain this to people for years. The fact he averaged 30 ppg in his career when at least 5 of those seasons (96-99, 02-03) were played during eras where the top offensive teams averaged 105 ppg (compared to like 118 today). If you JUST take his number from those few seasons and do the math on league pace, his scoring during those seasons goes up from like 28-30 ppg to 31-34 ppg.
Just imagine if he'd have had that 01-02 team in 02-03, with Rip and all of them healthy. Even with Jordan not at his best, that would have still been a deep playoff run team.
Respect the GOAT💪🏾 Love all the supportive claims in vids
He wasn’t close to be a monster. He was putting numbers but with a little positive impact on his teammates and on the team. It was really his farewell tour with MJ showing what he still can do.
BS. HIS TEAM WAS 25 AND 17 BEFORE GOT HURT. AGAI A TROLL WHO DOESNT KNOW ANYTHING
He was making clutch plays in the All Star game against guys like Kobe, KG, Shawn Marion who were all taking crunchtime seriously. He still had it but no longer that explosive and the injury kept him from being consistent. LeBron has great longevity but I think the physical freaks like him from the 80s/90s would've benefited from scientific progress and have similar longevity/prolonged primes (guys like Jordan, Malone, Stockton, etc.). Bird had a playstyle that would've aged well and he would probably not get injured the way he did back then if he played today.
Important to not that the only reason he averaged 23 that ‘02 season was because he tore his miniscus and still played with it for multiple games. Before getting injured jordan for a 10 game stretch was averaging 30
Jordan is ahead of his time even in this era.
Tyronn Lue has gotta be the Forest Gump of the NBA
After their 2-9 start, the Wizards were 24-11 (.686) before MJ’s meniscus tear. For reference, the Nets finished the season with the best record in the East at 52-30 (.634). Of course it’s a big what if, but the Wizards were coming out of the East if MJ didn’t get hurt.
Wizards Jordan was 1/2 Jordan which was hella good 👍🏽
I laughed when you mentioned "one good knee". I mean, if you consider a 39 year old knees "good" then sure 🤣
MJ's "one" good knee was still bad. Not only was he older, but it was still hurt and sore. Then we add a bad shooting finger that would have certain players today wearing a cast and out for the season. Then there's his bad back from carrying Pip all those years the injuries add up.
In regards to his bad knee. It wasn't just sore or injured, they literally HAD TO DRAIN BLACK OOZE EVERY GAME. Forget about just having ice bags and therapy. He needed an exorcism performed after every game.
Plus he still smoked cigars, didn't sleep and played golf every day.
i watched mj play both years with the wizards and he was only a little less of his early years but that was do to some rust and the bad knee. his fg% was low only because of the disfigured index finger on his shooting hand. he still rebounded and played great defense at times shutting down elite playes at the time.
He was most certainly not "only a little less" of his early years. He was not close.
MJ on the Wiz was still a really good player, but he was nowhere near any iteration of 'Bulls Jordan'
@@AnHebrewChild when he really wanted to score and play hard defense he would but sometimes his injuries prevented him from doing it all the time. When he played that way the announcers would say it's was the Jordan of old playing. Obviously he wasn't going to be able every game.
6:38 I was at the game! Grizzlies first season in Memphis!
The fact that he came and played in another era when it was claimed that he was only Superior because the competition wasn't as good and still put up 25 points at age 40 with a bad knee there should be really no debate on who's the greatest basketball player of all.
MJ was the KING. And still is
Rough calculation 114.7/95.5 = 1.201, or about 20% more scoring. Multiply 22.9 by 1.201 = 27.5.
That would place him 8th on the 2023 list just ahead of Kylie Irving and behind Donovan Mitchell… at 40 years old.
Now for the really impressive part. Because Jayson Tatum is the only top-ten per-game scorer who played more than 68 games (Lillard only played 58), Tatum leads the lead in TOTAL points with 2225. But 27.5 times 82 games is 2255, so 40 year old Jordan would lead the lead in total points. Can you say MVP candidate?
And that’s his ppg affected by the injury. Prior to getting injured he was averaging 27 for a 20 game stretch and 30 for a 10 game stretch
Jordan at 40 was better than Lebron at 40. Jordan played all 82 games with an injury at 40 instead of Lebron only playing 55.
Although his stats were not nearly as good as than they were in the 90s, what he did at his age and with inuries is still incredible and very damn impressive, like how you artfully explained in this video. Totally agree!
There is no comparison.
MJ's last 2 seasons were as good as they can get at that age and I agree with you about the points as the context is very important, scoring 20+ points in a team that average 90 ppg is much more impressive than let's say 24-25 ppg on a team that average more than 110 ppg
And since the media keep comparing MJ to LeBron, it doens't take a genius to see that MJ was a better defender, had better footwork, better fundamentals, he was a far far better shooter than LeBron not even a question, he attempted more than 70% of his shots from over 3 feet when LeBron this past seasons attempted more than 30% under 3 ft and more than 30% from 3, so he scores mostly from under the rim or uncontested 3s (and just by watching games anyone can see he doesn't have to fight to shoot from 3) but from 3 to 24 ft only less than 40% so no wonder why LeBron is more efficient in fg%!
Wish he never retired either time to put these talks to rest. Gaurds/SF's who are great imo deserve more credit due to the inate advantage big guys have. And to play both ends of the floor at a high level... We won't see that again anytime soon.
Jordan ranked 10th in PPG/ Ranked 95th in FG%/Ranked 102nd in 2P%/Ranked 108th in ePG%, and get this he Ranked 2nd in FGA.
Wizards MJ was not out to get Championships anymore he wanted to teach the young guys how to be elite by showing them at his advanced age he was still able to match them at their prime. He did exactly what he intended, and the stats dont lie.
Thank you for this!
I'd take a healthy pre-injury Wizards MJ over prime LeBum at any given time of year.
Am I crazy? Nope.
LeBum at his prime got shut down by JJ Barrea, who is not even a tenth the player that old man MJ was 😂
Pause at 5:03... MJ was having better numbers than a 25 year old Vince Carter that year.
Carter: 24.7 / 5.2 / 4.0 / 42.8%
MJ: 24.6 / 6.0 / 5.4 / 42 %
Imagine him playing for a contender those 2 years.
Putting up numbers worthy of an all star selection at age 40 / 41 shows you just what a freak of nature this man was...There will never be another and the comparisons to Lebron are a joke an absolute joke...Forever the greatest...Michael Jordan.
Kobe randomly averaging 40 for a month😂
Couldn’t imagine Wizards MJ with a prime AD
If you take a look at the stat sheet, you will know that there were 3 Wizards players who could have put up more points than Jordan if given the same opportunity as Jordan. Jordan was shooting around 41%, while the other 3 were shooting a better percentage, they just didn't get enough opportunity to do so because of Jordan. They never mentioned how many games Jordan scoring in a single digit. It's call cherry-picking to make one player looks better than he really was. They'll tell you 9 game winning streak, but they won't mention 8 game losing streak. They'll tell you how many points he scored, but they won't tell you how many shots he put up or his actual FG%. If Jordan was willing to share the basketball, I almost certain that the Wizards would make the playoffs. I will go as far as LeBron would have led that very team to the playoff if not the finals.
I wonder what Scottie Pippen was doing at age 40 and 41 says Michael Jordan was a horrible player I'll wait
Actually, Pipp was a horrible! ☺️ MJ could win ring in some better team in 02 or 03 season!
MJ just did A FAVOR for NBA so they can have the revenue and get back his money with Wizarda since its not generating revenue. It's like a farewell 2 season so people can watch that he still got it even if he is on a bad shape and bad knee
Wizards MJ wasn't bad, we're just used to Bulls MJ. He was still top 20 at the time and that's unreal considering his age.