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.
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.
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.
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😂😂😂
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
@@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.
@@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.
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.
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).
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.
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
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!!!
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
@@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.
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
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
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
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.
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!
Had he not been injured, it would have been something special. He was avg 25ppg, but he was getting better as the seasons went on. In the last 20 of those 47 games before injury, he avg 27ppg. In the last 10, 30ppg
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
