In April 2001, Michael Jordan said there was a 0.01% chance he would return to the court. He told this to his confidant, Ahmad Rashad, in an interview broadcast on American television. With those words, His Airness confirmed what he had already promised in January 1999, when the end of the first lockout in history in which the NBA lost games was made official and he announced his retirement, definitively silencing the very small rumors that They were in the Bulls for another year. More than two decades later, it is still not known whether it was the guard or Jerry Krause who was to blame for not even attempting the assault on that hypothetical seventh ring, although it is known to the fan that Jordan returned, despite his words, one last time. time to the NBA.
The farce that this second return became had nothing to do with the first, nor did the unanimity regarding the decision. Many considered that that winning shot over Byron Russell at the Delta Center was a perfect ending that did not have to be stained by a return that generated many doubts, enhanced by the age of the protagonist, who was 38 years old at the time and who retired permanently. with 40. Although the idea of him returning did not have many repercussions among the upper class of the League, the fans jumped again excited to see him one last time. That 0.01% gave hope to his legion of followers, who put aside skepticism to get excited, with such a small percentage that had never meant something so big.
“I wouldn’t return for money or even glory. I already had all of that when I retired, three years ago. The challenge now is to prove myself, to verify that I can still do things,” said the guard in an interview that went around the world. On September 25, Jordan announced his return to the NBA by promising to donate part of his salary to the 9/11 attacks, which occurred just a few days earlier. He returned “for the love of the game” and with the Wizards, on whose bench he had placed Doug Collins, his former Bulls coach, months before, in what was for many a nod to his return. He did it on that team that was almost the worst in the NBA, in which he also had a minority stake and was President of Operations.
Jordan was therefore facing the most difficult one yet. Returning to revitalize the wounded morale of a team adrift, with a highly criticized selection in the draft, that of Kwame Brown, Jordan’s own responsibility, was almost an impossible mission. His Airness was never as a manager what he was as a player, and although he had managed to free the capital team from heavy contracts, he never had the instinct that was necessary to resurrect a franchise from the offices. The selection of Brown was the first of a horde of bad decisions, but the worst of them all being in first place in the draft. An election that was already controversial at the time and, in the long run, terrible.
The worst Jordan also makes history
Jordan’s two years with the Wizards showed that he still had the strength to continue playing, despite showing the worst level of his career. Although his physique was not what it used to be and the team did not work, the squad was better than what was indicated by the two identical records (37-45) that he achieved in his second return. Tyronn Lue, Richard Hamilton, Christian Laettner, Hubert Davis, Brendan Haywood and Jerry Stackhouse, who arrived in the second season, formed a squad that never worked but was in fifth position in the East in 2001-02 before the break. All Star and Jordan’s injuries, which plunged the team into a maelstrom of bad results that left them without playoffs, the biggest black hole of both seasons.
Of course, the guard was exceptional for his age. In his return to Madison, the first game after a 40-month break, he scored 19 points, and in the second he scored 31. In that first campaign he even had a 51-point game against the Hornets, with 21 of 38 shooting. field. He started the All-Star Game, surpassing Jabbar as the top scorer in the history of the All-Star Game (today Kobe and LeBron are ahead). In the first 14 games, he averaged 25.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists and more than 2 steals per game, even saying that he could win the MVP. Injuries prevented him from playing in the final phase that season, but he finished with averages of 22.9+5.7+5 and revitalized the interest of a franchise that nobody paid attention to before but that had a full house in the games that were held. They played at the MCI Center, as well as those of their rivals.
With the intention of reaching the final phase, the guard (who played small forward several times that season) gave up his starting position during some duels and tried to contribute from the bench, but the team still failed to function. Jordan, who prepared with Tim Glover for his new challenge, announced from the beginning that this season would be his last, starting a farewell tour with which he was applauded in every stadium. He averaged 20 points per game with 45% shooting from the field, very solid numbers for a player who, at 40 years old, scored 20 or more points on 42 occasions, 30 or more on nine, and 40 or more on three. His maximum that year was 45 points and his last game was in Philadelphia, leaving him at 15. And he played his last All Star, in which Vince Carter gave him the starting position and in which he had a long and spectacular goodbye . The one he deserved.
Jordan’s last return was not a wonderful spectacle and ended without playoffs, but also with historic moments. He scored 39 points in his last visit to Madison and 11 in his last visit to Chicago, where he even had to improvise a speech to the thunderous ovation he received. It was speculated that the pyrrhic level of the Eastern Conference during those seasons caused his return, seeing an opportunity for Finals that were sold very cheap at that time in that side of the United States. But the reality is that he was infinitely far from them. Of course, a similar farewell was never experienced by an NBA player (Jabbar?) Until Kobe Bryant in 2015-16… who even on an extraordinary farewell tour followed in the footsteps of the mirror in which he looked at himself. Jordan returned, caused the necessary stir and did his thing despite the playoff absences. And he demonstrated, as it could not be otherwise, that he could still look in the face of that generation that replaced him and that dominated the NBA at that time. And yes, he showed the worst level, by far, of his career… but even so, he made history. Things about being Michael Jordan.
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2024-05-10 14:47:35
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