Michael Jordan’s stint with the Washington Wizards was a mere relic of his glory days in the Chicago Bulls jersey. Yet, MJ still had some fuel left in the tank to show the entire world why he was called Air Jordan in his prime. This was something Paul Pierce experienced firsthand when he was a young player for the Boston Celtics. The 46-year-old once shared the story of how a 40-year-old Michael Jordan dropped a 30-piece on a young Pierce.
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In a recent video that has been gaining traction on Instagram, Paul Pierce was seen recounting his experience playing against Michael Jordan for the first time. Pierce claimed that he didn’t play against a prime MJ since the latter was in a Washington Wizards jersey. Despite being in Wizards uniform at around 40 years of age, Pierce had nothing but praise for MJ’s performance against him and the Celtics. The Truth talked about Jordan’s longevity as an athlete while also admiring his impeccable footwork while on the floor.
“It was 40-year-old Michael Jordan. I remember he was a phenomenal athlete, he still had great footwork. And he actually gave me about 30 points as it was like my third year in the league. And he was still probably one of the top 10 athletes in the game at the time,” Pierce said.
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The 46-year-old even shared how MJ’s competitive fire and spirit were still on point back then, given how he was trash-talking after hitting jump shots. Jordan hit a fadeaway in Paul Pierce’s face and told him he could not get to that shot, the Celtics legend admitted.
Pierce joined the NBA in 1998, the year Jordan and the Bulls completed their Last Dance. However, the Celtics star would have a 30-piece dropped on him during the Celtics’ November, 2001, matchup against the wizards. The Boston Celtics may have come out on top with a 104-95 final score but Pierce got an idea of what it was like playing against Black Jesus. Jordan led the Wizards in scoring as he finished the game with 32 points.
That first meeting between Pierce and MJ was the only time Mike dropped 30+ points on him. The closest he ever got to that score was in the 2002-03 season. Jordan scored 25 points and the Wizards came out on top with a 99-98 score, winning by a single point.
Michael Jordan’s years with the Wizards
While the world was getting used to seeing Michael Jordan in a Washington Wizards jersey, Jordan, on the other hand, was absolutely untethered. If there was ever a natural state of mind for MJ, it was when he was on the court, playing basketball. And though he did not say anything regarding that, his performances on the floor spoke volumes. In his first year with the Wizards, Jordan’s season was cut short due to an injury to his lower body.
However, before getting sidelined due to the injury, Jordan did play a total of 60 games out of 82. Out of those 60 games, he started 53 of them and was averaging 26.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.6 APG, and 1.3 SPG.
Michael Jordan’s time with the Wizards does not get mentioned enough. However, his teammate and current head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, Tyronn Lue, did shed some light on Jordan’s twilight years in Washington.
While on the Old Man and the Three podcast, Ty Lue described how a 40-year-old Michael Jordan came to practice every day and had to be forced off the court by Doug Collins. And even after going through a full-blown practice, Jordan had the energy to go out and perform at the highest level even at 40.
There have been numerous current and former players, coaches, NBA executives, and others, who have had some absolute gem of stories to tell about Michael Jordan. Let’s just say this was Paul Pierce’s MJ story that he shared with the world.
