Michael Jordan thrived in an NBA era where social media was not a thing. He became a phenom without the help of Instagram edits, or reels, and that’s why his impact on the sport is often considered to be greater than LeBron James’. But look at it from a different lens, and in some ways, Jordan had it easier.
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Well, it would be difficult to criticize the Chicago Bulls team that Jordan led to six championships. They were almost unstoppable, but after retiring (for the second time), when Jordan came back to join the Washington Wizards for a couple of seasons, he wasn’t quite the same. And Colin Cowherd feels that if X existed back in those days, His Airness would be been crucified online.
The Wizards and Jordan were bad, and nothing constructive—except for the dollars—came out from those two seasons in the Capital. Had it been James today, playing for the Jazz for instance, social media would have destroyed him.
In a conversation with Jason Timpf on Volume Sports, Cowherd revealed that Jordan wasn’t a popular figure inside the Wizards locker room. In his opinion, it would have made for a great documentary.
“He’d get crushed,” Cowherd spoke about the hypothetical of the 2001-03 Wizards playing under the watchful eye of the social media.
“There’s one great 30 for 30 sports documentary left. It’s MJ with the Wizards. His teammates hated him, the coaches hated him. I watched them play twice live with the Wizards and the body language of his teammates, everybody hated him…”
Colin Cowherd and Jason Timpf believe Wizards Michael Jordan would’ve got a lot of slander if NBA Twitter was around
Jason: Can you imagine if Michael Jordan’s two Wizards years took place during Twitter? Everytime he took a defensive possession off, got back cut, didn’t box… https://t.co/keEDdFwyV0 pic.twitter.com/a4rEiKjZlz
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) March 23, 2026
Whether that’s 100% or not is debated, of course. But Jordan wasn’t the best teammate to have on a roster that wasn’t championship ready. He brought an ultra-competitive mentality to a team that simply wasn’t good enough. And averaging just 22 points per game, it was clear Jordan was far from his prime days as well.
Timpf then added how James’ career since he became old—by NBA standards—has been micro analyzed by critics, even though he’s always been competitive, and not just a toxic presence in a defeated changing room. “LeBron has had his entire age line 38,39,40,41 seasons be micro analyzed on a possessions basis for clips on Twitter. The reality is we’re seeing something unprecedented by a guy his age,” he said.
In terms of longevity, there’s little doubt James clears Jordan. Even at 41, he’s a key piece in a side chasing the championship and on certain days, can also play the role of a protagonist single-handedly.
