Michael Jordan was without a doubt the most dominant player in the NBA during his time with the Chicago Bulls. However, when he came back from retirement the second time, he wasn’t nearly as good with the Washington Wizards.
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Jordan’s first retirement came after the 1993 NBA season on the heels of his father’s death. Jordan felt like he needed a break from the NBA, and so he decided to take two years off after winning three championships in a row.
However, he would return two years later to lead the Bulls back ona second three-peat, after which it seemed like he was retired for good. Jordan’s love for the game couldn’t keep him away and he joined the Washington Wizards for two more seasons. While he definitely wasn’t the same player, Jordan was still very effective.
#OTD in 2001, Michael Jordan dropped 51 PTS at age 38 with the Wizards! 👏 pic.twitter.com/hSXH05QTk4
— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 29, 2020
Michael Jordan Downgraded From A Sports Car To A Luxury Car
Jordan’s former coach Doug Collins had an interesting analogy to make when it came to talking about Jordan’s performance with the Washington Wizards.
Collins had the following to say about Jordan coming back from retirement a second time:
“People had their doubts, but I knew that if Michael was going to do this, he thought he still could play pretty damn well. It’s a luxury car and no longer a sports car”
Jordan did play like a luxury car. In his two seasons with the Wizards, he made the All Star game both times, and he was still a solid contributor for the team.
He finished his tenure in DC averaging 21.2 points per game, 5.9 assists per game, and 4.4 rebounds per game. For any normal player, those numbers are incredible. However, just because of the way Jordan used to dominate the game before, these numbers pale in comparison.
That’s why Collins made his ‘luxury car’ comment. Jordan was still effective, he just wasn’t that same dominant player anymore. Jordan couldn’t lead the Wizards to the playoffs, and after those two years, he finally called it quits for good.
On this date in 2003, Michael Jordan played in his FINAL NBA game
The MJ Wizards Era 🧙🏿♂️🔥
— Whistle (@WhistleSports) April 16, 2021
