Michael Jordan always possessed that magic in him whenever he stepped onto the basketball court. Despite being 38 years old and in a Washington Wizards jersey, MJ still gave the work to young stars, many of whom have since been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were no different as the two talked about MJ’s tenure with Washington.
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Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett once touched upon how good Michael Jordan still was after coming out of retirement for the second time. This time, Jordan did not play for the Chicago Bulls but the Washington Wizards instead.
While on KG Certified, Garnett and Pierce discussed Michael Jordan’s trash-talking when KG played him during his initial years with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“Mike was a motherf***er though, both times. Because he was still talking that shit, he was still skilled. It was just health with him. And I had to guard that motherf***er. Motherf***er gave us 40. I got like 38 out of that sh*t too. He was two dribbling. You know, I ain’t played the three in a minute. But Flip like, ‘Nah, you the only one that guard Mike. We got two guards on here. What the f*ck, our two can’t…No. You gotta guard’…I’m like, alright cool. I ain’t trippin, let’s get it.”
This is what Michael Jordan said to Kevin Garnett while he did his best to slow down the six-time NBA champion.
“Hah, too slow h*e. Huh, whatever h*e. What out h*e.”
Remember how good MJ was with the Wizards?@KevinGarnett5KG and @paulpierce34 reminisce on their first matchups with Michael Jordan after his second retirement.
Watch the latest episode of Ticket and The Truth on our YouTube. pic.twitter.com/gMDLGWzV4l
— All the Smoke Productions (@allthesmokeprod) January 24, 2024
Kevin Garnett revealed that they were not even in the triangle position and Jordan was able to orchestrate it on the fly.
The game Kevin Garnett was talking about was the January 12, 2002 matchup between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Washington Wizards, where the Timberwolves eventually came away with a 100-108 win over Washington.
Kevin Garnett had a great game as he finished the night with 31 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 1 block for the game. As for MJ, he didn’t exactly have 40 points in that matchup but he wasn’t far off. He had a 35-point game, pairing it with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.
Kevin Garnett has always had immense love for MJ, be it his skills on the court or his business-savvy decisions. In fact, Garnett once even gave Jordan his flowers for pushing the boundaries and how it helped future NBA players in terms of business. Garnett’s words weren’t an exaggeration either, whether it be about MJ’s skills on the court or off it. Despite the ill reputation of Jordan’s tenure with the Wizards, he was still one of the best in the NBA.
Michael Jordan schooling Hall of Famers
The rest of the clip consists of Paul Pierce and his first meeting with Michael Jordan on the basketball floor. Pierce was drafted as the 10th overall pick by the Boston Celtics in the 1998 draft when MJ went into retirement once again.
It wasn’t until 2001 that Paul Pierce had the chance to go toe to toe with the basketball icon when he stepped out of retirement for the second time to play for the Washington Wizards. Pierce was playing under the pretense that Michael Jordan’s prime was behind him and he’d have an easy game against him.
But instead, Jordan dropped 32 points on Pierce, schooling him at every other possession. Though the Celtics won the game 104-95, Paul Pierce finished that matchup merely with a 14-point outing, despite playing over 40 minutes.
Father Time may have caught up to Michael Jordan during his tenure with the Wizards but he was still MJ when it mattered. Jordan led the Wizards in scoring and assists during his first year. If only his health and injuries had not slowed him down, fans would’ve had the chance to see MJ do MJ-like things as the world was accustomed to.
