Michael Jordan and the Washington Wizards

As Michael Jordan is inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame Friday, most observers including writers from the Washington Post are looking back at Jordan's two-year comeback in Washington and calling it a failure or an embarrassment.

How quickly they forget.

In his first season with the Wizards in 2001-02, Jordan actually had the Wizards soaring toward the playoffs. At the All Star break, the Wizards were 26-21, and had just won five straight games.
Jordan was averaging 24.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists, which are amazing numbers for any player, let alone someone who was nearly 39 years old.

But in the last game before the All Star break, Jordan hit a layup, then bumped knees hard with teammate Etan Thomas while trying to rush back to play defense. Jordan was never the same. He hobbled through a few games, then missed several more after undergoing knee surgery.
Without a healthy Jordan, the Wizards limped home, winning just 11 of their final 34 games after the break, and finishing out of the playoffs at 37-45.

The next year Jordan was healthy. But a fractious Wizards roster disintegrated and they missed the playoffs again with a 37-45 record. If all you know about his time in Washington was the two sub-.500 seasons, then it's easy to assume that Jordan's Wizards stint was a failure. But if not for an unlucky collision, Jordan's time with the Wizards would have featured at least one playoff run. Who knows how a 39-year-old would have
done in the playoffs after a grueling 82-game regular season. But it sure would have been fun to find out. And can you think of anyone else you'd rather have on your side in the postseason?