At the height of his prime, only Michael Jordan knew that playing basketball was over for him. Many thought MJ's pro basketball career was over after his sixth and last NBA title with the Chicago Bulls in 1998.
Like most retiring players, Jordan would remain connected to basketball, but in this specific case, in a different capacity. He became part-owner and the President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards , a chance for him to call the shots entirely.
However, with his efforts as an executive not panning out, buzz surfaced that the North Carolina product would potentially consider another run. This was despite Jordan claiming he was 99.9% sure he would never play another NBA game.
Jordan sets crazy goal
A potential Michael Jordan return grew even louder in 2001. He spent the entire summer training, confident that despite being already 38 years old, he could still play at a high level.
"I'm not walking into this scenario thinking I'm going to fail. I'm thinking I'm going to make it work," Jordan said in October 2001 via UPI .
At the time, Jordan knew that things would be different. He would have to adjust his game to remain efficient with the younger players active at the time, such as Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady.
"You're the guys saying Kobe and Tracy will take me. Well guess what, I'm sitting back ready to take on the challenge too," the 3rd overall pick of the 1984 Draft said.
Also, Jordan had nothing to lose. He was a five-time Most Valuable Player, a 12-time All-Star, and a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year. But above all, MJ stressed the most important thing that no one can ever take away from him among his accolades.
"No matter what happens here, you can't take away my six championships," Jordan declared.
Wasted effort
The 6-foot-6 guard showed that he hadn't lost his touch. Jordan played for two seasons with the Wizards, hoping to lead the team to the playoffs and possibly an NBA title. One player who attested to that was Kwame Brown, the Wizards' top pick in the 2001 Draft.
Brown pointed out that the Wizards' coach, Doug Collins, and Jordan did not believe in playing young players back then. According to the 6-foot-11 center, Jordan felt he still had what it took to lead the Wizards to the playoffs and a title despite being already 39 years old then.
Without question, "Air Jordan" exhausted all means to achieve that. He averaged 21.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.5 steals in 142 regular-season games.
Unfortunately, that was not enough. His goal fell short, and he struggled to lead the Wizards past the 2001-02 and 2002-03 regular seasons. After realizing the team didn't have what it took to make a deep playoff run, Jordan retired in 2003 for good.
Related: "I'm nervous in every arena that I go in because I could feel the expectations" - When MJ had second thoughts about returning for the Wizards
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