Washington Wizards: Ranking The Top 5 Small Forwards In Recent Franchise History
By Ben Mehic
2) Michael Jordan
I really tried campaigning hard for Michael Jordan at no.1
I mean, this is His Airness we’re talking about. MJ. The GOAT. Playing in a Washington Wizards jersey. Are you kidding me? I don’t care about the circumstance – that has to earn the top spot, I thought.
Nonetheless, saner heads prevailed and I relented on that argument. But while I do admit Caron Butler deserves it since his play actually resulted in team success, even the height of the Gilbert Arenas-era Wizards couldn’t match the buzz in the building for the two years Jordan called D.C. home.
When MJ hit that final shot over Byron Russell in the 1998 NBA Finals, there was poetic justice unlike any we’ve ever seen.
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Here was a man at the peak of his powers, coming off six titles in the last full six seasons he played, hanging it up because the challenge just didn’t exist anymore.
We had seen one return before, back in 1995, but understood that his first exit from the game was definitely premature.
This actually had a finality to it and was at an age more representative of Jordan’s stature in basketball.
But ultimately, this break didn’t last either.
After three seasons off the court, including one spent as a disastrous general manager, Jordan was coming back to the…Wizards?
Of course, much of his decision hinged on his established relationship with Abe Pollin and his control of player personnel decisions that led to the drafting (and later excoriating) of Kwame Brown and the eventual fateful deal that sent Rip Hamilton to Detroit for Jerry Stackhouse (technically occurred while Jordan was on the team, but he was GM LeBron before there was a GM LeBron).
At any rate, those two years with Jordan in the blue and gold couldn’t have been more fun.
The Wizards sold out all 82 home games across two seasons. The building was loud, and made sure to ooh and ah at each of his patented moves.
He had 40 and 50 point games, game winning shots, and defensive plays that defied his age. Jordan was still Jordan, but only at times.
Ultimately, the Wizards did not achieve team success, as those two seasons represent the only in Jordan’s career that he failed to qualify for the playoffs. And despite those moments of brilliance, it was clear to anyone who’s followed his career that this third act was a shell of his former self.
I say it doesn’t matter.
What other 38-year-old can miss three full seasons of action, then come back and average 23-6-5 per game against youthful competition – and then follow it up the next year with lower counting stats but heightened efficiency while playing all 82 games and averaging 37 minutes per contest??
Jordan’s conditioning and athleticism were waning but nonetheless he was the best player on a mediocre team and the only reason they mattered within the context of the league.
He made the All-Star team twice, had his number retired by the Miami Heat (of which half the jersey is attributed to Washington in hilarious fashion), and even got Mariah Carey to don a Wizards jersey-dress contraption during his send-off event.
The numbers were there, some good, some bad (his 36% Usage Rate in 2001-02 ranked unbelievably as the 2nd highest in his career across a full season), but his presence was felt much more.
Unfortunately, Jordan’s legacy in D.C. was tarnished by some highly questionable and debilitating front office moves as well as a nasty breakup with ownership thereafter.
No love was lost between Pollin and Jordan, but Washington Wizards fans will always love that #23 played for them.
Next: 1) Butler