If Jordan didn't get hurt in 2002

[D.J.]

After defeating the Kings on February 7, the Wizards were 26-21. They were on a 5 game win streak and had won 7 out of 8. He was averaging 25.2 PPG/6.2 RPG/5.3 APG/1.5 SPG on 42.1% shooting. Also the standings after the games on February 7:


[LIST=1][*]Nets(32-15)[*]Bucks(28-18)[*]Raptors(29-21)[*]Celtics(28-21)[*]Wizards(26-21)[*]Pistons(26-21)[*]Sixers(25-24)[*]Magic(25-24)
-----------------------[*]Pacers(25-25)[*]Hornets(23-25)[/LIST]


MJ was also a legit MVP candidate at that point. If MJ remains healthy, where do they finish? And a side note, what a collapse by the Bucks.

[SamuraiSWISH]

Bad shooting percentage, but even by that point he was still suffering from age, dead legs, and lack of wind to play and dominate consistently night to night. People forget, his comeback training got delayed a month or two when Ron Artest broke his ribs in pick up. Grover, his trainer wanted to delay the come back because of it.

But still, he dramatically improved that sorry ass Wizards team. 26-21 while putting up 25 / 6 / 5 is pretty remarkable for a 38 year old who was about to turn 39 years old? Absurd stuff at that age, after three years sitting on a couch eating chips and getting fat.

It's a shame he couldn't remain healthy for the remainder of the season. A great "what if" scenario. I could see them getting to the 3rd or 4th seed in the East before the season was over.

Who knows what kind of noise they could've made in the playoffs with a healthy MJ. I'd love to hear Loki's thoughts on this subject.

[NumberSix]

They would have won. Lakers won when Jordan was injured. Doesn't count.

[D.J.]

Bad shooting percentage, but even by that point he was still suffering from age, dead legs, and lack of wind to play and dominate consistently night to night. People forget, his comeback training got delayed a month or two when Ron Artest broke his ribs in pick up. Grover, his trainer wanted to delay the come back because of it.

But still, he dramatically improved that sorry ass Wizards team. 26-21 while putting up 25 / 6 / 5 is pretty remarkable for a 38 year old who was about to turn 39 years old? Absurd stuff at that age, after three years sitting on a couch eating chips and getting fat.

It's a shame he couldn't remain healthy for the remainder of the season. A great "what if" scenario. I could see them getting to the 3rd or 4th seed in the East before the season was over.

Who knows what kind of noise they could've made in the playoffs with a healthy MJ. I'd love to hear Loki's thoughts on this subject.

I remember they said he was at his 1998 form when he broke his ribs. It was amazing that more than half way into the season, they were still fighting for home court. They were completely lost when he didn't play.

[305Baller]

Too bad he was on the Wizards. Put him on a second or first tier team that year and he could have been a game-changer for the ship.

[SamuraiSWISH]

Too bad he was on the Wizards. Put him on a second or first tier team that year and he could have been a game-changer for the ship.

Agreed, he wouldn't have had to burn himself out averaging 25/6/5 with his biggest help being an extremely young Richard Hamilton, if he was on a team with better talent. MJ could have played the Pippen Blazers role, with actual alpha closing ability on a contender. Will rep when possible

[miller-time]

Agreed, he wouldn't have had to burn himself out averaging 25/6/5 with his biggest help being an extremely young Richard Hamilton, if he was on a team with better talent. MJ could have played the Pippen Blazers role, with actual alpha closing ability on a contender. Will rep when possible

Considering how the Wizards got rid of him once he finished playing it is a shame he didn't play for a better team.

[eliteballer]

MJ was also a legit MVP candidate at that point.

No, he wasn't

[Rake2204]

And a side note, what a collapse by the Bucks.

No doubt. I remember that. Allowed the Pistons to slide in there and steal their first Central Division title in over a decade.

[Haymaker]

Imagine MJ playing with Kidd in that Nets team? I think they played together in some exhibition game and had some spectacular highlights between the two with alley oops and shit.

[Psileas]

Jordan normally continued playing from 2/7 to 2/24 before going down and the Wizards went only 1-6 at that point (1-5 in games when Jordan managed to play till the end), falling to 27-27, so I don't know what's the legit reason for pointing out the 26-21 moment. It was their best positioning late in the season (and almost Jordan's statistical apex late on, too), not the moment Jordan's crucial injury occured.

[Iceman#44]

No, he wasn't

From BALTIMORE SUN FEBRUARY 2, 2002

PHILADELPHIA - As the world's greatest organized pickup basketball contest, tonight's All-Star Game celebrates the league's fresh supply of young talent. But the race for the NBA's Most Valuable Player award has a late 1980s-early 1990s feel about it, with Michael Jordan competing against a point guard.
Back then, it was Jordan and Magic Johnson who split six MVP trophies over the seasons spanning 1986-87 to 1991-92. This season's battle is sizing up as a showdown between Jordan and the New Jersey Nets' Jason Kidd.
Oh, other candidates may emerge, namely the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki and Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Garnett, both of whom will play against Kidd and Jordan tonight.
But Jordan, who has returned from retirement to breathe life into the left-for-dead Washington Wizards, and Kidd, who has quarterbacked the Nets out of the mire of the Meadowlands swamps, are the odds-on favorites.
And their MVP chase figures to break in about the same way the Johnson-Jordan challenges did, with Jordan putting up gaudy scoring numbers and Kidd being the perfect complementary player.
Jordan's return from three years of retirement has been remarkable, with five 40-point performances already. He is also rebounding and handing out assists on par with his career averages.
Most importantly, his indomitable will and thirst for winning have lifted Washington into playoff contention with more wins by Jan. 24 than they had all of last season.
"One guy is making those dudes play like that, because I've seen those guys play before, and none of them play like that. None of them," said Houston Rockets guard Steve Francis. "He is the best player in the NBA, and when you have the best player in the NBA, then you'll play with a lot more confidence and cockiness. You can see the swagger that those guys have got when they play."
Meanwhile, Kidd, in his first year in New Jersey after an off-season trade from the Phoenix Suns for Stephon Marbury, has delivered the previously underachieving Nets the best record in the Eastern Conference. He is second in the NBA in assists and steals and leads the league in triple doubles, with consecutive masterpieces last week against the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors, the second time this season he's done that.
"He's had the biggest impact that any one player has had on any team, so far," said New Jersey coach Byron Scott. "If there was a midseason exam right now, and you stopped the NBA and said the season's over and let's start handing out the awards, to me, Jason Kidd is the MVP."
In a close vote, the view here is Kidd gets the nod, for now, because he has brought New Jersey farther than Jordan has taken Washington. But if the Nets slip and the Wizards make the playoffs, Jordan will have earned what would be a record-tying sixth MVP.

From NY TIMES, 13 JANUARY 2002

Jordan Lifts Wizards And His M.V.P. Bid

Unthinkable and even provincial a few months ago, the subject must now be broached without laughing: Michael Jordan for most valuable player.
The season is two weeks from its midway point, and the Washington Wizards (18-16) are on track to make the Eastern Conference playoffs. A team that won 19 games last season could eclipse that total this week.
Jordan's comeback was not just about the selfish pursuit of a 38-year-old former athlete, after all.
Who else besides Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett has been more important to his team? O'Neal and Chris Webber have been injured, and neither Tracy McGrady nor Vince Carter has elevated his team to the top of the Eastern Conference. Allen Iverson, the reigning M.V.P., is muddling through a disappointing season in Philadelphia.
Jordan, who has won five M.V.P. awards, is not in the running because of his numbers, which are All-Star caliber (24.2 points a game before last night's loss to Minnesota in which he scored 35) but not quite M.V.P. worthy. His recent back-to-back outbursts of 51 and 45 points have little to do with why he is a genuine candidate. Along with that surreal two-handed block of Ron Mercer nine days ago, those were merely blasts from the past.
Jordan is an M.V.P. candidate because he did the improbable again: he got his teammates, the once-woeful Wizards, to believe in themselves.
Last week, in talking about the adjustment he had to make because of a kidney disorder, Miami's Alonzo Mourning used Jordan as an example of someone who has used other parts of his game to compensate for his diminishing athleticism.
''Every player reaches a point in their career where their game starts to decline,'' Mourning said. ''Some earlier than others. Look at Michael. He's 38. He's not averaging 30-something points a game like he used to. He's in the low 20's now. Is he still effective? Yeah, he's very effective. Is he the old Michael? Hell no. Far from it, even with those 50-point games now and then.
''I played against the old Michael. I've seen him at that level. But he's made the adjustment. He's learned to cope with his body playing at a certain level and not expecting to play at the old level. He's raised his game in other areas.''
When asked whom he would vote for at this point in the season, Geoff Petrie, the general manager of the Sacramento Kings, replied: ''I'd say Shaq and Kobe, who are almost indistinguishable because both are so good. Then Kidd, Duncan and maybe Garnett. But if the Wizards keep going the way they are, Michael would have to have a shot.''
Petrie added: ''There is another reservoir of talent there. He's so driven. I was reading something Grant Hill said recently, about the fact that it's so easy to get caught up in Jordan's athleticism. The level of athleticism has dropped, but the skill level is so high.''
Jordan's most skillful play of the season came after he called out his teammates during Washington's slide to start the season. In late November, he said, ''We stink.'' What could have been an ugly moment for the franchise instead inspired the Wizards the next month and a half.
It is still early. But if the Wizards make the playoffs, will the sentiment run so high for Jordan that candidates like Bryant and Kidd, who may be more deserving, will be spurned by the voting members of the news media?

MJ=GOAT AND MVP CANDIDATE IN 01-02 SEASON UNTIL HE WENT DOWN WITH HIS KNEE. FACT.

[HurricaneKid]

MJ=GOAT AND MVP CANDIDATE IN 01-02 SEASON UNTIL HE WENT DOWN WITH HIS KNEE. FACT.

Wait, an aged vet was playing well until an injury halted their season!??! Has this ever happened before?

I bet I can find two articles that give credence to Jeremy Lin being a viable MVP candidate at about the same time during the season. Doesn't mean much.

[D.J.]

Wait, an aged vet was playing well until an injury halted their season!??! Has this ever happened before?

I bet I can find two articles that give credence to Jeremy Lin being a viable MVP candidate at about the same time during the season. Doesn't mean much.

Lin played with Melo, Amare, and DPOY Chandler. Also had J.R. Smith. The best player on the Wizards after MJ in '02; 23 year old Rip Hamilton. 25/6/5 on a team where the second best player was Rip Hamilon while also playing with Kwame Brown, Popeye Jones, and Jahidi White. No comparison.


Wizards lineup in '02
PG- Chris Whitney
SG- Rip Hamilton
SF- MJ
PF- Christian Laettner/Popeye Jones
C- Jahidi White

Courtney Alexander, Tyrone Nesby, Tyronn Lue, Brendan Haywood


Knicks lineup in '12
PG- Lin
SG- Landry Fields
SF- Melo
PF- Amare
C- Tyson Chandler

Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith

[Droid101]

From BALTIMORE SUN FEBRUARY 2, 2002






From NY TIMES, 13 JANUARY 2002

Jordan Lifts Wizards And His M.V.P. Bid




MJ=GOAT AND MVP CANDIDATE IN 01-02 SEASON UNTIL HE WENT DOWN WITH HIS KNEE. FACT.

No.

I'd neg you if I could. Incoming tomorrow. Be prepared.

MJ was good that season, but not an MVP.