If Jordan didn't get hurt in 2002

[nayte]

Jordan should have stayed retired . I get that he wanted to prove something it didn't work to well tho

[TheGoatest]

Thats one of the biggest what ifs in history

Based on facts and no dumb opinions

26 - 20 record with Hamilton missing 5 weeks
They went 15 - 1 the last 16 games they played together healthy (2nd place in the East)

Pre injury numbers: 25.1 , 6.2 , 5.3 , 1.5 , 0.5 42%fg

Only player to manage those numbers? Prime Tmac

39 y/o rusty and dealing with tendinitis in the wrist and both knees and fluid drained multiple times

2002 is a credit to goatness

Would have love to see how a full healthy season with a healthy hamilton would have played out. Maybe we got that Mj vs Kobe matchup

Let it go. Even head Jordan extremist Skip Bayless admits that his Wizards years were a mistake.

[2much_knowledge]

Let it go. Even head Jordan extremist Skip Bayless admits that his Wizards years were a mistake.

How is it a mistake when he did all this before his injury? He proved he could hand with prime A.I, Carter, Kobe, Tmac, Allen and Spree. What happened after the injury is irrelevant and had nothing to do with his ability

[Airupthere]

How is it a mistake when he did all this before his injury? He proved he could hand with prime A.I, Carter, Kobe, Tmac, Allen and Spree. What happened after the injury is irrelevant and had nothing to do with his ability

I wouldn't say a mistake but I would say irrelevant to his main body of work, in that it does not add nor diminish his legacy. You would hardly think of MJ as a Wizard.

However, his years as a wizard provide interesting proof of what a prime Jordan could do in an era where it was toughest to score.

[TheGoatest]

Karl Malone made the playoffs at the same age in the same era while posting superior numbers. And he was playing in the much tougher conference, and not the conferences with the two #1 seeds with the lowest amount of wins in the 3 point line era, like Jordan was in 2001-02 and 2002-03.

[3ball]

I wouldn't say a mistake but I would say irrelevant to his main body of work, in that it does not add nor diminish his legacy. You would hardly think of MJ as a Wizard.

However, his years as a wizard provide interesting proof of what a prime Jordan could do in an era where it was toughest to score.

The Wizards totally diminished Jordan's legacy because it took the mystique away

Knowledgeable fans understand his Wizards performance was infact amazing as the OP points out, but many young fans ONLY saw him as a Wizard and think he was overrated

[DoctorP]

Jordan smoked too many cigars and drank way too much to have epic longevity. His drive alone couldn't save his soft tissue.

[3ball]

Jordan smoked too many cigars and drank way too much to have epic longevity. His drive alone couldn't save his soft tissue.

Naw, it's just the rules - he wasn't allowed to go from HS to the pros, so that robbed 3 seasons from him, and he wasn't hurt in 94' - he voluntarily retired and didn't have to.. so that's 5 more seasons on top of the 13 goat ones he already had..

then he added a couple more all-star seasons as a Wizard with better PER than rookie Lebron

So his longevity was great, but he was either too good to play (94'), or discriminated against (not allowed to go pro from HS)

[SATAN]

The Wizards totally diminished Jordan's legacy because it took the mystique away

Knowledgeable fans understand his Wizards performance was infact amazing as the OP points out, but many young fans ONLY saw him as a Wizard and think he was overrated

That may be true but it doesn't take away from the fact MJ was so desperate for casuals to either forget or not know about that part of his career that he created The Last Dance to pull to pull the wool over their eyes.

[Reggie43]

On the topic of the Wizards whatever happened to Courtney Alexander? He was a young athletic and talented guy. Looked it up and he was traded in Jordans 2nd year with the Wizards I wonder why.

[aceman]

More revisionist rubbish. Jordan was past it in Washington. If bullets were to make playoffs Jordan needed to take backseat to Rip then Stackhouse.

[ImKobe]

More revisionist rubbish. Jordan was past it in Washington. If bullets were to make playoffs Jordan needed to take backseat to Rip then Stackhouse.

Not in '02. They were sitting at 27-27 with MJ averaging 25/6/5. Wizards were 30 - 30 on the season with Jordan & 7 - 15 without him.

[Hey Yo]

I wouldn't say a mistake but I would say irrelevant to his main body of work, in that it does not add nor diminish his legacy. You would hardly think of MJ as a Wizard.

However, his years as a wizard provide interesting proof of what a prime Jordan could do in an era where it was toughest to score.

It most certainly diminished it. It shows he could have kept playing for the Bulls and try to defend his title in 1999 but chose to quit instead.

What league MVP and FMVP does that????

[TheGoatest]

The only thing good for Jordan that came out of his Wizards years is that he was able to get 3000+ career points more and pass the 30K mark.
If he hadn't done that, then we would be anticipating whether Carmelo Anthony would pass him in career points by the time his career ends.
This way we only have to discuss whether Durant and/or Harden will pass him in career points. Which is still pretty embarrassing for a "GOAT", just not as embarrassing as Carmelo.