{"id":1459,"date":"2018-10-26T18:37:45","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T23:37:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pauleide.com\/?p=1459"},"modified":"2021-07-26T13:38:06","modified_gmt":"2021-07-26T18:38:06","slug":"evaluating-michael-jordans-final-nba-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/i80sportsblog.com\/evaluating-michael-jordans-final-nba-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Jordan Wizards: Last Season Was Better Than You Remember"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The accepted narrative in regards to the Michael Jordan Wizards final season is the numbers he put up in his final two seasons were done at the expense of his team.<\/h2>\n

RELATED: Michael Jordan Baseball: MJ\u2019s Only Game In MLB<\/strong><\/p>\n

That Jordan was old and looked it, hanging on just long enough to average 20\u00a0ppg. That it was a shtick because he was a part owner and head of the Wizards basketball operations. That it was an ego driven move that no one other than Jordan benefited from.<\/p>\n

So I dug into the stats and found quite the opposite.<\/p>\n

During the 2002-03 season, Michael Jordan turned 40-years-old. Of all major sports the NBA is probably the most unforgiving in terms of deteriorating skills.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re old and slow it can\u2019t be hidden. In the NFL, you\u2019d only play in certain situations, in certain packages. In MLB, you\u2019d have to be a DH or some kind of pitcher. In the NHL, it\u2019s the same thing- very few guys play that long and remain productive.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t like\u00a0MJ\u00a0was only playing 20 minutes a game, hanging on even though his physical skills had disappeared.<\/p>\n

RELATED \u2013 Can Michael Jordan STILL DUNK?\u201d VIDEO<\/strong><\/p>\n

That season he played 37 mpg, second on the team only to\u00a0Jerry Stackhouse. He was second in points to\u00a0Stackhouse\u00a0(20.0\u00a0ppg), second in rebounding (6.1\u00a0rpg), fourth in assists (3.8\u00a0apg) and first in steals (1.5\u00a0spg). He was even fourth on the team in blocks with 0.5\u00a0bpg. He was also the only Wizards player to appear in all 82 games, starting 67 of them.<\/p>\n

The main criticism is that Jordan was simply chucking the ball to get his point total up over 20 a game, which just isn\u2019t true if you watched the games or just looked at the numbers.<\/p>\n

He averaged 18.6 shots per game which was the second lowest of his career and a full four shots less per game than his career average of 22.9.<\/p>\n

Jordan scored 20 or more points 42 times, 30 or more points nine times, and 40 or more points three times.<\/p>\n

Though it wasn\u2019t rare for us to see\u00a0MJ\u00a0score 40+ throughout his career, the three games of 40+ represent the only times in NBA history a player over 40 years old has ever scored that many points.<\/p>\n