What if MJ picked his team in 2001?
LeBron has picked his spots — what if a post-Bulls MJ did too?
“One day you might look up and see me playing the game at 50. (nervous laughter in crowd) Oh don’t laugh. (relaxed laughter) Never say never. Because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” — Michael Jordan, September 2009, upon induction into the Hall of Fame
While Michael Jordan’s Wizards career wasn’t the outright failure many suggest, it also wasn’t the success that he or any of us wanted.
But what if instead of going to Washington in the fall of 2001, MJ sought out the best available landing spot? What if he signed with the Lakers? The Blazers? The Sixers? The…
Well?
In February 2013, for Michael Jordan’s 50th birthday, I explored this question for Jonathan Eig’s ChicagoSide sports site. My story — which Jon’s team wonderfully titled “The 40-Year-Old Version” — looked at the what-if around MJ’s Wizards comeback: What if Michael Jordan had chosen a different team than the Wizards? Which would have been best?
With LeBron James heading to Philly, much of the now exhausting GOAT discourse1 has turned to what we would think if MJ left the Bulls for other teams, especially after 1998. The smart ones among us are asking what I asked back in 2013: what would MJ’s Wizards years have looked like if he picked the best possible landing spot?
While ChicagoSide is no longer online, thanks to the wonders of the Internet Archive, AKA The Wayback Machine, and my own archives, I am republishing the story here, though with a much shorter introduction, which you can read at the link above. I’ve also added an eighth team option, as well as footnotes with new angles. Enjoy!
Best,
Jack
(QUICK NOTE: I appreciate what LeBron has done and how he’s run his career. It’s different than what any other player of his stature has ever done. I’m going to trust that talking about Jordan doesn’t require me to explain my entire view on someone as great and complex as LeBron James. Let’s let one thing be just that one thing. Deal?)
The 40-Year-Old Version: Why Michael Jordan’s Wizards Years Were Wasted
Originally published on ChicagoSide, Feb. 15, 2013
When, at the age of 46, Michael Jordan said at his Hall of Fame induction that he might unretire a third time and play in the NBA as a 50-year-old, the notion seemed so absurd that the mere mention made people jittery. How could this man, already puffy at 46, possibly believe that he could be effective on the court at 50?
But then this month, his fellow North Carolina alum Antawn Jamison said that Jordan “still believes he can (play in the NBA)” and estimated that in the right situation, 50-year-old MJ could play 15 to 20 minutes a night and score “10 or 11 points.”
Kooky talk, right? Well here’s the thing: 50-year-old MJ playing effective pro ball doesn’t seem so kooky if we remember just how good 40-year-old MJ was. The problem is that most basketball fans, especially Bulls fans (myself included), reacted to MJ’s Wizards years as if recoiling from a deformity.
Yes, MJ in a Wizards jersey was an eyesore. But we made a mistake when we lumped him in with the Dead Man Walking stints of Olajuwon on the Raptors or Ewing on the Sonics/Magic. Bulls fans were disgusted, but Jordan’s time with Washington was actually quite brilliant.
Michael Jordan achievements while in Washington2:
Oldest player to score 50 points in an NBA game (38)3
Oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game (40)4
Only 40-year-old to average 20 points per game in a full season5
Tied with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as oldest player voted as All-Star starter (38)6
Oldest All-Star starter (39, when Vince Carter gave him his starting spot in 2003)
What made MJ’s Wizards career so strange was that half the time he looked like a 40-year-old basketball player, and the other half he looked like Michael Jordan. When he was MJ, though, he was a sight to see: he hit game-winners at ease, dropped 20 points in his final All-Star game, and made one of the most brilliant defensive plays of his career with his two-handed shot-block/ball-snatch maneuver against Ron Mercer in the final minutes of Jordan’s first game against his old team.
For me, that play sums up the experience of watching Jordan on the Wizards. Yes, it was a personal affront to everyone who loves the Bulls, but how can you argue with more great Michael memories?
So it got me wondering: What if Michael Jordan had been an unrestricted free agent for his second comeback in 2001 instead of part owner of the Wizards? What would have been the best situation for him? What team would have given him the best chance to win a championship and further gild his image?
To find the answer, let’s take a stroll back to the summer of 2001 and rewrite the ending of MJ’s third act. Included are the records of Jordan’s prospective teams for the 2000-01 season to show what was influencing his decision, as well as records for the following year to show how the teams fared without him.
Here are my top eight could-have-been situations.7
#8: New Jersey Nets
2000-2001: 26-56
2001-2002: 52-30, lost NBA Finals 4-0 vs. Lakers
Lineup with Jordan:
PG Jason Kidd
SG Michael Jordan
SF Keith Van Horn
PF Kenyon Martin
C Todd MacCulloch
WHY IT WOULD’VE WORKED: Throughout Jordan’s career, the cities he played in were all east of the Mississippi: Chapel Hill, Chicago, New York, Washington D.C. So in the event that it turned out that winning with an Eastern Conference team was for some reason important to Jordan, the Nets would be a good candidate.
WHY IT WOULDN’T HAVE WORKED: First of all, he’d never select the Nets coming out of retirement, because nobody knew they’d be in the Finals, even with the Kidd-Marbury trade. Second, New Jersey + Jordan still can’t beat the Lakers, and so legacy-wise, seeing MJ in a Nets jersey is not that much better than seeing him in a Wizards jersey.
#7: Boston Celtics
2000-2001: 36-46
2001-2002: 49-33, lost Eastern Conference Finals
Lineup with Jordan:
PG Kenny Anderson
SG Michael Jordan
SF Paul Pierce
PF Antoine Walker
C Tony Battie
WHY IT WOULD’VE WORKED: Same reasoning used for the Nets, but add to that the possibility of winning a title for a team with a rich tradition like the Celtics. Boston + Jordan beats New Jersey, I think, and then he gets to be the centerpiece of a Celtics-Lakers Finals, with a chance to beat his old coach and Kobe, his heir apparent.
WHY IT WOULDN’T HAVE WORKED: Can Jordan’s Celtics beat L.A.? I think they do better than Jordan’s Nets, but still might not do it. Also, he couldn’t wear #23 without permission from former Celtics guard Frank Ramsey8.
#6: Los Angeles Lakers
2000-2001: 56-26, won NBA Championship
2001-2002: 58-24, won NBA Championship
Lineup with Jordan:
PG Derek Fisher
SG Kobe Bryant
SF Michael Jordan9
PF Robert Horry
C Shaquille O’Neal
WHY IT WOULD’VE WORKED: Swap Rick Fox for MJ and roll from there. Obviously, if this worked, it comes with the highest likelihood of bagging ring #7.
WHY IT WOULDN’T HAVE WORKED: Ye gods… where to start? First of all, what would be the effect of teaming 39-year-old Jordan with 23-year-old Kobe? Every practice would grind to a halt as MJ & Kobe play out the real life version of Jordan’s “39 vs. 23” commercial. How would the shot distribution work between Jordan, Shaq, and Kobe?
And even if everything clicked and they won the title, his legacy would suffer because he…
once again won with Phil Jackson
shared the stage with Kobe/Shaq
was a front-runner by joining the back-to-back champs
What’s the point?
#5: Philadelphia 76ers
2000-2001: 56-26, lost Finals
2001-2002: 49-33, lost Eastern Conference Finals
Lineup with Jordan:
PG Allen Iverson
SG Michael Jordan
SF Matt Harpring
PF Derrick Coleman
C Dikembe Mutombo
WHY IT WOULD’VE WORKED: Now this is interesting.
LeBron’s new club is the highest remaining Eastern Conference team on my list. I actually left the Sixers out of my original story, because the MJ-AI pairing didn’t seem like it would work. But the love that Jordan and Iverson have for each other is so strong, I’m calling an audible.10
Before the ‘84 draft, Jordan said he would love to go to the Sixers at #5; this would have been a chance to make good on that curiosity, with a shot at putting the 2001 Finals runner-up over the top against both Phil and Kobe. He could play with Iverson — they had a ton of fun together in the All-Star Game this year and the next. He could play for his fellow Tar Heel Larry Brown. He could help the Sixers win their first title since 1983, back when one of his idols, Dr. J, won it all. The upside of a title here is huge.
WHY IT WOULDN’T HAVE WORKED: I once described Iverson — one of my personal favorites — as having “the same mind, the same wiring” as Jordan, only “six inches shorter and without Pippen.” So it’s just hard for me to say how a Jordan-Iverson pairing would work. This is a worse spot basketball-wise than the Lakers, but I’m ranking it higher because a title would mean so much more, both for returning an old great to glory and for the tougher road to the top.
#4: San Antonio Spurs
2000-2001: 58-24, lost Western Conference Finals
2001-2002: 58-24, lost second round 4-1 vs. Lakers
Lineup with Jordan:
PG Tony Parker
SG Michael Jordan11
SF Bruce Bowen
PF Tim Duncan
C David Robinson
WHY IT WOULD’VE WORKED: This is a great spot to get a ring. Spurs + Jordan nab home court against Lakers, and possibly play their way into home-court in the Finals.
WHY IT WOULDN’T HAVE WORKED: The ’02 Spurs were a team with one superstar and zero All-Stars, so while they could compete with the Lakers, victory is by no means guaranteed. Also, Jordan would be joining a team that won a championship without him three years prior, and would be playing second banana to Tim Duncan, possibly even in the fourth quarter.
#3: Portland Trail Blazers
2000-2001: 50-32, lost in first round 3-0 vs. Lakers
2001-2002: 49-33, lost in first round 3-0 vs. Lakers
Lineup with Jordan:
PG Damon Stoudamire
SG Michael Jordan
SF Scottie Pippen
PF Rasheed Wallace
C Arvydas Sabonis
WHY IT WOULD’VE WORKED: Soooooo much good stuff here.
Imagine, if you will, Pippen and Jordan hanging out during the summer of 200112. They play HORSE. They play cards. They smoke cigars and have a drink. They talk about the old days. Maybe there’s some pent-up frustration with Phil Jackson over little things from the Bulls days they’ve never expressed, and now they just start cutting loose because it’s MJ & Scottie and why the hell not? Pip has been eliminated three straight years by Kobe, Shaq, and the Lakers, and two straight years by Phil, and now the Blazers have just traded Steve Smith to San Antonio, leaving the 2-guard spot in the hands of Bonzi Wells. Also, they’re getting Steve Kerr in the Spurs trade!
Scottie’s pitch is simple: “So Mike, want to help me beat the Lakers?”
Other perks: playing in Nike’s hometown… playing with the team that passed him up in the draft… finding another way to embarrass Clyde Drexler. Trail Blazers + Jordan can beat the Lakers. It would be tough, but it could be done.
WHY IT WOULDN’T HAVE WORKED: It’s not quite the best championship option. There’s a little bit too much potential for crazy when you’re talking about the soon-to-be Jail Blazers. Why risk it? Plus, if he had the opportunity to beat both Scottie AND Phil on his path to a title, I imagine he would prefer that.
#2: Utah Jazz
2000-2001: 53-29, lost in first round
2001-2002: 44-38, lost in first round
Lineup with Jordan:
PG John Stockton
SG Michael Jordan
SF Bryon Russell
PF Karl Malone
C Donyell Marshall
WHY IT WOULD’VE WORKED: Jazz fell off some in 2002, but in 2001 they were a 53-win team that blew a 2-0 series lead on the Mavericks. MJ + ’01 Jazz = at least 53 wins, and before you say I’m crazy for suggesting MJ team with Malone/Stockton, ask yourself if it’s any more crazy than Garnett-Pierce-Allen, Olajuwon-Drexler-Barkley, or James-Wade-Bosh. That would be the question with this scenario: would Jordan’s Jazz be more ’08 Celtics or ’97 Rockets?
Regardless, this is a good look for MJ. There are no potential distractions like in Portland, no recent titles detracting from the achievement like in San Antonio, and while some Bulls fans might take offense to MJ playing in Utah, I think Jordan would get off on it for the same reason that Beyonce seemed to enjoy performing with Destiny’s Child during the Super Bowl13. It’s a subtle way of asserting himself again over Malone, Stockton, Sloan, Russell, and Utah while simultaneously looking like their savior.
WHY IT WOULDN’T HAVE: This was a 44-win team in 2002, so even with Jordan in the mix, do they have the firepower to beat Sacramento, let alone the Lakers? Not sure.
#1: Sacramento Kings
2000-2001: 55-27, swept in second round
2001-2002: 61-21, lost Western Conference Finals
Lineup with Jordan:
PG Mike Bibby
SG Michael Jordan
SF Peja Stojakovic
PF Chris Webber
C Vlade Divac
WHY IT WOULD’VE WORKED: The Kings have it all. This was a team on the ascent, and Jordan could take them to the mountaintop. He would empathize with them, since their trajectory from 1999 to 2002 was similar to the one taken by Jordan’s Bulls between 1988 and 1991, complete with their own Detroit Pistons (the Lakers).
They had already improved their starting lineup by trading Jason Williams for Mike Bibby. And even without Jordan, the 2002 Kings captured the league’s best record and came within one fixed game (Game 6) and one overtime game (Game 7) of the Finals, where they would have met an underwhelming Nets team.
Jordan perfectly fills Sacramento’s holes. He replaces Doug Christie in the starting lineup to give them a 10-point scoring boost, and he reverses the root cause of their losses in Game 6 (not getting to the foul line enough due to fixed officiating due to the League wanting the Lakers in the Finals, a desire that goes out the window with MJ on the other side… not to mention that, even if Stern still wanted L.A. in the Finals, MJ would find a way to get to the line, even in a rigged game, because he’s Michael Friggin’ Jordan and that’s what he does) and Game 7 (not having a clutch 4th quarter performer to win the game for the Kings in regulation, and needing a career night from Bibby to even end up in overtime).
With C-Webb at his peak and Stojakovic/Bibby each having marvelous seasons, Jordan would not have to carry the scoring load all season, yet would still be needed to close out tight games.
WHY IT WOULDN’T HAVE WORKED: The “Isn’t it weird to see MJ in a Wizards jersey?” problem would still exist. But that’s it, and goodness, if we could get used to him on a terrible Wizards team, we could accept him on a championship Kings team.
MJ in Sacramento means Jordan finally gets to hold up seven fingers, and probably wins another Finals MVP award. His career scoring average would dip to second place, but he would add to his postseason legacy and become the first non-Boston Celtic to win more than six titles, with the possibility for more in 2003 & 2004.
If only someone would have told him: Go West, old man.
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Thank you Jonathan Eig!
To me, MJ is the greatest ever, but I also view him as one of five players with what I’ll call an “objective” GOAT case: Russell, Wilt, Kareem, MJ and LeBron. My problem with the GOAT debate is that it’s often so badly done, and it often veers from what I view as the natural foundation: the GOAT is the person who was the best at basketball.
All of these records have been broken, mostly by LeBron.
In 2019, MJ’s one-time body double Jamal Crawford broke Jordan’s record of the oldest player to score 50, scoring 51 points at age 39.
In 2025, LeBron twice broke MJ’s record as the only 40-year-old to score 40 or more, scoring 42 and then 40 in games in February of 2025, two months after turning 40.
The 2002-03 season was the Age 39 season for both MJ and Karl Malone, but while Malone didn’t turn 40 until July, after the playoffs, MJ turned 40 in February. LeBron broke this record in each of the past two seasons. He turned 40 in December of 2024, making that his Age 40 season; he averaged 24.4 points per game that year, and 20.9 points per game last season at age 41.
LeBron has passed this record in each of the past three seasons, voted an All-Star starter in 2024 (age 39), 2025 (40) and last year (41).
“What about the Knicks?” you ask. With Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell firmly settled as the team’s starters at the 2 and the 3, I left them out. Interestingly, that’s the team Jordan came closest to joining while on the Bulls.
The Celtics great passed away in 2018, meaning he was alive when I published this story, and was doing just fine when MJ came to the Wizards.
Later in his Bulls career, even though he was still listed at shooting guard, Jordan often defended the opposing team’s small forward, leaving Scottie and Harp with the guards. So moving to the 3 while the younger Kobe plays the 2 would have made sense, especially in the Triangle, where positions are less defined.
In his Hall of Fame speech, AI fawned over Jordan. And Jordan green-lit The Last Dance after learning that producer Mike Tollin made the documentary Iverson in 2014. Jordan told Tollin: “I watched that thing three times. Made me cry. Love that little guy.”
The case can also be made that Steve Smith would start at the 2 with MJ at the 3, or maybe even, dare I say, MJ as 6th man. But Smith was beginning his decline and Bowen was definitely going to start, so I think this is the most likely lineup.
Sadly, these days, all we can do is imagine it.
In retrospect, this was unfair of me to Beyonce, as well as to Kelly and Michelle, as I was projecting that Beyonce was big-timing them during their performance at Super Bowl XLVII, in which Beyonce was the headliner and Destiny’s Child was the special guests. Leaving it in here as a reminder to myself to not make assumptions, even though I do still like the analogy, and I do absolutely think that had MJ gone to the Jazz, he would have viewed himself that way.