 Michael Jordan opens a new page. What's behind MJ's new decision
to return to the NBA? Read his official statement here
and decide for yourself. But anyway you cut
it, the worst-kept secret in sports is out: Michael Jordan will play again in the NBA .
After months of hints, smiles and winks that kept his fans
on edge, Jordan finally announced his comeback, saying he would play for the Washington
Wizards through 2003 and donate his first year's salary to victims of the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks.
"I am returning as a player to the game I love,"
said Jordan, 38, and three years removed from what seemed to be a storybook ending to an
unparalleled career. "I am especially excited about the Washington Wizards, and I'm
convinced we have the foundation on which to build a playoff-contention team.
"The opportunity to teach our young players and help
them elevate their game to a higher level, and to thank the fans in Washington for their
loyalty and support, strongly influenced my decision," he said in a statement issued
through his management agency.
These are big words from a legendary player, only time will
tell if he can back them up.
Jordan never completely ruled out a comeback when he
retired in January 1999, hedging his bets with the statement that he was "99.9 percent" certain he would never play again. Leaving the
door open, even by one-tenth of 1 percent, meant Jordan could slip back into a uniform
without going back on his word, classic Michael Jordan
Jordan's announcement was sure to hearten a city -- and
entire country -- shocked by terrorism. Washington's economy has suffered since the Sept.
11 attacks, with Reagan National Airport remaining closed and hotel bookings far below
capacity.
His regular-season debut will be Oct. 30 at Madison Square
Garden against the New York Knicks, and his first home game for the Wizards will be Nov. 3
against Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers.
"This is certainly an extremely important moment in
the history of our franchise; however, our excitement is muted by the world events that
surround us," Wizards owner Abe Pollin said.
"The greatest player in the history of the game is
joining my team, and for that I am extremely honored and pleased."
Jordan will be in the unusual position of playing for the
head coach he hired, Doug Collins, who joined the Wizards in April and also coached Jordan
for three seasons with the Bulls in the 1980s. Jordan will share the court with players he
signed, drafted and traded for, including high school sensation Kwame Brown, selected No.
1 overall by the Wizards in June, and veteran forward Christian Laettner -- a graduate of
Duke, the archrival of Jordan's alma mater, North Carolina.
Jordan has been in training for about six months, at first
saying he was simply trying to lose the extra weight he had gained in retirement. Inspired
by his friend Mario Lemieux's successful comeback with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jordan
rigorously worked himself into playing shape during the summer by holding several
invitation-only camps of pickup games with other NBA players at a gym in Chicago.
He occasionally worked out with the team last season when
he was president of basketball operations, a job he used to almost completely overhaul
Washington's roster and put the team into a rebuilding mode.
His supporting cast will include the likes of Jahidi White,
Richard Hamilton and Courtney Alexander -- none of whom were in the NBA when Jordan played
for the Bulls.
Turning a team that won only 19 games last season into a
winner might be an insurmountable challenge -- even for Jordan.
"I think he will return to being one of the top
players in our league. His comeback certainly puts the Wizards in a position to make the
playoffs this year," Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy said.
The paperwork to sell his stake in his professional sports
holdings was completed Friday, and Jordan's lawyers ironed out the last few wrinkles to
clear the way for his comeback announcement.
The final holdup involved the video game licensing rights
to Jordan's likeness, according to Jeff Brown of EA Sports, a game manufacturer.
Jordan suffered three physical setbacks during the summer,
raising doubts about whether his body could endure the rigors of an 82-game schedule. Back
spasms and knee tendinitis curtailed his workouts, and two cracked ribs from a collision
in a pickup game took him off the court for a month.
Jordan will return without the all-star cast that he hoped
would accompany him. Charles Barkley, who spoke of playing with Jordan, abandoned his
comeback bid, and the Wizards were unable to sign any marquee players.
But by ridding the Wizards of the high-salaried, long-term
contracts of Rod Strickland, Juwan Howard and Mitch Richmond, Jordan has given the Wizards
enough salary cap flexibility to restock the roster next summer.
When he returns for the 2002-03 season, the Wizards could
have a roster that bears little resemblance to the current one.
"Who is to say that great things are not ahead with
Michael and the Wizards?" said Dean Smith, who coached Jordan at Chapel Hill.
"He has made excellent decisions in the past, and I know he has given this one a lot
of thought."
Jordan's first retirement came in October 1993, after he
led the Bulls to three titles. He played baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization
for one season, but he couldn't make it out of the minor leagues and returned to the Bulls
in March 1995.
Jordan led the Bulls to three more titles and retired again
in January 1999, shortly before the start of the lockout-shortened season. He made his
final shot in a Chicago uniform, sinking a jumper over Bryon Russell of Utah in Game 6 of
the 1998 NBA Finals -- a play that came to be known as Jordan's "last shot" --
to give the Bulls their sixth title of the decade.
"While nothing can take away from the past,"
Jordan said, "I am firmly focused on the future and the competitive challenge ahead
of me."
Michael Jordan -
TopBlack Profile |
