It was an average night for Michael Jordan in an average NBA game Tuesday night against the Clippers. Jordan threw down a quiet 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Wizards and most of the arena was thinking more about the fourth quarter heroics of the Wizards’ Popeye Jones and Chris Whitney than Jordan’s performance. Still, the flashes of brilliance remained. Every time Jordan backed down an overmatched Darius Miles or Corey Maggette, the fans inched up in their seats hoping for Jordan’s patented fake left, fake right, tongue-wagging, turn-around, fade away jumper. Most of the time, he did not disappoint.
Jordan’s greatness shone through in ways other than scoring. In the first quarter, Jordan split two defenders down the lane and slipped a pass behind both Clippers to a wide-open Jahidi White for a thunderous dunk. In the third, Jordan leapt in the air for a jumper, drawing two defenders toward him, and then with 1994-esque hang time, dished it again to White for the slam. Twice Jordan impressed with his passing ability, a skill often overlooked in his pre-comeback days. Twice Jordan made even Jahidi White look like a player, a feat no one previously had been able to do.
The question often is asked, “Did Jordan make the right decision to come back this season?” Fortunately, the answer, more than a third of the way through the season, is a resounding yes. Even if the Wizards had not won four straight while still missing sharpshooter Richard Hamilton and Christian Laettner; even if the Wizards weren’t in fifth place in the Eastern Conference ahead of teams like Orlando, Philadelphia and Toronto; even if the Wizards currently have won one less game so far this year than all of last season, as long as Jordan was able to come back as some relic of himself, then his decision was the correct one.
Jordan allows fans not only in Washington D.C., but also all over the country to enjoy his brilliance again. At the game on Tuesday, the fans cheered every time he touched the ball and booed every time he came out of the game. When he had the ball, the fans cheered for greatness and when he didn’t have the ball, they yelled for him to get it back. It must be like this all over the country; it must have been like this when Jordan played for the Bulls. Even better, as a result of Jordan’s comeback, every night thousands of new people can now say, “I’ve seen Michael Jordan play live.”
