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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m taking a look back at Michael Jordan and his time with the Washington Wizards, as well as its impact on video games.
For those keeping track, it was twenty years ago this Saturday that Michael Jordan announced that he was coming out of retirement to play for the Washington Wizards. Although it’s a chapter in his career that many people gloss over, MJ’s Wizards years did have their bright moments. His second comeback and third NBA stint overall also had an obvious effect on basketball video games, especially given his history on the virtual hardwood throughout most of the 90s. In that regard, it actually had more of an impact than when he said “I’m Back” almost 27 years ago!
As a Michael Jordan fan and avid basketball gamer who had just taken over running the NLSC, his comeback with the Wizards stands out quite vividly in my memory. Given that it’s the 20th Anniversary of a comeback that saw His Airness become a familiar face in a strange place, I felt that it would only be appropriate to reflect on both the real event, and how it affected basketball games. Let’s take a look back…way back…
When Michael Jordan retired in January 1999 – an event that I also remember quite vividly, as it confirmed that The Last Dance would indeed be just that – he stated that he was “99.9% certain” that he was done playing in the NBA. At the time, it seemed like a safe bet. MJ had indicated that he wasn’t interested in playing for any other coach but Phil Jackson, being part of a rebuilding team in Chicago or elsewhere, or even chasing further scoring records. However, in the wake of his friend and NHL great Mario Lemieux making a comeback in 2000, MJ felt similarly inspired to make a return. At the time, he was of course a part-owner of the Washington Wizards.
So began weeks of speculation that Michael Jordan would suit up for the Wizards come the 2002 season. He held several invitation-only camps for NBA players as he worked out in anticipation of a possible return, which continued to fuel speculation. In fact, ESPN began maintaining a “Return-o-Meter” based on the latest rumours, with the needle swinging back and forth as the prospect of Michael Jordan playing for the Wizards looked more or less likely. On September 25th, MJ announced that he’d relinquished his ownership stake to sign a two-year deal to play for the Wizards. At this point the Return-o-Meter swung to “I’m Back”, where it remains to this day.
I remember being rather unhappy at the news. As a Chicago Bulls fan, the thought of Michael Jordan playing for the Wizards – or anyone other than the Bulls – didn’t fill me with glee. Several other MJ fans in our community felt more positive about the news however, and there was significant discussion about what ratings to give him in roster updates for NBA Live 2001. Lutz – one of our founders – also made a snide remark as he’s never been a big fan of MJ, championing Wilt Chamberlain in the eternal GOAT debate. It stirred up some controversy in the community, with a few disgruntled fans mistakenly thinking that I also shared those anti-Jordan sentiments!
That all blew over fairly quickly, but the bigger issue as it pertained to video games was whether or not Michael Jordan would be playing for the Wizards in NBA Live 2002, or any other titles for that matter. After all, following his withdrawal from the NBAPA’s licensing agreement, His Airness had been notably absent from games released following his comeback in 1995. We wondered if his return to the NBA also signalled the return of a Roster Player on the virtual hardwood. MJ was already in NBA Live as a Legend and member of the 90s All-Stars, but he also consented to be included as a current player in NBA Live 2002 and other NBA licensed video games.
Not only that, but he was actually the cover player for the Japanese version of NBA Live 2002! This absolutely flew under the radar in other regions. When his comeback was announced, EA Sports released a collection of screenshots that showed Michael Jordan in his new Wizards uniform, but they didn’t mention that he was the regional cover player in Japan. I’ve previously noted it as being strange that EA opted to use Steve Francis as the main cover player in all other regions, but given the timing of MJ’s comeback, it makes sense. With the Japanese version being released later, it’s likely that EA struck a deal with MJ, figuring that he was far more recognisable.
Seeing Michael Jordan don a Wizards jersey, in real life and on the virtual hardwood, was undoubtedly strange. It’s something that I’ve probably never really gotten used to, but there are parts of his stint in Washington that I do enjoy. It should be noted that before his injury late in the season, he was putting up some good numbers and the Wizards had a winning record. Indeed, they were on track to be a top four seed in the (admittedly weaker) Eastern Conference, thanks in no small part to His Airness. It was tough seeing him come off the bench for limited runs after a brief return to action before he shut it down for the year, unable to play pain-free or at a satisfactory level.
Getting back to NBA Live 2002, it’s worth noting that MJ’s addition to the active rosters came very late in production. The game’s roster cut-off date was September 10th, which excluded three noteworthy rookies: Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry of the Chicago Bulls, and Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs. As MJ was already in the game as a Legend, NBA Live 2002’s October 29th release facilitated his addition to the active rosters despite missing the cut-off date. Had the game been released in early September as with recent NBA 2K titles, it would’ve missed out on including such a big roster move, without the benefit of the official updates that we now get.
Although he mostly played at small forward for the Wizards, Michael Jordan was listed as a shooting guard in the default rosters of NBA Live 2002. His Overall Rating of 88 was lower than his 90s All-Stars version which sat at a game-best 93 Overall, but that still placed him among the top-rated active players on par with Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, cover player Steve Francis, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, and Vince Carter. Only Shaquille O’Neal and Kevin Garnett were rated higher among the active players, at 89 Overall. The 90s All-Stars MJ was the default player for Practice mode, and Steve Francis’ default opponent in 1-on-1. In short, he was prominently featured.
Personally, my memories of Michael Jordan on the Wizards coincide with a couple of turbulent years in my adolescence. His comeback began in my second-last year of high school, an eventful year in which I lost my grandmother with whom I was very close, but also came to take over running the NLSC. The retirement tour that was his second season began as I was graduating high school, turning 18, and navigating the waters of early adulthood. I wasn’t entirely happy to see him in a Wizards uniform, yet it was also familiarity during a transitional stage of life. With the certainty that it would be his final run, I was also able to properly prepare for the NBA to move on.
Speaking of the retirement tour that was MJ’s second year in Washington, one of the big controversies was the prospect that he wouldn’t start in the All-Star Game, owing to his listing as a forward on the ballot. Vince Carter took a lot of heat for originally refusing to give up his spot, especially when Iverson and McGrady had already made the offer. Being younger and a staunch MJ fanboy at the time, I recall disliking Carter for initially taking that stance. Over the years, I’ve come to understand his position and not begrudge it. His ultimate decision to step aside was noble though, and did have historical precedent with Magic Johnson in 1992, and John Havlicek in 1978.
In NBA Live 2003, Wizards Michael Jordan was rated 89 Overall, compared to his 99 Overall Legends version. That put the current MJ on par with Eddie Jones and Dirk Nowitzki, and below Shaq at 96 Overall, as well as Kobe, T-Mac, Paul Pierce, Chris Webber, KG, and Tim Duncan (95 Overall). Cover Player Jason Kidd (93), Vince Carter (94), and even Karl Malone and Gary Payton (92) ranked ahead of him. He also had an ill-fitting dunk package. While MJ was hardly a high-flyer by then, his default package mostly triggered layups, and occasionally a basic one-handed or two-handed dunk; something we fixed on PC. At least he was listed as a small forward!
We can debate what his Wizards years mean for his real life legacy, but Michael Jordan making a comeback with Washington resulted in some interesting basketball gaming trivia. His only official appearances in NBA Live as an active player came in those years, though he was featured in the NBA Playoffs series; EA’s forerunner to NBA Live. It yielded an appearance as a solo cover player years before NBA 2K11, though only in Japan. His Legends version has always been the top-rated player in NBA Live and NBA 2K, but the active version was rated lower than the new stars of the NBA. And of course, he was essentially a last minute addition in NBA Live 2002.
I still have mixed feelings about Michael Jordan as a member of the Washington Wizards, as both an avid fan of His Airness and the Chicago Bulls. There are parts of that run that I enjoyed and I believe added to his legacy, but it’s also a shame that he added a postscript to the storybook ending of The Last Dance. There’s also nostalgia there, especially as it coincided with a significant time in my life, and an interesting situation with video games. It seems highly unlikely that we’ll see a Michael Jordan Wizards team among the historical squads in NBA 2K, or a MyTEAM card. As such, it’s up to mods or revisiting old games to re-live those years on the virtual hardwood.
It’s impossible to sum up Michael Jordan’s legacy in less than twenty paragraphs, and I don’t pretend to have done that here today. There’s a reason that The Last Dance had ten episodes! On the 20th Anniversary of an event that once seemed so unlikely but eventually came to be, I did want to reflect on what it was like to experience all the speculation, the run with the Wizards, and what it meant for video games. As I said, I’m also taken back to a significant time in my life, experiencing some bittersweet nostalgia along the way. With NBA Live 2003 in particular being an old favourite for many, I’m sure that MJ’s Wizards stint still resonates with gamers twenty years later.
