Two more episodes aired on ESPN Sunday night, and it continues to be a rating success, with between five million and six million viewers watching each week.
Jordan provided a lift before during a very difficult time, especially here, in D.C.
On Sept. 10, 2001, word leaked out that Jordan would be stepping away from his ownership and front-office role with the Washington Wizards to suit up and play.
The next morning, I was anchoring 草莓传媒 sports from home, like I am now, but for a different reason: I was on vacation.
But as the radio voice of the Wizards, I had the story about Jordan鈥檚 return. There was so much excitement about Jordan鈥檚 decision to play for the Wizards, that I was not only talking about it during sports at 15 and 45 past the hour; it was the lead news story on 草莓传媒.
That lasted until about 9 a.m. The news of terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and then close to home on the Pentagon became not only the only story, but also something to try and come to terms with.
Just before the start of the Wizards’ October training camp, Jordan made it official and announced he would be playing. Jordan鈥檚 decision to play again didn’t erase the pain of the attacks, of course, but it offered fans and soon-to-be teammates something to look forward to.
Center Jahidi White and guard Chris Whitney played with Jordan on the Wizards. White was a former star at Georgetown who was entering his fourth season with Wizards.
For Whitney, the 2001-2002 season was his seventh with the Wizards and ninth overall in the NBA.
鈥淚t took us a while to learn how to play with MJ,鈥� White said. 鈥淥nce we learned to play with him, you knew exactly what to do, and I remember no one went outside of their role. Chris (Whitney) became one of the most efficient shooters at that time. He was like the (Bulls’ Jordan teammate John) Paxson, pretty much.鈥�
Playing with Jordan, Whitney had the highest-scoring season in his 11-year NBA career during the 2001-2002 campaign, when he averaged 10.2 points per game.
He said he loves watching LeBron James play, but believes that Jordan is the greatest basketball player ever.
鈥淲henever he walked into a room, it seemed like the lights got brighter,鈥� Whitney said.
鈥淚t was amazing to see the work ethic, to see the drive. And he would get on the bus and say, ‘We get to the playoffs, anything can happen.’ And he would say ‘Watch 鈥� I’m going to turn into something else.鈥�
The 2001-2002 Wizards did have a chance to make the playoffs, but for White and Whitney, it was hard to imagine Jordan, who was 39 at the time, elevating his game even more in the postseason.
In a 19-game stretch from the end of December, when Jordan scored 51 points in a game against the Nets, to the All-Star break in February, Jordan averaged close to 29 points per game.
鈥淚 never saw him out of shape,” said White.
“When it was time to physically run up and down the court, he was right there with us. Another thing amazing to me was how long he stayed after practice to get his mid-range game back. That was important to us, because there were not a lot of threes that year.鈥�
The Wizards did not make the playoffs in 2002. After the All-Star break, Jordan battled nagging injuries, and for the season he played in 60 games, with a scoring average of more than 22 points per game.
The next season, Jordan was 40 years old and played in all 82 games for the Wizards 鈥� and he still averaged over 20 points per game.
With the Wizards, Jordan physically was not the same player as he was with the Bulls during the season chronicled for 鈥淭he Last Dance.鈥�
He could still fly at times and deliver spectacular dunks, but he also relied on his wits to outsmart opponents instead of outjumping them.
鈥淚t was easy to see that he is probably the smartest player I’ve ever been around,鈥� Whitney said.
鈥淗e knew everybody’s tendencies, and this after being away from the NBA for a few years. He knew every player and what they were capable of and what he had to do against them.鈥�
There are two more episodes of 鈥淭he Last Dance鈥� next Sunday night and then, like the memories, the docuseries will live forever on demand.
“The Last Dance” has really made me realize how privileged I was to be able to play with MJ, and how fortunate I was, because you didn鈥檛 think about it then,鈥� White said.
鈥淵ou see all the things he is saying in there [鈥淭he Last Dance鈥漖 and then you can think about when you were playing with him. Everything he does you can equate with some experience you had with him during the Wizards seasons.鈥�
