Why did Michael Jordan join the Wizards?
On September 25, 2001, Jordan announced his return to the NBA to play for the Washington Wizards, indicating his intention to donate his salary as a player to a relief effort for the victims of the September 11 attacks.
In his first season with the Wizards, Jordan averaged 22.9 points per game, the 10th-highest mark in the NBA, along with 5.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
Hence, MJ's 1998 retirement was more of something that he forced upon himself. Later, Washington Wizards' majority owner Abe Pollin reached out to MJ with a job offer. He wanted the 6-time NBA Champion to be the team's new president of basketball operations. They closed the deal in Jan 2000.
Michael Jordan
| Charlotte Hornets | |
|---|---|
| Number | 23, 12, 45 |
| Career history | |
| 1984–1993, 1995–1998 | Chicago Bulls |
| 2001–2003 | Washington Wizards |
2001 marked the first time that Jordan played for a different NBA team other than the Chicago Bulls. However, after two years, everything came down crashing as Wizards' then majority owner Abe Pollin fired MJ in 2003.