Pierce thinks MJ didn't have the same aura when he played for the Wizards: "I felt I was on the same level as Jordan in Washington"

Pierce thinks MJ didn’t have the same aura when he played for the Wizards: “I felt I was on the same level as Jordan in Washington” originally appeared on Basketball Network.

Michael Jordan made a second comeback with the Washington Wizards in 2001 and still averaged over 20 points per game. At that time, it was remarkable because MJ was nearing 40 years old and yet he was still playing at a high level against younger competition.

But, as good as Jordan looked during his Wizards days, former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce said that no one was scared of that version of MJ because he no longer had the mystique he had when he was still playing for the Chicago Bulls.

“It wasn’t the same,” said Pierce on Julian Edelman’s “Games with Names” podcast. “He didn’t have that mystique. He didn’t have that. No, he did not have the athleticism. Because Bulls Jordan was scary. I felt like I was on the same level as Jordan in Washington, you know, as a young kid. But he was still Jordan. You still looked at him as Jordan. It’s just that he didn’t have that bounce. You know what I’m saying? Like that aura, and then they weren’t the Bulls that they was dominating everybody.”

MJ was still at an All-Star level, but the Wizards were a losing team

Jordan retired for the second time in 1998, following the Bulls’ sixth championship. However, while everyone thought that his game-winning shot over Bryon Russell in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals was the last shot of his legendary NBA career, MJ made a second comeback in 1998 for the Washington Wizards.

Despite nearing his 40s, Mike still averaged 21.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in two seasons with the Wizards. He played in a total of 142 games, including all 82 during the 2002-03 campaign, which turned out to be his last. However, despite MJ still being at an All-Star level, the Wizards missed the playoffs both years, which was somewhat disappointing.

“It was still cool to play against him, though. And then to be at the All-Star game with him, I made the All-Star game that year,” added Pierce, who made his second All-Star Game appearance in 2003 as MJ’s teammate on the Eastern Conference team.

Melo said MJ still made it look easy

Like Pierce, incoming 2025 Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony also said that Wizards Jordan was no longer his old athletic self. But while Paul didn’t sound like he was impressed with Washington Michael’s game, Melo was fascinated with how “old” MJ picked his spots and made basketball look too easy.

“I just remember watching him, like, just like, you know, as a basketball player, and like damn, he just looked so different. He’s not the MJ of old, like he’s not MJ flying through the air, but the game looks so easy to him,” said Melo. “Like he just catching it two dribbles, right shot fake, boom, get to the rack, one dribble hesi pull boom, tween, tween, tween, pull. I’m like MJ, he’s just picking his spots, and they can’t do s—t about it. Like nobody do s—t about it.”

Many people, including former players, have different opinions about Washington Jordan. However, no matter what they said, having MJ back in 2001 was good for the NBA. TV ratings suffered a post-Jordan slide, and attendance numbers crashed. Michael’s return brought a renewed interest in the league, and when he finally retired, LeBron James arrived to take over.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 21, 2025, where it first appeared.

Pierce thinks MJ didn’t have the same aura when he played for the Wizards: “I felt I was on the same level as Jordan in Washington”

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