Published by
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
By Robert O’Connell Twenty years ago, MJ returned to the NBA hardwood as a Wizard, providing an essential glimpse into his unique greatness. Two months into the season, Michael Jordan looked bad. This is not to say he had looked bad for the whole of his first 26 games with the Wizards; that was a matter of some debate. The numbers were forgiving from some angles (23 points, six rebounds and five assists a night) and harsher from others (a shooting percentage that nudged just up above 40). The Wizards, who had set playoff qualification as a reasonable benchmark of comeback-season success, sat a…