Michael Jordan had an incredible NBA career spanning 16 years. He won six championships with the Chicago Bulls during the 90s. However, Jordan retired thrice in his career, making a comeback to the NBA twice. After winning his sixth championship with the Bulls, Jordan retired for the second time in his career. It seemed His Airness has made the final decision to retire from the NBA. However, he decided to play for the Washington Wizards in 2001.
Many thought Jordan was way past his prime and couldn’t have a profound impact this time around. However, he made his critics eat their words with his performances. One such performance was when the Washington Wizards hosted the Boston Celtics in 2002. Michael Jordan bullied Celtics’ superstar Paul Pierce in a huge Wizards win.
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The Boston Celtics and the Washington Wizards were in the same division, the Atlantic Division. Michael Jordan was in his second season with the Wizards. Paul Pierce was Celtics’ star player and was among the best players in the league at that time.
Paul Pierce started the game for the Celtics and scored 12 points, the highest for his team in the game. Michael Jordan, however, came off the bench and scored 21 points in 22 minutes. The Wizards registered a massive 114-69 victory over the Celtics on Halloween night. While it was an embarrassing loss for Paul Pierce and the Celtics, it was also a wholesome moment for ‘The Truth’ to play against his ‘idol’.
Paul Pierce once revealed meeting his idol Michael Jordan
Paul Pierce idolized Michael Jordan from his childhood days and grew up watching him. He joined the NBA in 1998, Jordan’s final year with the Bulls in the NBA. However, Pierce got to see more of Jordan, when the 6-time champion decided to play for the Wizards. Paul once revealed his first meeting with Michael Jordan, which was a special one. Paul was in college in 1997 and met Jordan after a Bulls’ preseason game.
“I’m like, I can’t believe I have Mike in here. This dude, I had three posters on my wall when I was in high school, of Mike, and he’s standing right here. I had a chance to shake his hand, watch him play in a preseason game. One of the greatest, if not the greatest, just to be able to have that moment with him,” Paul had said.
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Indeed, the first meeting with your idol is always special. Pierce’s dream came true when he was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1998 and got to play against the Bulls. He went on to win a championship with the Celtics in 2008.
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