In January 1999, Michael Jordan was “99.9 percent certain” that his hooping days were truly behind him. In the summer of 2001, His Airness took that 0.1% chance and, alongside his front office role, made his return to the league. At the age of 38, when he was no longer in his prime, Rasheed Wallace, who had his battles during the second Bulls three-peat, recently claimed Jordan was “more dangerous” with the Washington Wizards. Similarly, DeMar DeRozan, sometimes associated with the Bulls’ lore alongside #23, explained what made MJ stand out.

In the final episode of Season 2, DeMar DeRozan was back on the podcast, where he stated that Michael Jordan with the Wizards was “incredible.” The latest Sacramento Kings player said on the Podcast P with Paul George, “He wasn’t athletic like he was, but still being able to finish over guys. It was so incredible because it was such a master of art, how simple he just made the game.”

During the podcast, DeRozan also shared that he found inspiration from Wizards Michael Jordan. Even though his numbers were the lowest compared to his Chicago Bulls dynasty, he was still selected as an All-Star in both those years. Plus, he was scoring more than 20 points per game and was successful in bagging 13th place in the MVP rankings during the 2001-02 season.

DeRozan explained that he learned a lot from aging MJ. Then one of the co-hosts reminded them about Wallace and how his similar sentiment received flak from people, adding, “It’s crazy. I don’t know if you guys that you say that because I just saw a clip of Rashid Wallace, he basically was saying that he was better…And everyone was giving him like a bunch.”

In 2022, the 6x NBA All-Star became the only Bulls player after MJ to score 37 points or more on opening day. DeRozan started watching the Wizards because he had suffered a groin injury in 2013, which somewhat limited his play style. So he learned how to be adaptable from Michael Jordan. It was the adaptability that made the then 38-year-old Jordan more dangerous, as per Wallace.

Michael Jordan and his Wizards run

No doubt the 6x NBA champion was at his best during the Bulls Era. That is what most people expected, but with his time in the nation’s capital, there were question marks on how would he fit in the new era. During last month’s episode of the Sheed & Tyler podcast, the Pistons legend expressed his appreciation towards MJ.

“I think he was a little bit more dangerous with the Wizards. He didn’t have the athleticism that we are used to seeing MJ have, but… his angle was more a little bit more sharp,” Wallace stated. Michael Jordan truly was a phenomenon because he became the oldest player in NBA history to reach the 50-point in 2001.

This came after his lowest-scoring game at the time, where he just scored 6 points against the Pacers. And just two days after that, he recorded 51 points against the Charlotte Hornets. He was part of the history books until 2019 when Jamal Crawford scored 50+ points at 39 years and 20 days old against the Mavericks.

Although the team never reached playoffs, MJ was still able to command respect on the court, not just because of his previous achievements, but also because of his adaptability during his final run. Thus, players like DeMar DeRozan and Rasheed Wallace appreciated that era of Jordan too.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.