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There's a certain appeal to Michael Jordan's comeback attempt that was
missing the last time he returned to the game after calling it quits. At age 38,
he's not coming back to beat up on the NBA's second tier (i.e., every team but
the Bulls). He's not doing it for the money (he's donating his $1 million salary
to the familes of the victims of Sept. 11), fame (he's Jordan!) or lack of
alternative employ (he has a clothing line and a restaurant, not to mention that
he's dabbled in a basketball and a hockey team.) Lord knows he's not doing it
for the ring: Given that the Washington Wizards lost 63 games a year ago and
boast Rip Hamilton as their next best player, Jordan's tally for the moment
seems safe at six. We can see through his supremely polished, thoroughly
uninformative and obviously orchestrated press conferences that Jordan has come
back because he, like the kid in us all, misses playing. The once rare Air (his
private security staff, trainer and p.r. guy notwithstanding) has come down to
earth a bit, not just literally, as his vaunted hops have become skips, but
spiritually, as he seeks, midlife-crisis-like, to defy his cranky knees and
recapture his youth. It's almost touchingly mortal. He remains, however, an
All-Star-caliber player, defending as smartly as ever and, after a three-year
hiatus as a suit in Washington's front office, still managing to almost always
be the best player on the court. As Jordan pal Charles Barkley says, the Wizards
are now just three players away: Wilt, Kareem and Magic.
--Jamal
Greene
CNNSI.com: He's Back Again
Life of Reilly: I Don't Hate to Say, "I Told You So"
Frank Deford: Mr. Wizards' World
Video Box: Michael Jordan isn't afraid of the challenges ahead 
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Photographs by Bob Rosato (2), Al Tielemans
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