Streeter Lecka/Getty Images The great Michael Jordan will be turning 50-years-old in about a week on Feb. 17. Jordan has had three retirements with the NBA, two of them being cancelled due to the urge to play again. In his Hall of Fame ceremony back in 2009, Jordan said to not count on him making another return to playing basketball. Jokingly, Jordan said that anything was possible and said that, “One day you might look up and see me playing the game at 50.” Los Angeles Lakers veteran forward Antawn Jamison made his take on it, saying that a 50-year-old Jordan could actually produce some solid stats if he had a LeBron James or Kobe Bryant type person on his team. “I wouldn’t doubt that in the right situation with a LeBron (James) on his team or with a Kobe (Bryant) on this team, he could get you about 10 or 11 points, come in and play 15-20 minutes,” Jamison told Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. “I wouldn’t doubt that at all, especially if he was in shape and injuries were prevented and things of that nature.” It’s funny, however, as McMenamin pointed out that the 36-year-old Jamison is averaging only 8.1 points at 20.5 minutes per game. But then again, Jamison is no Michael Jordan. MJ was last seen playing on an NBA court back in 2003 when playing for the Washington Wizards at 40-years-old. There, he averaged 20 points and logged in 37 minutes per game. The Wizards missed the playoffs in each of his final two seasons there. “He wasn’t joking,” Jamison said of Jordan’s declaration at the HOF ceremony. “You hear stories still to this day, especially last year, him going to the practice facility and playing 1-on-1 with the guys and still they can’t stop him.” If Jordan actually did make a comeback, he would become the oldest player ever to ever step foot playing on an NBA court. Elias Sports Bureau says that the oldest player ever was Matthew Hickey, who played a game for the Providence Steam Rollers, being nearly 46-years-old back in 1948. Jamison says he played against Jordan, a fellow UNC-alum, this previous summer in North Carolina. Jamison believes that Jordan has all the skills still to play. “He still believes he can do it,” Jamison said. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jordan did it, though. It would rather be fun to watch seeing a 50-year-old man tearing it up against the likes of people half his age on the court. But honestly, I don’t think he needs it. With all of the sneakers he’s been continuing to sell, he’s already making more than what his contract would be if he played in the NBA at his age today.
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February 10, 2013
