Former Michael Jordan's teammate witnessed his dominance with the Wizards: 'It didn't matter if were playing A.I., or Kobe and Shaq'

Many hoop fans and historians consider Michael Jordan's' second NBA comeback a footnote to a successful and historic career. In fact, many believe, including his longtime agent David Falk, that at age 38, he shouldn't have returned to the league to join the lifeless Washington Wizards.

However, "Air Jordan's" competitive fire proved too strong to extinguish. He saw another mountain to climb and dared to ascend it no matter how steep the wall was. One person who witnessed Jordan's greatness was former teammate Hubert Davis. 

A former North Carolina Tar Heel himself, Davis saw MJ's commitment to the cause, as evidenced by his dominating performances, whether in practice or the games themselves during the 2001-2002 season.

A sluggish start

Although the Wizards got off to a lackluster start, losing nine of their first 11 games, scoring 30 points or more in six of those games. Although he was playing a more ground-based game that relied on his craftiness, experience, and exceptional footwork, this was still Jordan at his best.

"The year that I played with him with the Wizards, he dominated every practice, and he dominated in every game," Davis, a 6'5" guard who played 12 seasons in the Association, shared.

Despite being targeted by the opposing team's defense every single night and not having a reliable second option on their roster, Mike did his best to weave his magic with the Wizards, putting up back-to-back 32-point games against the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors. A few nights later, he had 44 points against his old rivals, Karl Malone and John Stockton.

The point was Jordan still had plenty left in his tank. Unfortunately, the Wizards couldn't offer him the same support his Chicago Bulls squads had.

"We just didn't have a very good team," Davis recalled.

MJ was up to the challenge

With the Wizards quickly becoming the league's laughingstock, Jordan put on his cape and tried to rescue his team. And for a while, it seemed like he could pull it off, leading Washington to 12 wins in their next 15 games. During that torrid stretch, he tallied a triple-double against the Celtics and a 30-point explosion against Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. Suddenly, Washington was back in the playoff hunt, holding a 26-21 record near the All-Star break after winning only 19 games the season before.

"It didn't matter if we were playing Philadelphia with Allen Iverson or the Los Angeles Lakers with Kobe and Shaq. Every game that I played with the Wizards with Michael—there wasn't a game when he wasn't the best player on the floor," Davis recounted.

Unfortunately, a knee injury derailed Jordan and the Wizards' campaign, causing him to miss 12 straight games. By the time the five-time league MVP returned to the roster, Washington had dropped to 31-36 and eventually fell short of making it to the NBA Playoffs. He finished that season 13th in the MVP race, averaging 22.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game in 60 contests.