"He was letting us know about his age" - Jason Kidd recalls Michael Jordan dropping '45 at the age of 45' against his New Jersey Nets in 2001
Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd recalled playing against Michael Jordan and the Washington Wizards in a game back in 2001.
Jordan played the final two years of his illustrious career for the Wizards, from 2001 to 2003. By then, Jordan was not the same player he once was, but he still pulled off big numbers from time to time.
In celebration of Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game on Wednesday, ESPN published an article about some of the most unbelievable games in NBA history from the perspective of players.
Kidd, who was in his first season with the New Jersey Nets, told the story of a '45-year-old' Jordan dropping 45 points on them.
"He had 45 at the age of 45," said Kidd. "He was killing us. There was nothing we could do. And he was talking trash. He was letting us know about his age and about how he was teaching us a lesson. He wasn't flying through the air either. He was just; he was midranging us to death and jelly rolling. So it was pretty cool," Kidd added.
Jordan, who was actually 38 at the time, scored 45 points and added 10 rebounds and seven assists in the Wizards' 98-76 win over Kidd and the Nets on Dec. 31, 2001. Jordan scored 18 straight points in the third quarter. He was coming off a 51-point performance against the Charlotte Hornets two days earlier.
Incidentally, Kidd and the Nets were a playoff team at the time, with players such as Kenyon Martin, Keith Van Horn and Kerry Kittles. Kidd ended that season as the runner-up in the MVP race to Tim Duncan, eventually leading the Nets to consecutive NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003.
What is Michael Jordan's highest-scoring game?
Michael Jordan's 51-point outing as a 38-year-old in 2001 against the Hornets, a team he'd own in nine years, made him the oldest player to score 50 points in NBA history.
However, what's the highest-scoring game of Jordan's career? The answer is 69 points, which he had on Mar. 28, 1990. Jordan completed the feat in the Chicago Bulls' 117-113 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. It's currently the 12th-highest-scoring game in the history of the league.
How did Jordan fare in the NBA playoffs? His career-high in the postseason is 63 points.
"His Airness" did that on Apr. 20, 1986 against the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the first round. That's still an NBA record for most points in a playoff game. Jordan also scored 50 or more points in the playoffs eight times in his career, which is another record.