“I don’t care he was 40": Clippers coach Ty Lue was floored by Michael Jordan's resilience during his last season with Wizards
Michael Jordan's NBA career is the stuff of legend. Many believe Michael Jordan to be the greatest basketball player of all-time. During a career that saw him take a break from basketball, Michael Jordan set multiple records and won six NBA championships.
However, according to LA Clippers head coach Ty Lue, one of the more impressive things that Michael Jordan accomplished was averaging 20 points per game as a 40-year-old with an injured knee. Ty Lue's comments were in reference to Michael Jordan's final season in the NBA, which occurred in 2002-03, when he was playing for the Washington Wizards.
Ty Lue on playing with a 40-year-old Michael Jordan:
"I don't care he was 40. He averaged 20 points a game on one leg because his knee was messed up. And he played all 82 games. That just tells you who he is."
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"I didn't care if he was 90," Lue said. "It was a blessing. When he first called, because he was part of the front office when I heard his voice, I was like, 'are you serious? MJ is calling me?' When I first met him, I was in awe, man.
"Seeing black Jesus in person, I was in awe. I don't care about 40. He was 40, he averaged 20 points per game at the age of 40, on one leg, because his knee was messed up. He played 82 games at the age of 40. That just tells you who he is."
Ty Lue spent two seasons with the Washington Wizards, both of them with Michael Jordan on the roster. Following his time in the capital, Ty Lue moved onto the Orlando Magic, before embarking on a journeyman career around the NBA.
Dwyane Wade labels Michael Jordan as his GOAT
During a recent interview with USA Today sports, Dwyane Wade discussed the notion of the GOAT debate, and how everybody has their favorite when it comes to basketball. However, the Miami Heat legend did concede that to him, Michael Jordan was the GOAT of basketball history.
Wade said:
"From the standpoint of, we all have our personal GOATs because these are the people that we watched. These are the people who, it doesn't matter how good someone else is, this is our guy."
The former Heat star added:
"A lot of it is it's the style of play or whatever the case may be. My GOAT has always been Michael Jordan because I grew up... look at the way I play. I tried to emulate Michael Jordan. I had other players that were my favorites. Like, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant.
"Michael Jordan is in that room, one of my GOATs. One of my friends, LeBron James is in that room. It's a lot of GOATs in that room."
Michael Jordan will always be among the candidates when the list of greatest-ever basketball players is discussed. Although he will have stern competition from LeBron James - especially once the NBA's All-Time leading scorer calls time on his career.