DeMar DeRozan believes Wizards Michael Jordan, not Bulls, is not being talked about enough.

Michael Jordan is considered the greatest of all time by most basketball fans solely because of what he was able to do with the Chicago Bulls. Sacramento Kings star DeMar DeRozan, however, has a different take on his favorite Jordan.

Jordan played 15 seasons in the NBA, nearly all of which came with the Chicago Bulls. He was drafted in 1984 and played his first nine seasons with the Bulls before retiring. He then returned and played four more seasons with the Bulls until 1998, when he retired a escond time. He came out of retirement one last time in 2001, joining the Washington Wizards as a 38 year old, where he played for two more seasons before retiring again, this time for good.

DeMar DeRozan and Wizards’ Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan played the final two seasons of his career in Washington as a 38 and 39 year old forward. He averaged 21.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game on 43.1 percent shooting from the field.

Sacramento Kings star DeMar DeRozan says Wizards Jordan is his favorite Jordan because that’s when he was able to show how skilled he really was.

DeRozan recently joined Podcast P with Paul George, where the two stars discussed a wide range of topics, from DeRozan’s new memoir and Kobe Bryant to playing for the Chicago Bulls and what it’s like to switch teams. One of the topics discussed was DeRozan’s admiration for Michael Jordan during his days with the Washington Wizards.

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“If you sit and just watch Wizards Michael Jordan, and see how incredible he was from 38 to 40 years old…,” DeMar DeRozan said to Paul George on his podcast. “The way he scored the ball, the way he was able to create his shots from the post, from the elbow, off one dribble, off two dribbles, stop and pull-up, how physical he was, in the post, how he was able to create contact and still get to the basket. He wasn’t athletic like he was, but still being able to finish over guys.”

Jordan’s 21 point per game average as a Wizards player was a far cry from his Chicago Bulls days, where he averaged 31.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2.5 steals per game on 50.5 percent shooting. DeRozan was impressed with how Jordan was able to get to his spots despite the loss in athleticism.

“It was so incredible because it was such a master of art, how simple he just made the game,” DeRozan added. “Playing off jab steps, pump fakes, and I used to watch every bit of Wizards Jordan because it was like if he’s doing this at this age, let me figure out how to master these things that he’s doing because you don’t see everybody doing that.
“Everybody wanna dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, double step-back, all that. And it’s like, ‘nah, let me make the game simple and kill these spots and angles and using my body on the fadeaways, either shoulder.’ That’s one thing that I took from Wizards Mike. Because he was incredible. If you really watch him, he was incredible.”

He didn’t win any accolades and his teams weren’t particularly good, but Michael Jordan as a member of the Wizards was still better than almost the entire league.

His legacy may be even greater than it is now, if that’s even possible, had he not sat four years in his 30’s when he was still extremely productive.