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American Morning

Michael Jordan Returns to Basketball

Aired October 31, 2001 - 09:55   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The Wizards could use Harry Potter to win -- a different kind of wizard.

Peter Viles has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At guard, from North Carolina, number 23, Michael Jordan.

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New Yorkers came not to boo Michael Jordan, but to praise him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael Jordan is still the greatest basketball player of all time. There's no better place for him to return than the Garden.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's still the best, and he always will be the best. I mean, for him to come to New York tonight is a tremendous boost to all of us, to the league, to the city, and to all his fans around the world.

VILES: The Garden celebrities were in the house, as were more than 600 journalists, 200 of them from outside the United States. Pascal Giberne came to cover the great one for "Le Monde," in Paris.

PASCAL GIBERNE, "LE MONDE": This guy is popular worldwide. In Spain, in France, and in Italy, everybody likes him. He's the best basketball player ever, so you have to like him.

VILES (on camera): The nature of Michael Jordan's greatness is that he always plays the game as if he has something to prove, but tonight, the stakes were higher than they've ever been. He had to prove that he belonged on the court.

(voice-over): Early on, Jordan showed flashes of the old greatness, blowing by Latrell Sprewell, for his first bucket since 1998.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael Jordan takes it inside, for his first two.

VILES: Then showing the old jump shot still works. But as the night wore on, this was not a pretty return. Michael rested more than he used to. He was rusty at times, as on this air ball; was often stifled by the Knicks' zone; and had a terrible night shooting, hitting just 7 of 21 from the field. And when the Wizards needed a big bucket down the stretch, the 38-year-old Jordan couldn't provide it.

MICHAEL JORDAN, WASHINGTON WIZARDS: I guess the difference is I'm a little bit older than what I was the last time I shot the ball. The game is a little bit different. My teammates are a little bit different. Obviously, the outcome tonight is a little bit different than what I wanted.

VILES: A lot has changed in 3 1/2 years. Jordan now wears the black and blue of the lowly Washington Wizards. True, the fallaway jumper still fell on occasion, but the famous intensity was on display, and Jordan did manage 19 points in a 93-91 loss to the Knicks.

DOUG COLLINS, WIZARDS COACH: Well, Michael, he's so competitive. He's disappointed. He wanted to win this game tonight.

VILES: Which means the greatest player in NBA history left New York Tuesday night no doubt feeling that he still has something to prove.

Peter Viles, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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