Young Gilbert Arenas Drops 41 Pts on MJ’s Wizards in 2002-03 Duel | Full Highlights

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Gilbert Arenas, Michael Jordan
SUPER-DUEL Full Highlights
GS Warriors vs Washington Wizards
March 23, 2003
The Arena in Oakland

GA - 41 pts, 6r, 5a, 1s / 15-23 fg, 4-8 3pt, 7-9 ft
MJ - 24 pts, 5r, 4a, 2s / 11-23 fg, 1-1 3pt, 1-1 ft

Gilbert Arenas played basketball without fear. He was far from ever being intimidated by the best; this being the first game that exemplified the notion. As an NBA sophomore, Gil scores a career high (at the time) 41 points on MJ’s Wizards. “But Jordan was 40 years old” one might say. That strays from the point. It’s the fact that the most accomplished player in league history arrived in Oakland that March 23rd. Whether MJ was on the floor as a player or watching court-side as a fan, either would have been incentivizing enough for Agent 0 to electrify the night. He played big when the biggest was present.

Gilbert had a knack for such performances. This is the same guy who scored 35 points at 22 years-old in his first matchup against Kobe and Shaq’s Lakers as a member of the Washington Wizards (February ‘04). It’s the same guy who dropped 37 in a December battle with Kobe at Staples the following season; 37 once again in February ‘07 against Bryant’s Lakers in their 2nd duel of that 2006-07 campaign; and of-course his most famous performance, the career high 60 points in LA just 2 months prior.

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Michael Jordan played 30 games in the NBA as a 40 year-old. In those games, he averaged 22.4p, 7.2r, 3.4a and 1.3s on 46% in 39.9 mpg. Included was a 43 pt performance against the Finals destined New Jersey Nets, a 39 pt showcase in his last visit to MSG, and a stretch of 4 straight 20p/10r games.

To put this into perspective, Paul George’s best statistical season in Indiana (‘17) saw numbers of 23.7p, 6.6r, 3.3a and 1.6s on 46%. Prime Brandon Roy (‘09) logged 22.6p, 4.7r and 5.1a on 48%. Steve Smith maxed out at 20.1 ppg, Richard Hamilton 20.1, Rudy Gay 21.1, James Worthy 21.4, and Jalen Rose 22.1. The reality that 40 year-old Michael Jordan at arguably his career’s “worst” was just as statistically productive if not more than all of these players at their respective individual peaks is absolutely absurd.

I understand that comparing 30 games to a full season’s worth can often be misleading, as can overlooking MJ’s specially designed situation in Washington, but that’s why I’m very clear about Jordan’s time at 40 in the NBA. For the entirety of the ‘03 season (age mid-39 thru 40) he averaged 20.0p, 6.1r, 3.8a and 1.5s on 45% in 37.0 mpg. Still remarkable.

Jordan 2002-03:

Age 39 (52g) - 18.6p, 5.4r and 4.0a on 43% in 35.3 mpg
Age 40 (30g) - 22.4p, 7.2r and 3.4a on 46% in 39.9 mpg
Total (82 g) - 20.0p, 6.1r and 3.8a on 45% in 37.0 mpg

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