When Michael Jordan returned to the NBA in 2001-02, he re-entered the league with a cloud of uncertainty trailing his every move. At 38-years-old, three years removed from his last competitive basketball game, could MJ come back? Despite the questions, Jordan marked his return to the NBA by scoring 30 or more points six times in his first 10 games with the Washington Wizards. Over the course of the season Jordan averaged 22.9 points and 5.2 assists per game, both numbers good for the Wizards lead, to go with 5.7 rebounds.

Offered here is a Washington Wizards road uniform – jersey and shorts that were worn by Jordan during his return season of 2001-02. The uniform also comes directly from the personal collection of George Koehler, who is a long-time associate of Michael Jordan dating back to when Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984, having originally been his limousine driver, then his personal assistant and friend. Koehler was also part in the popular ESPN documentary The Last Dance. The jersey itself has been photo matched to six games by Sports Investors Authentication and include the October 12th (preseason), October 30th, 2001, January 21st, January 31st, February 15th and March 24th, 2002 games where Jordan averaged 22 points in the five regular season games.

This blue road jersey has “WIZARDS” and Jordan’s iconic number “23” sewn on the chest in white, bronze, and black tackle twill. An NBA logo patch and a 9/11 memorial patch are sewn on the chest. “JORDAN” is sewn across the back shoulders in white and bronze tackle twill above a second “23”, sewn on the jersey in white, bronze, and black tackle twill. The left side of this jersey is accented with a black stripe bordered by thinner bronze stripe. A Nike size “50” tag with an attached “LENGTH +4” flag is sewn on the front left tail, along with a Wizards logo tag and an NBA AUTHENTICS tag. An American flag with a red, white and blue ribbon is tied around the right shoulder that was worn by all teams following the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks. Jordan has signed the “2” digit on the back of the jersey in blue marker. This jersey displays heavy laundering including some bleaching, along with puckering of the twill letters and numbers with loose threads.

The matching Nike blue mesh shorts have the left side only with a black stripe with bronze borders with the Wizards logos on both sides. The NBA logo is embroidered on the upper left thigh and the Nike size 44 tag with an “INSEAM+4” flag is sewn on the inside waist, along with a Wizards logo tag and an NBA AUTHENTICS tag. Jordan’s number “23” is handwritten in black marker on the attached wash instructions flag. This uniform set comes with a LOA from George Koehler, who states in his LOA that these items came directly from his personal collection and were received directly from Michael Jordan. Additionally, there is a LOA from Sports Investors Authentication (201115A1), who have photo matched this jersey to the aforementioned 6 games and a LOA from Beckett Authentication for Jordan’s signature.

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