Michael Jordan has not graced a basketball court in more than 20 years but a simulation has shown what would happen if he played in the modern era of NBA, with some fascinating results.
The 61-year-old retired in 2003 after a career which spanned almost two decades in the NBA and which cemented Jordan's name as among, if not the, GOAT in the sport of basketball.
The shooting guard and small forward spent the bulk of his career with the Chicago Bulls, becoming an NBA champion six times and being crowned the NBA Finals MVP on six occasions.
He was also the NBA's most valuable player five times.
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He brought the curtain down on his illustrious career in 2003 after two seasons with the Washington Wizards.
Jordan also won two Olympic gold medals thanks to his efforts with the United States men's basketball team at Los Angeles in 1984 and Barcelona in 1992.
Away from the court, Jordan hit the heights in acting with the 1996 hit film Space Jam, on the small screen with the Emmy-winning documentary series The Last Dance and in trainers with his iconic Air Jordan sneakers by Nike.
Whenever sportspeople have been retired for some time and a new era comes about, the question if often posed how someone would perform if they were still playing.
Last year, a simulation was run on the video game NBA 2K23 to see how Jordan would fare in the current Bulls roster, with some interesting results.
The first year saw Jordan help his side reach the play-offs, leading the Bulls in the scoring and coming second to Luka Doncic in the MVP race, though Jordan did win the Defensive Player of the Year award.
He helped the Bulls beat Orlando Magic in the first round of the play-offs to set up a meeting with the Atlanta Hawks, with the latter emerging victorious.
In his second year in the modern NBA, the Bulls impressed again and finished second behind the Hawks, with Jordan being the MVP.
In the play-offs, Jordan helped the Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons and in the second round, the opponents were the Miami Heat.
The Bulls beat the Heat before coming up against the Hawks in the semi-final, this time Chicago coming out on top and advancing to the final to take on the Denver Nuggets.
However, the Bulls were beaten and Jordan's second season ended in frustration.
For his third season in the modern era, Jordan was again voted as MVP and the Bulls easily beat the Philadelphia 76ers in the play-offs first round.
The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers were beaten in the next two rounds, and it set up another final against the Nuggets.
It was a better ending this time as Jordan won NBA Finals MVP as the Bulls won the NBA Championship.
His fourth season with the Bulls saw Jordan's side take on the LA Lakers with LeBron James in the NBA Finals.
And the Bulls emerged victorious for the second season in a row, with Jordan taking another NBA Finals MVP crown in the process.
In fact, the simulation also mentioned that James would retire in the aftermath, while Jordan continued on.
So though the current Chicago Bulls side is not necessarily a vintage one, it shows what the impact of the GOAT can do.
Topics: Michael Jordan, NBA, Chicago Bulls, Basketball, Lebron James
John McDougall