Even at 50 years of age, "His Airness" could still get the better of current NBA players.
Michael Jordan is widely regarded to be the greatest NBA player of all time, edging debates over whether he or LeBron James is the all-time basketball king.
The iconic former Chicago Bulls superstar won six NBA titles in his career as well as five Most Valuable Player awards and six Finals MVPs.
A complete player on both ends of the court, Jordan was the NBA's scoring champion 10 times and earned a place on the All-Defensive First Team nine times, in addition to a Defensive Player of the Year award in 1988.
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And even when he was in the twilight of his career, he could still dominate. After retiring in 1993 to pursue a career in baseball following the death of his father, Jordan returned to Basketball in 1995 and went on to win the final three championships of his career.
He retired again in 1998 only to come back once again in 2001, signing for the Washington Wizards.
He retired for good in 2003 – meaning he never shared an NBA court with LeBron James, who was drafted later the same year – but even a decade later, MJ could still play.
According to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – who joined the Jordan-owned Charlotte Hornets, who were known at the Bobcats at the time, as the second overall draft pick in 2012 – the Bulls legend once embarrassed him in a one-against-one battle on the practice court.
"It was hard for me," Kidd-Gilchrist said. "I lost. I lost to a 50-year-old guy... He's the greatest man that ever played the game. Oh, yeah. He's good."
"No. I didn't allow him to beat me. Because that's my boss? Nah."
Kidd-Gilchrist arrived in the NBA with high expectations after winning a national collegiate title with the University of Kentucky in 2012. But he was never able to fulfil his potential at the highest level. His best-ever season saw him average
Jordan sold his controlling stake in the Hornets last year, but he still owns a NASCAR team, 23XI.
Topics: NBA, Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
Ryan Baldi