Michael Jordan's Wizards return is often looked as a negative, but it could have been better if it wasn't for a career-altering injury. When MJ returned to the NBA for a third time he was 38 years old and on a young struggling team. At first, MJ struggled himself, but he quickly found his rhythm and just before the All-Star break, MJ and a young Kobe Bryant were the only two in the league averaging at least 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Then, on February 7th, 2002, in game against the Kings, an injury changed the course of MJ's comeback. Jordan collided knees with teammate Etan Thomas, which resulted in a torn meniscus. The Wizards were 26–21 when MJ got hurt and would lose 9 out of their next 10 games following the injury, as MJ tried to play through the pain. MJ's season would officially end after 60 games when he opted to have surgery on his knee. After the injury MJ was never the same. His points average dropped from 25.1 before the injury to 15.7 after. Jordan returned the following season and played all 82 games, but he clearly wasn't the same. If Jordan never suffers the knee injury, his Wizards return would have looked much better.