2001–02 Washington Wizards season

The 2001–02 NBA season was the 41st season for the Washington Wizards in the National Basketball Association, and their 29th season in Washington, D.C.. This season is most memorable for the return of All-Star guard, and six-time champion Michael Jordan, who came out of his second retirement to play for the Wizards at age 38. After finishing with a 19–63 record the previous season, the Wizards won the NBA draft lottery, and selected power forward, and high school basketball star Kwame Brown with the first overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft.

The team also signed free agent Tyronn Lue, who previously won two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, and acquired rookie center Brendan Haywood from the Orlando Magic, and acquired rookie shooting guard Bobby Simmons from the Seattle SuperSonics. The Wizards hired head coach Doug Collins, who coached Jordan and the Chicago Bulls from 1986 to 1989. Jordan would also reunite with former Dream Team member Christian Laettner from the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

In the team's regular season opener on October 30, 2001, Jordan played in his first game with the Wizards, in a 93–91 road loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, in front of a sellout crowd of 19,763 in attendance; Jordan scored 19 points along with five rebounds, six assists, and four steals in 37 minutes, but struggled as he only shot 7–21 from the field.

Under Collins, the Wizards struggled with a 2–9 start to the regular season, posting an 8-game losing streak in November, but then posted a nine-game winning streak in December, holding a 26–21 record before the All-Star break. However, the team lost 14 of their next 17 games, as Jordan suffered a knee injury and was out for the remainder of the season after 60 games. The Wizards finished in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a 37–45 record, which was an 18-game improvement over the previous season; however, despite the addition of Jordan, the team still missed the NBA playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.

Jordan averaged 22.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game, despite shooting .416 in field-goal percentage, and was selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Jordan also finished in 13th place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Collins finished tied in seventh place in Coach of the Year voting. In addition, two other players averaged in double-digits in points, as Richard Hamilton finished second on the team in scoring, averaging 20.0 points per game, but only played 63 games due to a groin injury, and three-point specialist Chris Whitney provided the team with 10.2 points and 3.8 assists per game.

Meanwhile, second-year guard Courtney Alexander contributed 9.8 points per game, while Lue averaged 7.8 points and 3.5 assists per game, Hubert Davis contributed 7.2 points per game, and Tyrone Nesby provided with 6.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. On the defensive side, Laettner averaged 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while Popeye Jones averaged 7.0 points and led the Wizards with 7.3 rebounds per game, Jahidi White provided the team with 5.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game, and Haywood provided with 5.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and led the team with 1.5 blocks per game. Brown failed to live up to expectations as a top draft pick, only averaging just 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game off the bench, while shooting .387 in field-goal percentage.

Jordan's return to the NBA also helped raise popularity, and media attention for the Wizards, as they finished second in the league in home-game attendance behind the San Antonio Spurs, with an attendance of 847,634; the team sold out all 41 of their home games at the MCI Center, and 38 of their road games during the regular season.

Following the season, Hamilton and Davis were both traded to the Detroit Pistons, while Whitney was traded to the Denver Nuggets, Alexander was dealt to the New Orleans Hornets, Jones re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, and Nesby was released to free agency.