When Nothing Else Matters: Michael Jordan's Last Comeback

by Michael Leahy

As one of the greatest, most celebrated athletes in history, Michael Jordan conquered professional basketball as no one before. Powered by a potent mix of charisma, near superhuman abilities and a ferocious drive to dominate the game, he achieved every award and accolade conceivable before retiring from the Chicago Bulls and taking an executive post with the Washington Wizards. But retirement didn't suit the man who was once king, and at the advanced age of thirty-eight Michael Jordan decided it was time to reclaim the court that was once his. WHEN NOTHING ELSE MATTERS is the definitive account of Jordan's equally spectacular and disastrous return to basketball. Having closely followed Jordan's final two seasons, Michael Leahy draws a fascinating portrait of an intensely complex man hampered by injuries and assaulted by younger players eager to usurp his throne. In this enthralling book Jordan emerges as an ambitious, at times deeply unattractive character with, unsurprisingly, a monstrous ego. WHEN NOTHING ELSE MATTERS is an absorbing portrait not only of one athlete's overriding ambition, but also of a society so in thrall to its sports stars that it is blind to all their faults.

Genres: Sports, Basketball, Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir

458 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Michael Leahy is the author of The Last Innocents: The Los Angeles Dodgers of the 1960's and When Nothing Else Matters: Michael Jordan’s Last Comeback, which was described by GQ Magazine as “the best sports book of the year…easily the most fully formed portrait of Jordan ever written and one of the best sports books in recent memory.” His award-winning career has included thirteen years as a writer for The Washington Post and The Washington Post Magazine. Leahy's 2005 Washington Post Magazine story about a California sperm donor won the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi Award for best magazine story of the year. His stories have been selected four times for the annual Best American Sports Writing anthologies. He lives outside Washington D.C.

Reviews

[Brina · Rating 3 out of 5]

As sports fans everywhere look to find some form of sports to watch or at least read about, ESPN hit the jackpot by airing a ten part documentary on the 1998 Chicago Bulls team. Growing up in Chicagoland, I was spoiled to watch every Bulls game on our local cable provider. Maybe I went to one game a year if I was lucky, but that team in that decade was a rock concert, media circus, frenzied environment. It was the talk of the town, the nation, and the world. We all wanted to “be like Mike” and those with more means than others rocked Air Jordan shoes to school. The day after a game, it was all anyone talked about; it did not matter if one’s baseball allegiance was to the Cubs or White Sox, in the 1990s, the Bulls brought us together. The Last Dance brought the final title run back into focus as the memories came back in a flood of emotions. The superstars were aging and management wanted value to rebuild the franchise before contracts ran out, or so they said. With these underlying tensions in place from day one, it made the Bulls march to title number six all the more special. And then it was over, and Air Jordan retired for a second time. Unfortunately, the great ones believe that they are the best long after it is time to say goodbye to their game. When Nothing Else Matters shows fans Michael Jordan after The Last Dance in his years as a Washington Wizard when he was no long his royal airness but a basket mortal.

Last year I read The Last Innocents by Michael Leahy. An in depth look at the Los Angeles Dodgers teams that won World Series before the violence of the late 1960s, Leahy’s writing was captivating as he put the Dodgers into context of a turbulent era. When I found out that his first book was about Michael Jordan’s Wizard years, I was curious to read it. A skilled sports writer focusing on the best basketball player ever sold me even though Jordan’s Wizard years are ones that Bulls and basketball fans would rather forget. Like the majority of books on Jordan, When Nothing Else Matters was not authorized by Jordan or any members of his inner circle. At the time Leahy was just another sports writer looking for an edge to a story, and Jordan kept anything he said close to the vest. When it became apparent that Leahy sought to write a book not just columns, he was banned from the Wizards locker room. This book contained some short Jordan quotes early on, but the rest was culled from outside sources. The fact that Leahy rebounded to write as quality of a book as The Last Innocents speaks to his ability as a writer. Unfortunately for him, no one bests on Jordan on their own terms and stays in his good graces. The result is a report that is almost as scathing as the Jordan Rules twelve years earlier.

One thing Jordan made clear in the Last Dance is that he pushed his teammates in practice and often lashed out at them verbally if not physically. He believed that taking things to the next level behind closed doors would push them to be ready when called upon in game situations. Teammates admitted that yes it might not have been the best tactic, but, guess what, it worked. After Bulls management broke up the team, Jordan essentially retired again although at age thirty six he still had a few seasons left in the tank. He publicly noted that he would not play for a coach other than Phil Jackson. With Jackson out in Chicago, Jordan was finished, until he was not. With bridges burned in Chicago, Jordan signed on to become president of basketball operations for a middling Washington Wizards team that is never relevant. After a year in the office and seeing the young team struggle from afar, Jordan had the urge to lace up his sneakers again and began training and talked comeback- at age thirty nine. Perhaps Jackson winning championships as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers stoked Jordan’s ego. The Wizards were no Bulls and no Lakers. Jordan could have left the Wizards and joined the Lakers with less time off if he had chosen. Then he would have been reduced to a role player albeit the best one in league history. Leahy claims this was not good enough for Jordan; he wanted to start and be the best on his team so he remained with the Wizards, an idea that was doomed from the start.

Like any superstar who joins a new team late in their career, seeing them in a new uniform is strange. Jordan in a Wizard uniform might be strange to look at, but he sold seats to an arena that is generally lucky to be half empty. The cheapskate owner Abe Pollin gladly welcomed Jordan the player rather than Jordan the manager for this reason. Because Pollin was on the cheap side, he was known for trading his star players and then signing also rans to inexpensive contracts. Jordan was easily the top billing on a team who counted no all stars or potential all stars on its roster. Jordan also picked the coach, Doug Collins, who had been his first coach with the Bulls and bent to his will. Collins treated Jordan as though he was still on the top of his game and played him forty minutes a night. By the fourth quarter in most games, it was clear that Jordan did not have what it took to compete against the young superstars in the game. Clearly, as Leahy formulates, the torch had been passed on. Jordan was just another example of a superstar who did not know when to hang up his shoes. He was Willie Mays and Muhammad Ali all over again, a star who through wits and savvy might outsmart an opponent but is clearly past his prime. This is the Jordan detailed here in When Nothing Else Matters.

Following the 2002-2003 season, Michael Jordan hung up his sneakers for good. Today he is the owner of the Charlotte Bobcats in his home state of North Carolina. Fans are left wondering what might have been if the Bulls were not broken up. Jordan had a few good years left in the tank, but not after a three year layoff of playing golf and cards exclusively. Leahy, while an adept sportswriter, after writing words that angered Jordan, was forced to formulate most of this book based on opinions of outsiders, some of whom did not spin Jordan in a positive light. Yes, it was painful to see Michael Jordan play on a gimpy knee; however, asking his rivals for copy and then crafting it into a book makes me lose respect for Leahy. I will remember the Michael Jordan of the Last Dance and my adolescent years: the best to play the game. Should Michael Leahy write another book, I will be apprehensive to read it unless it took place well in the past.

3ish stars

[Brian Eshleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really a quality effort. Leahy dug himself out of a hole with me as it seemed from the book's introduction that the author had a score to settle with Jordan. From there, though, the author exhibits considerable understanding of Jordan's psyche shaped by stardom and of the culture which was complicit in the agreement with its star. Thus molded, the author actually displays some sympathy for the central figure of his book and the habits and assumptions to which Jordan has become accustomed in two decades in the spotlight.

[Ben McKeown · Rating 3 out of 5]

ery interesting, narrative-driven account of MJ's final comeback with the Wizards. I grew somewhat weary, however, of Leahy's apparent disdain for Jordan, especially in his dealings with the media. Much of the tone of the book is very negative and condemning. As a member of the sports media, I can understand the sort of tension that builds between athletes and the press, however there is a mental barrier that must be surpassed in order to truly appreciate the unique nature of covering sports. Leahy seems to hold a grudge against Jordan, which informs much of his commentary about the comeback and sometimes makes for paragraphs of rants about the nature of sports media in general. A journalist cannot paint an entirely accurate portrait of a person or a situation when such a grudge is held.

All in all, I enjoyed the stories in the book. Even as a life-long admirer of Michael Jordan, I enjoyed the lesser-known and somewhat unflattering anecdotes about the man. I do believe though that the portrait could have been better depicted if Leahy had removed himself from the situation a bit more.

[Stan Vlieg · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this was the third book I've read about the topic of 'His Airness' and now I'm left a bit confused. I started with the overly critical The Jordan Rules which made me believe that my youth idol was a bit of a manipulating egoistic maniac that did not accept anything less than 100% commitment from his teammates on his standards. This book was written by Sam Smith, a journalist fully committed on following the Chicago Bulls. There were speculations that this was one of the reasons of the mainly negative outings towards Jordan in his book. Jordan apparently had difficulty with people (mainly journalists) that asked the wrong questions or wrote critical articles. I'm not suggesting that the negative stuff was made up or blown out of proportion but it could have something to do with the relation Smith had with Jordan. Still it was the first time in my life that I had the idea of Jordan being human and that there was a side of him that was not so glamouring.

So on the the second book: Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made. This book was a lot more positive towards the best player on this planet. The book wanted to show that Jordan changed the (basketball) world and it succeeded at that. While I felt that it was written from more of a distance that the previous book, I still learned a lot of interesting things on Jordan and the NBA in general. My believe instilled again a bit more that Jordan was not only the best player, but also a man while growing older also became more acceccisble. He was milder for his teammates and his competitiveness became more understandable. I'm not reviewing a lot any more, but in retrospect I can say that I enjoyed the aforementioned books and I can recommend them both to the people wanting to know more about the subject.

Now finally on to the book that I just finished. When nothing else matters read a bit like the Jordan Rules. Leahy did not seem to be on the good side of MJ and it appeared to me that it shaped the book a bit. Even so the things described were believable and the history showed the results of MJ's final comeback, it felt a bit lopsided. Leahy's presence in the Wizards locker room, gave him room to write about observations made there and he was not shy in doing that. A big part of the book consists of brewing difficulties with Jordan and teammates. Not to forget the situation with the people that ran the club. He gave up his managerial powers when he decided that he wanted to kick Kobe Bryant's behind. After the two disaster seasons, he came back to hear that he was not wanted anymore. This made Jordan biggest defeat complete. While this book was informative and well written, I did miss some nuances. Or maybe I just need them a little bit to think that MJ was not this kind of a blindfolded person that did not see this situation coming. Like I said I'm still a bit confused. Was he just naive or was he right in expecting more from his playing peers and made this it more understandable that relationships went from bad to worse. I'm sure Leahy was set out to bust the Myth that MJ and that positive notions were needed to be set aside. Still I was amazed with this account of the Jordan Wizards years. 3.75 Stars because 4 is so conventional

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last month, like a large portion of the country, I greedily devoured ESPN’s documentary The Last Dance, which covered the basketball career of Michael Jordan through the lens of his final season with the Chicago Bulls. I enjoyed it for what it was: a fun, somewhat interesting nostalgia trip replete with many delightful basketball highlights. Before I became a diehard NBA fan in the aughts, my knowledge of the league revolved around Jordan. So much of it was a trip down memory lane.

Unsurprisingly, the documentary left off his wishfully forgotten two seasons with the Washington Wizards, which happened three years after his second Chicago retirement. Jordan had the perfect narrative arc of any athlete from college to Game 6 and no one really wants to remember those two brutal seasons where he frequently looked overmatch on an uninspired team.

I owned this book years ago and I remembered enjoying it when I began it but I kept hearing how it was a hack job, so I put it away. These were the internet’s nascent days, when you couldn’t easily double check things because much of what is there now had yet to be terraformed. Yet being desperate for something new to read after seeing the doc, I finally decided to tackle this book.

This book gives credence to both its supporters and detractors. It should be more universally lauded. Leahy does a great job embedding himself in the Wizards locker room and teasing out the many player dynamics. No one comes off here looking good, not Jordan, not Doug Collins and especially not Abe Pollin. Leahy is clearly frustrated with the way his colleagues were deferential to Jordan to the point of being glorified PR gofers. He takes no sentimental road here, dissecting how bad things were in Washington before and during Jordan’s time. It’s not all his fault but he perhaps deserves the lion’s share of the blame. It felt like a miserable experience being in this locker room, similar to Sam Smith’s The Jordan Rules but without the winning.

With a better editor, I would laud this as one of the best sports books I’ve ever read. But another person who doesn’t acquit themselves well in this endeavor is the writer himself. Leahy comes off as an easily aggrieved ninny at times, ferociously defending his conduct as if he’s the reason we’re reading this. He also suffers the sin of redundancy. So much of this book was repetitious: the comparisons to Babe Ruth, the musings of what it meant to be a star in exile. It heaped a decidedly melodramatic tone on a story that didn’t need it. About 25-50 pages of this could have been easily cut.

On top of that, Leahy doesn’t tease out the racial dynamics between the majority black players and the majority white owners. This came out in the mid-aughts and in that time, white writers still did not effectively write on racism. There’s been a modicum of progress; I’m thinking of Jack McCallum stumbling through it in Glory Days highly imperfectly but with some degree of recognition. Yet, Leahy never once stops to question the problematic nature of Pollin using Jordan’s body and name when it was convenient for him and dumping him when he was no longer needed.

So what you have is a quality, if imperfectly written sports tale that should serve as a great supplemental read to The Last Dance if you want the full picture of Jordan’s career and don’t mind having your narratives busted.

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Jordan is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. No one ever disputes that, only if he is THE best ever. While his six championship teams in Chicago will help people make that claim, his last two seasons might harm that argument. Three years after making the clutch shot to give the Bulls that sixth tite, Jordan joined the Washington Wizards in their player development department and soon thereafter also decided to make a comeback as a player. Those two seasons in Washington are the subject of this book by Washington writer Michael Leahy.

From the first time he performed his work in either role, it was clear that Jordan was going to face his biggest challenges in basketball. From his decision to make Kwame Brown the first high school player selected with the first draft pick to hiring Doug Collins as the Wizards’ head coach to his nagging knee issues that caused him to,mis significant time as a player, Leahy writes about these two seasons as only a person with inside access could.

Leahy doesn’t paint a very nice picture of Jordan, as Jordan comes across as a) stubborn and unwilling to accept the end of his basketball playing days are near, b) a bully to his teammates, especially younger ones like Brown and Richard Hamilton and c) in over his head with his front office duties and frequently at odd with owner Abe Pollin. None of this is really incorrect, and Jordan was certainly not the only aging athlete who is denying the loss of ability while aging, but Leahy’s style is very critical of Jordan throughout the book.

While Leahy does back up much of his criticism of Jordan, he also takes to criticizing those who,hold Jordan in high regards, frequently stating that these people feel he is a deity. One such person who he claims has that belief is a colleague of Leahy at the time, Michael Wilbon. It was at this point I felt the negativity went too far, as this part was all about Leahy and not Jordan.

Despite this overall negative tone, I felt this was a solid book describing those two seasons as neither Jordan nor the Wizards enjoy much success. The way Jordan was unceremoniously relieved of all his duties with the Wizards just felt like the appropriate ending. While not a balanced picture of Jordan, it is nonetheless an engaging and fast paced read that most basketball fans will enjoy. Those who have that belief that he was the greatest of all time, however, might want to skip this.

https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book nearly made me cry. I didn't go into the book looking to have Jordan knocked off his perch, but I left that way. Leahy is involved heavily in this story, sometimes in a self-satisfied way, and sometimes as a cultural observer. It felt uneven, at times like a biography of Leahy covering Jordan and at times like a very long newspaper article.

Those weren't the crying parts. I nearly cried as Jordan tried to will his way back from injury and through the challenges of being 38-40 in a league filled with men 10 and 15 years his junior. He rushed it and made poor decisions, but the hardest part about this book is the failure of Jordan to come to terms with the end of his playing career. I was never a great Jordan admirer, but I came to have a grudging respect for his ability. This book examines heavily the flip-side of his unbelievable will to win and the damage it did to the only hometown NBA basketball team I've ever had, the Wizards.

[Mike Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Shakespearean tragedy. Best sports book ever.

[Felix Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

About as detailed and engrossing account as one could ask for when analyzing an often forgotten period of Jordan’s career. While I largely disagree with Leahys position on Michael Jordan and especially felt his constant shaming of his fellow reporters who praised him felt a bit unnecessary, I found myself coming to respect his point of view more and more throughout, such was the detail of his accounts. No stone is left unturned here as he seeks to get to the bottom off how it all went wrong, allowing us to come out with a fully realized portrait of Jordan off a man with a damn near psychotic desire to win and refuses to give into the inevitability of age. Writing like this is important no matter what type off journalism one is involved in and is a must read for anyone looking for a fully realized portrait of life in the NBA, regardless of one’s personal opinions by the end.

[RB Love · Rating 3 out of 5]

So you read this book and you gather the very documented impressions that Michael Jordan is a mean dick, Doug Collins, (recently hired as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers) is a spineless, emotional mess and that the author, Michael Leahy, is, or at least put himself in the position of, a creepy, sniping voyeur of sorts.
Scathing. Revealing. And ultimately, so what? Jordan's career as a basketball player still out-beautifies any rotten, entitlement-type behavior he could subject the people around him to or executive shortcomings he may have.
Interesting history and notes on Washington Wizards owner, (recently deceased) Abe Pollin.
Interesting to go back in time in the NBA, even if it was just seven years ago, and read about how things were for a season or two and compare how things have changed.
Also, Leahy makes many interesting observations about sport and media and culture throughout.
"We romanticize the banal, and catalog the silly. We have churned out so many of these stories, competently, even artfully, that at some point long ago we succeeded in making the ridiculous relevant." p. 112.

[Elke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leahy inserts himself way too often in this book and tries to distinguish himself from being part of the media that gave Mr. Jordan a free pass in not harassing him too much with their coverage. He does offers a compelling argument that MJ set the Wizards back with his management moves and his rushed comeback ignoring the advice of his trainers. I agree with another reader's review that compared this book to Sam Smith's Jordan Rules. MJ was a great b-ball player and was also a flawed man and as a fan, that makes me appreciate him even more. Definitely don't read this book if you want to keep the perfect idolized version of MJ in your mind.

[Tedi31 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leahy’s portrayal of Jordan showed a different side of the basketball legend which is not normally seen in the eyes of the public. Jordan, the “the most marketed player in the history of the NBA,” was finally…”mortal” and did go through the same trials and tribulations (from a heightened perspective) that we all go through at some point in our lives. Leahy accounts the days wherein Jordan was at his best and would score 35 points over the span of several games to the days wherein he wasn’t unstoppable and hit his career lows of 8 and 2 points respectively.

For more, visit: http://www.hankpym.com

[Reilly Van · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book pissed me off because it becomes apparent throughout that the author is trying to make Michael Jordan look like an asshole just b/c he wouldn't grant this author the access he wanted.

[Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the very beginning of the book, it's very apparent the author is going to tell a story casting Michael Jordan as an incompetent team president and a poor team player clinging on to yet another comeback. I suspect the true story is not quite that stark, but the author's thesis is backed up by several years of covering the early-2000s Wizards and the poor organizational results.

The storylines switched back and forth between game recaps of the up-and-down 2001-02 Wizards season and Michael Jordan's power plays on the court, in the clubhouse, and with the media. I thought the game recaps really disrupted the flow of the book, though I generally don't enjoy the formula of game-by-game recaps in a book, especially one about seasons as inconsequential as the 2001-03 Wizards.

Doug Collins does not come off well in this book either. He is Jordan's yes-man, acquiesing to all of Jordan's demands for playing time, owing his job to the great player, the latter whom the author constantly referred to as "boss." Collins is presented as being complicit in hiding Jordan's knee issues from the public and from the rest of the team, and almost reckless with how much he acquiesced to Jordan playing on the court.

As to Jordan's Wizards teammates, Kwame Brown certainly is victimized the most, being on the receiving end of Jordan's verbal abuse and Collins' frustration. Brown was Jordan's prized draft pick when he was team president, and there are plenty of cringeworthy moments about their relationship as teammates. Richard Hamilton is the young star who deferred to Jordan's lead, yet also wanted credit for himself and other young players. Criticized for his poor defense, he wanted to run a faster game than when Jordan was on the court. Later, when Hamilton is packaged in a trade for Jerry Stackhouse, Stackhouse also complains about the same thing, wanting to run a fastbreak offense as opposed to slowing things down for Jordan. There's also a wide variety of other supporting cast members, such as Courtney Alexander, Tyronn Lue, Tyrone Nesby, Brendan Haywood, Christian Laettner, and so on.

There are parts talking about the cost and sacrifice of deifying larger-than-life athletes. There are also interesting thoughts about the intersection between athletes and media, how the media would deliver widespread coverage in exchange for increased access to players, to share high drama and moral symbolism. These are the parts I enjoyed about this book.

In summary, this was a book about a clubhouse falling completely apart, a former superstar borderline delusional about his standing and power within the organization, and teammates disillusioned about playing alongside an all-time great. There are some interesting profiles on players like Richard Hamilton and Jerry Stackhouse. And this is an interesting book to dig into Michael Jordan's psyche, how he runs a clubhouse and a team, and an inside look into how one dysfunctional NBA organization fell apart.

But I think the author overplayed the storyline about Jordan being an entitled superstar (constantly comparing him to Babe Ruth too), and being the main reason for his disastrous tenure and falling out with a fledgling NBA organization, to the point of being repetitive. It was also almost to the point of the author having some sort of personal vendetta against Jordan for being slighted a few times in interactions, rather than letting the facts and reporting and teammates' quotes speak for themselves. I also felt the book would have been more effective if it drew on the larger themes more frequently rather than focus on Jordan's ego and power trips. It could have analyzed what happens to the general superstar athlete overstaying his welcome in the league and his relationship with the media and the fanbase, rather than focusing so much on the power struggle with the owner and sensitivities of his coach. There's a lot of interesting information the author had on Jordan's Wizards years, but I think the author ultimately settled for a takedown piece.

[James Ditchfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most people who watched the award-winning docuseries based on the Jordan-led Chicago Bulls of the late 1990s, after watching The Last Dance I found myself desperately seeking more Michael Jordan content. Particularly in written form. Whilst there's a veritable treasure trove of books about the legendary figure, including the lengthy biography written by Roland Lazenby (on my 'to-read' list currently), it was this one that most appealed to me.

This book follows the lesser-known, or talked about, part of Michael's Jordan's hallowed career; his time with the Washington Wizards. Following a somewhat acrimonious departure from the Chicago Bulls organisation, Jordan made a much publicized move to Washington, firstly as an executive before making the transition back on to the court in 2002 for the next two seasons. Despite much expectation, and a lot of revenue being generated off of his name alone, ultimately Jordan's time with Washington came to a similar end as in Chicago with both parties left feeling bitter toward the other.

So, with discontentment off the field as well as underwhelming results on it, how does one go about writing an interesting book, let alone a story, about such a tumultuous period? Well, Michael Leahy did. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Michael Jordan is an interesting subject through his mere presence alone, as is made increasingly clear in this story. However, what makes this book different from all the other tomes, many of which seemingly exist just to kneel at the alter of MJ, is that Leahy somehow makes his subject feel human; doubt, anger, resentment, vulnerability - all the traits that characterize us, and which we often look to sports to escape from, are just as present in the makeup of Michael Jordan.

As a writer for the Washington Post, Leahy sent to follow the team around for the season and in the process found a book waiting to be written. Kind of 'gonzo' journalism, if you will (minus the drugs and white Cadillac). Because of this intimate access, the author is able to provide first-hand accounts of his interactions with the team and stumbles across stories which, in today's day and age would have been enough to have a press conference called, or at least a lengthy tweet. Even in a modern context, some of the interactions Leahy witnesses between Jordan and his teammates are pretty shocking. And it's not only on the practice court where Jordan's true nature is laid bare, but at blackjack tables at all hours of the night as Jordan loses $600,000 over the course of a few short hours, only to win it all back again, before leaving en route to wherever he has to go for his next NBA game. It is here that Leahy finds his story; the constant battle of wills between Jordan's intensely competitive nature and his unwillingness to move on to the next stage of his life.

Of course, it's only fitting that a book which seeks to explore the less exciting aspects of Jordan's life and career, also comes to something of a disappointing end. Not through any fault of the author, but because sometimes that's how sports is. Despite his best efforts, by the last 100 pages I was growing bored with the narrative at play simply because it became clear where it was headed; Washington would end the season in a disappointing manner, missing the playoffs, and Jordan was going to receive a one-way ticket out of town. If this book had have ended after the first season, with an afternote providing further information as to what happened later after Jordan's last season in Washington, I would have rated it higher. Instead, it took me about a month to finish the last third or so of the book.

Overall, this is a fascinating book that I highly recommend, even if you don't particularly follow basketball (like myself).

[Glen Cowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I‘ve always been uncomfortable about the cult of personality that’s surrounded Michael Jordan. Results matter and his, on the court, are better than most. But the whole aura of invincibility he projected through his carefully manicured public image seemed too good to be true. I remember reading a pictorial biography about him called ‘Rare Air’ that was so ingratiating that even a 15 year old me in 1995 felt like wretching.
However, when he gave what I felt was his petty 2009 hall of fame speech, there was at least some journalists willing to call him out on his crap. I think perhaps this book helped on that front.
It starts with an observation that many journos at the time would actively identify themselves as ’Michael Jordan’ guys. The symbiotic, some might call it parasitic, relationship between the media and players is one that would never be accepted between purveyors of straight news and politicians (I don’t count propaganda networks like FOX or MSNBC as straight news). It gives him his props as a player and basically says he was screwed by the Wizards owner, Abe Pollin. However, it’s 100% accurate that the media never called him out on his jerk behavior because they wanted access.
It covers a lot of what happens in the ‘Last Dance’ in regards to how hard he was, in some cases bullying, towards teammates. Kwame Brown, who probably did need a kick up the ass at times but not to the extent of being the subject of homophobic slurs, stands out. It admits he was a once in a lifetime talent. It also covers the less appealing side of his personality (which happens in the ‘Last Dance’ as well) and denounces the enablers who make out like he is some flawless character. It emphasizes he worked best when he had someone to tell him what he didn’t want to hear There’s a great story from game 6 of the 1993 finals where Phil Jackson asks him during a time out ‘Who’s been open Michael?’ After ignoring him and then begrudgingly admitting John Paxson had been. Jackson simply then said ‘So pass him the f***ing ball.’
All these less appealing aspects of his character come to the fore in Washington. Instead of having a calm but strong hand in Phil Jackson, they let him bring back his old Chicago coach before Jackson, Doug Collins, who was more of a fanboy if anything it seems. The Wizards also let him play 40 plus minutes when Rip Hamilton was waiting in the wings. When Hamilton challenged him and said he should be first option on offense, Jordan had him traded to Detroit, where he went on to lead them to a championship 2 years later.
The book also states that Washington did the wrong thing by him by getting him to come back as a player (mostly so they could make money off his name) and leaving him under the impression that he could walk straight back into his job as GM. Owner, Abe Pollin, should really have dismissed him as GM back in 2001 if he was displeased. That would have had been a move with more integrity.
Honest and unbiased is what I’d call ‘When Nothing Else Matters’ and that’s the reason why I’d say is the reason why it’s denounced as a hit piece by those invested in the Michael Jordan cult of personality.

[Josh Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

"When Nothing Else Matters" chronicles the return of Michael Jordan to the Washington Wizards after his (second) retirement from professional basketball. The book is filled with a number of revealing anecdotes and interviews (which made it easy enough to read), but I couldn't quite say that I liked it. I would have given 2.5 stars if I could.

One of the author's main themes throughout the book is that the press has always been on Michael Jordan's side and given a positive spin to almost everything he does. Michael Leahy (the author) claims that he is giving the true story, free from bias, but I just can't quite believe him. I'll grant that Jordan's polished image is somewhat exaggerated, that he isn't the All-American role model that he was often portrayed to be, but I also don't totally buy Leahy's depiction of the man. He seems to relish telling negative stories about Jordan and doesn't make any real effort to see anything good in him. For instance, Leahy criticizes Jordan in the aftermath of 9/11 for not speaking up or speaking out more, as some other NBA players did. Yet he quickly glosses over the fact that Jordan donated his entire years salary to victims of the tragedy! Leahy believes that Jordan might not have had the purest motives for doing so. Maybe not, maybe so (it's not like the author would know), but either way, I'd give a lot more credit to the person who DOES something than the one who simply TALKS about doing something. I can't help but think Leahy would find fault with ANYTHING Jordan did, and that isn't the mark of a good biographer.

The author also weirdly inserts himself into the story on more than one occasion. In a book about Michael Jordan's comeback, I wouldn't have expected to read nearly so much about Leahy's experience as a reporter and his personal reflections on locker-room interactions and interviews. Perhaps that is just his style, but I didn't care for it. It came across as somewhat pompous to me.

Most interesting to me was the detail with which Leahy reported the severity of Jordan's knee injury. I was not aware (and it seems like most people weren't) how bad MJ's knees were. It makes me sad to think that if he had given himself a little more time, he might have come back even stronger -- and shared with us even more extraordinary play. At the same time, it amazes me how effective a 40-year old man with awful knees was in a league full of 20 year olds. Knowing the pain and roadblocks he was going through and still seeing him able to dominate (at times) on the court just adds to his legacy.

[Jonathan Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, I can't imagine a more detailed account of Michael's two seasons as a Wizard. A time period that people-as time has passed-have largely forgotten about or kindly overlooked. This review may be different to the others due to reading this book at a much later date but before I discuss the difficulties of Leahy's account, I do want to make clear that this is a very impressive account.

That being said, Leahy talks early about the sizeable ego of Jordan, whilst seemingly getting a kick out of exposing the nature of the man. This is where the timing of reading this book may seem to give an unfair opinion of Leahy's self satisfaction of exposing Jordan. Everyone who is a fan of Jordan is aware of his personality- a man who does not care of the steps taken as long as the result is winning. Jordan himself showed this openly in the Netflix series 'The Last Dance'. Perhaps, Jordan's true nature was more concealed at the time of Leahy writing this book, hence my preface at the beginning of the review. Furthermore, it is true that these extreme lengths would be punished by sacking in any other profession but then again, if you hate the acceptance of modern athletes so much- why cover them? Why write about them?

You could just as easily point of the writer's own ego. Leahy thanked everyone in his acknowledgments it seemed except Michael Jordan, the very man who the book was about. Ironically, Leahy himself spoke numerous times in the book about how much Jordan detested people making money off him. Leahy unashamedly did this without so much as a thank you to the man, who you may like, hate or be indifferent to but is worth writing about.

What is very impressive is how Leahy frames Jordan's unwavering/undivided love of Basketball against other athletes as well as putting this into the context of a time where the 9/11 tragedy occurred and leaves us slightly disappointed that a man as powerful in our memories as Michael Jordan is, seemed to care about nothing more than the game of basketball. In the same book though, Leahy does continuously praise Jordan for his commitment, work ethic as a player, determination, athleticism etc. Perhaps, ironically, this does show Jordan's true nature, a man who you cannot not admire but only in the context of basketball, in the context of winning.

If this is the purpose of Leahy's work- I'd say its perfect but in revealing one Michael's sizeable ego, it also revealed the other Michael's similar shaped ego. Except one man won six championships, whilst the other wrote about it.

[Jeremy Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

When reading, I like to think about how long a book needs to be vs how long a book could be, and where I think the author landed. I think I could do without 100 pages of this book, and surprisingly (to me at least), I think I would cut 100 pages of basketball game summary.

It's all the same - Jordan isn't very quick, can't jump very high, his jumper comes and goes but he keeps shooting. He slows the team down and demands to play way too many minutes. I read those 3-4 paragraphs at least 20 times (maybe that doesn't add up to 100 pages, but I would still cut it down).

Maybe I'm the wrong audience for that - too young to have seen Bulls Jordan play, young enough to know Wizards Jordan happened but not really digest what it was. I think the book was written for an older generation, who saw Jordan comeback and saw it go poorly, but didn't know or couldn't accept just how much of that result was his fault - through his GM tenure and his approach, but also just through his play.

Besides being a tad long and repetitive, I loved the behind-the-scenes story. I thought it was a well-written and fairly-reported blend of in-the-moment story and the authors thoughts on what was motivating Jordan to go through it all.

[Jason Vicknair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I love any books about the history of sports, especially basketball and Michael Jordan...this one did not grab me. It seems to be a more scathing review of Michael the Man, and not the basketball player. Though there are some things I learned from this about the persona and inner battles MJ faced as a dominant player and into his twighlight in Washington, this book failed to really provide anything new or details about the after life from the Bulls dynasty. I'm by no means an MJ apologist, some of the things he did and said to lesser teammeates is sad and appalling, but what made #23 the greatest basketball player ever and one of the most dominant athletes ever is his innate burning desire to win and succeed. If that meant pushing teammates and staff to get better, is that really such a bad thing? I feel this book belongs in the "woke era" of 2021 or so where we try to find any and every minute detail to criticize and push down people. Still a solid read, interesting to see how the relationship with Leonsis and Pollin played out from '99 to '03 and what pushed MJ out of DC.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me FOREVER to finish this book, but it was well worth the effort. The book was often a page-turner. Where I struggled were the descriptions of games, which don't mean a lot to me. The value for me was in the analysis of Jordan's personality versus his image, and how we all played a part in his deification. It was a fragile deification, though -- One that could only exist while he still played -- and as we all know, sports careers come to an end while players still have a long time left to live. Michael was an extraordinary basketball player, but as a manager and a teammate he was...pretty much a jerk. It might seem like the author hates Jordan. But I think he was pretty generous in his assessment, and the book really implicates the media and the management surrounding Jordan just as much as it implicates Jordan himself. Also, can we talk about how much Doug Collins sucks? A great read to flesh out your understanding of Jordan after watching The Last Dance.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compelling, warts-and-all perspective on the hubris that incited and enabled Jordan's ill-advised second return to the court. Some may read this as a hit piece, but that's mostly due to the fact that media coverage of Jordan was so fawning for so long that the public was trained to think of anything critical of the Mythos of Jordan as needlessly critical.

The narrative here is marred a bit by a tendency for Leahy to insert himself into the story in ways that definitely don't help dissipate the scent of "here's an author who wants to lift himself up while pulling Jordan down". That being said, Leahy does stick mostly to observations of the behaviors of others and quotes from named firsthand sources, so it's not as if this is made out of whole cloth.

Overall, this serves as a useful reminder that it may be wise to ease back on deification of someone simply due to their ability to excel at an athletic pursuit.

[Nic Lane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marginal book, but still the best available about MJ's years in DC

I felt you could tell this book suffered from a lack of access for interviews. Basketball analysis was lacking. However this is no better book to gain some insights into Jordan's period playing for the Wizards. Given the focus on Jordan's desire for controlling team ownership, and he eventually gets this at Charlotte, it would be better if the book was revised complete this part of the story. Finally one wonders if Jordan's dislike of the book caused the writer to be more critical of Jordan as this undoubtedly made the book more difficult to produce.

[Louie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is this book about? (write 1-2 sentences)
The book is about Michael Jordan's last season in the NBA an the stories behind it.

What is your favorite part of the story and why? (write 1-2 sentences)
My favorite part of the story is probably the beef between him and the wizards owner because it says a lot about the team and the producers.

Who is your favorite character and why? (write 1-2 sentences)
Michael Jordan because I learn a lot from him and his mindset.

What is a lesson or a fact that you learned from this book? (write 1-2 sentences)
never give up and if you get a second chance at something good take it.

Give your review out of 5 stars
4.3

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unsparing look at the sports icon in the absolute twilight of his playing career. Documents how Jordan basically ran the team and, really, probably cost the Wizards more than a few victories by insisting on the ball all the time and refusing to let his younger teammates run fast break opportunities. Also how Doug Collins was in a real no-win situation - pretending he ran the team when everyone knew who really wielded the power. By the end you'll be cheering Abe Pollin when he tells Jordan to take a hike.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Expertly detailed inside look at Jordan's Washington Wizards comeback. I mean as detailed as you can get as a "Jordan outsider" reporter. After watching 'The Last Dance' you got an inkling of the true character of Michael Jordan and this book really brings it home. He might have been the greatest basketball player ever, but he needed (needs?) work in a lot of other aspects of his life. Kudos to Michael Leahy for not getting sucked into the Jordan club and reporting things as he saw them.

[Robbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed analysis of MJ’s last comeback - interesting yet not very surprising to see him portrayed as aloof, entitled, narcissistic & abusive.

Grapples with the idea of an athlete in their twilight not quite able to accept the reality of what’s happening to their body & the fact that ‘Father Time is undefeated’

[E.W. Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the greatest sports book I have ever read.

It’s an exploration of what drives the greatest basketball player who has ever lived to toss aside his legacy in pursuit of what seems a foolish pursuit of insignificance. It’s a book about legacy, mortality, and hubris, that just happens to take place on a basketball court.

[Danny H · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm stopping this book about halfway in. and let me explain. The guy is a good writer, first of all. and he has tons of interesting, inside information about Mike. But he also seems to hate Mike. He goes way back with him from the Bulls days and is very biased. You can tell he just loves talking about Mike's shortcomings. If that bias wasn't there. I'd gladly finish the book.

[Verlton Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I became interested in this book because pieces of stories leaked out during Michael Jordan's three year residency in Washington D.C. The author provided background and information to the leaks. My feeling about Michael Jordan was confirmed.