The NBA world was stunned after Michael Jordan announced he was returning to the league as a player of the Washington Wizards after his second retirement with the Chicago Bulls .
However, as the NBA community buzzed about MJ's highly anticipated comeback, a new rumor swirled: Mike was bringing back Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley along with him.
The narrative at the time stated that Jordan was trying to assemble a mini Dream Team reunion with Ewing and Chuck in The Nation's Capital. However, the fantasy of seeing the legendary trio on the same team never came to reality.
According to Big Pat, he felt confident about still playing at the time. However, the Big Three with him, Barkley and MJ didn't happen simply because it was never true.
"I think that was a rumor. I mean, people were asking me to come back and play, but no," Ewing told Etan Thomas on The Rematch Show last year. "You know, I think that I was enjoying doing what I was doing, trying to teach you guys."
While the rumor of Ewing returning to play alongside Jordan in the NBA eventually dissipated, what remained a fact was his desire to be a coach. As it turned out, Michael indeed recruited his old foe, not as a player, but as an assistant coach of the Wizards .
In 2002, Pat was officially hired by the Wizards. Ewing's career move wasn't just about a favor between two close friends. It became the foundation of his 15-year NBA career.
"As a parent, I equate coaching to being a parent," Patrick further reflected. "I would be trying to teach you guysthe things that I learned over my long career. And some of the times it was like, you guys weren't listening. But then, you know, I see the things that I'm trying to tell y'all, teach you guys, y'all doing it in the game. And I think that's what made me fall in love with coaching."
Even though Jordan retired for the last time in 2003, Ewing went on to continue coaching in the league until 2017. He then landed a head coaching job at his alma mater, Georgetown, a role he held for six consecutive seasons.
Unlike Ewing, Barkley never got hired by the Wizards and was never involved with the team. However, between the two Hall of Famers, it was Sir Charles who was apparently "serious" about considering an NBA return.
Jordan himself once revealed it while he was getting back in shape for his Wizards debut.
"I was 218 (pounds), right at my playing weight," MJ said in 2001 via ESPN . "I know I can do this. I don't know about Charles. He wants me to seriously look at him. We'll see."
Given Ewing and Barkley's age at the time and history with injuries, it's hard to tell if they could've made a huge impact on the Wizards alongside Jordan had that rumor turned to reality. Still, the MJ-Chuck-Ewing trio deserves to be considered as one of the strangest "what ifs" in NBA history.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
