When Kwame Brown made a bold promise to MJ

play"Boys Among Men" author Jonathan Abrams on the former #1 pick. (5:39)In 1995, the Washington Bullets had the opportunity to select Kevin Garnett with the fourth overall pick. They bypassed the stringy teenager, largely because the team's owner, Abe Pollin, did not want to draft a high school player out of principle. Six years later, the league and Pollin had drastically shifted on the allowance of high school players into the league. The Bullets, by then the Wizards, took Kwame Brown with the top overall pick in the 2001 draft.

Brown was the handpicked choice of Michael Jordan, the team's executive, who was on the verge of making a comeback to the court. Garnett, Kobe Bryant and Tracy…