Editor’s Note: On Saturday night Michael Jordan scored 51 points against the hapless Charlotte Hornets and became the oldest player in league history to score over the half-century mark. Two days later he dropped 45 on the division-leading New Jersey Nets. Wondering why he came back? Then read “The Third Coming.”

But for an explanation of what makes Jordan so indomitable, read this essay from the January 25, 1999 issue of The Weekly Standard.