The Last Dance (miniseries) (2020)

Starring: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Phil Jackson, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, Jerry Krause, Jerry Reinsdorf, and Horace Grant
Grade: A

At the end of Episode I, we learn that coach Phil Jackson usually comes up with a theme for the season. Due to management deciding for them that this would be the last season of this core together (despite coming off two title wins with the group and eventually getting a third), Jackson passed out the team handbook for the players before the beginning of the 1997-98 NBA season. On the cover came a title that would stand the test of time:

The Last “Dance”?

Coming out at the perfect time, right when the Coronavirus Pandemic was at its height, ESPN released this in-depth miniseries reminding us of the greatness that was the 1990s Chicago Bulls. Not only was this documentary an engrossing look at one of the NBA’s most beloved franchises and their incredibly successful run in the 90s, but it was also used as a reminder to show us why Michael Jordan was and will always be the greatest to ever walk the hardwood.

The overarching story of this ten-episode miniseries is Chicago’s chase for their sixth title in 1998. Though usually we wouldn’t consider this team the underdogs by any stretch, this documentary shows us how much these guys were up against and why it was such a struggle to get to that last championship. In-between each episode, we flash back and forth in time to show us how we got there.

Early on in Episode I, we see Michael Jordan’s early life and college career and eventually him getting drafted by the Bulls, as well as him earning his stripes as a rookie on a drug-fueled mess of a team. In fact, we are hilariously reminded of an article referring to the team as the “Bulls Traveling Cocaine Circus”, something even confirmed by Michael himself. Don’t get it twisted though, the NBA was full of drugs back then, not just the Bulls. In real life, it was just funny to see how shocked people were when it resurfaced because of the popularity of The Last Dance. Craig Hodges got mad at Michael for talking about it because those players would have to “explain what happened to their families”. However, it did happen, and it’s pretty well known. Hodges was probably mad because he was one of them. It’s not snitching if it’s a well-known fact. It’s played off as a joke, and it’s pretty funny.

…but I digress.

Anyway, we get very in-depth on Jordan’s life. Then, we jump back to the beginning of the 1997-98 season where we see Jordan and the Bulls playing an exhibition game in France before the NBA season starts. This is where we are reminded of some of the early troubles. Scottie Pippen is out because of his surgery, and Dennis Rodman is out because of a contract situation. This introductory episode kind of lays the groundwork for the rest of the series, and it finishes with the aforementioned handbook given out by Jackson. Next is the general summary of the episodes.

Summary

1. This one is Michael Jordan-focused and centered on his early life, personality, high school years, college years, and rookie year in the NBA. I covered most of it already. It also included all the stuff that happened right before the 1997-98 season started.

2. Episode II is about Scottie Pippen, his early life and career as a rookie, and his importance to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. I’m not sure why Pippen is so famously bitter now because a lot of credit is given to his effort and contributions to this franchise. They did a great job highlighting this. Jordan himself gave Pippen all the credit in the world. The proof is right there. Pippen has argued that The Last Dance made him look bad and that it was more of a Jordan puff piece. The problem is that nothing that was said about Pippen wasn’t true. Every event discussed happened, and Pippen admits he was wrong in many situations. For instance, he admitted he waited to have surgery until October of the 1997-98 season because he didn’t want to “fuck his summer up”, knowing it would take him out for months, with Jordan calling him selfish for it as a result.

Well, he was.

There’s no way around it. He was doing it to get back at Jerry Krause. Knowing what we know about Krause, I totally get it, but why is your focus on one guy instead of the rest of your teammates who depend on you? His selfishness was also highlighted in Episode VII by refusing to go in for the final play against the Knicks in 1994 when the play was written for Toni Kukoc to take the last shot too. Jordan called Phil Jackson after it happened and said, “He’ll never live this down”. He’s right because we’re still talking about it today! It only proves Pippen is a salty motherfucker and whatever book he writes in the future to discredit Jordan, Phil Jackson, or anyone else that gave him every championship he ever had, should never be taken seriously unless you’re writing a college essay on “How to be a jackass” and you need a source to add to your bibliography. Think about it, what was said during The Last Dance that wasn’t true?

His negative treatment of Jerry Krause is also mentioned heavily, though it’s warranted because of Krause openly talking about trading him numerous times throughout his career with the Bulls. I have no issue with him berating Krause in front of the team because let’s be honest, Krause never respected him like that.

Additionally in the episode, we hear about Jordan’s competitive nature stemming from his childhood. This is where we get the excellent quote from Michael’s father saying, “If you want to bring out the best in Michael, tell him he can’t do something”. In addition, we get a glimpse of Jordan and his first example of issues he had with trusting Chicago management because of their refusal to play him more minutes after coming back from injury, despite him being good to go. They put him on a heavy restriction regarding minutes and told coach Stan Albeck that if he exceeds the restriction by a second, he’d be fired. The problem is that this goes against the sole goal of an organization: winning. I understand Jerry Reinsdorf’s argument that there was still a small chance Jordan could get seriously injured if he came back too early and it wouldn’t be worth the risk even with the playoffs being possible, but the goal is always to win, and you got Michael fucking Jordan on your team! Reinsdorf’s metaphor about Jordan coming back too early and its risk also gives us this hilarious exchange:

Reinsdorf: “If you had a terrible headache and I gave you a bottle of pills, and nine of the pills would cure you and one of the pills would kill you, would you take a pill?”

MJ: “I look at him and I said, “Depends on how fucking bad the headache is”.

Next, we go to the iconic playoff series between the Bulls and Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics back in 1986 where Jordan dropped 63 points in a loss, becoming a super star in the process. Then, we jump forward to 1997-98 to Pippen demanding a trade during the final season, furthering his issues with Krause and their treatment of him.

3. Episode III is about Dennis Rodman, his early career and life, and how he eventually landed on the Bulls. If you want to watch and learn more about Rodman (because his story is arguably just as exciting as Michael Jordan’s), I would definitely check out ESPN’s 30 for 30 on the enigmatic Hall of Famer, Rodman: For Better or Worse (In Volume IV of the 30 for 30 series). The Last Dance covered Rodman enough for the audience to get to know him in terms of what lead to his tenure with the Bulls, but I would check that out if you really want to understand the man behind the rainbow-colored hair. You see, if you go too in-depth on Dennis, he might overshadow the whole thing because he’s so interesting, so how they laid this episode out made sense. What we do cover is the underrated genius of Rodman and his understanding of the game of basketball, something I realized I never gave him credit for. When we see him talk about how he studied rebounding and how it would fall off the rim for certain shots, you start to understand how he still managed to average double digit rebounding numbers even in his last season in the NBA. It gets you thinking how long he could’ve played had he not been an absolute basket case.

Gary Payton explains, “Dennis Rodman was the fuck-up person. He just fucks everything up”.

That is an absolute golden quote but a pretty accurate representation of “The Worm’s” years on the court. He was an irritant to every opponent he faced, whether it be against the Bulls when he played for the Pistons, or with the Bulls against everyone else. After covering Rodman’s years with the Pistons and Detroit’s three-year stronghold on the Eastern Conference, along with the Pistons’s infamous “Jordan Rules”, we also cover the Bulls winning against that very underrated Cavaliers team (why didn’t they put Ron Harper on Jordan instead of Craig Ehlo?) and coach Doug Collins and his entire coaching strategy revolving around getting MJ the ball. Obviously, you can’t fault him for this strategy, but we know the endgame of every famous sports story. It’s always about the team’s success, not the individual. At least we got this hilarious post-game interview with Collins and a reporter:

Reporter: “What was your call on that last play?”

Collins: “That was, “Get the ball to Michael, everybody get the fuck out of the way”.

Later, the story jumps to the risky signing of Dennis Rodman going into the 1995-96 season following his tumultuous tenure with the Spurs (post-suicide attempt), and then in the final 97-98 season where Jordan is constantly fielding questions on if this will be his last season or not. Additionally, we meet Jordan’s beloved security team, Pippen getting his bluff called and being forced to rejoin the team after initially requesting a trade, and Rodman losing it once Pippen returns. Despite most feeling whole with Pippen rejoining the team, it’s explained that Rodman went back to his erratic ways once Pippen came back because he wasn’t being depended on as much. With that feeling of being left out and the media pressure getting to him personally, he requests a small vacation from the team. This was a near perfect way to set up Episode IV, especially hearing Jordan tell the story. This was when we get this great scene whereas Jordan starts to tell the story, and the video of him telling it is shown to an already laughing Rodman and Pippen.

4. Episode IV opens answering the cliffhanger of Episode III, showcasing Rodman’s partying antics in Las Vegas and not coming back in the 48 hours he promised Phil Jackson, something MJ guaranteed would happen. This gave us one of the very few things that I didn’t know about beforehand in that Michael Jordan himself had to go find Rodman in a random hotel in Vegas like a scene out of the fucking Hangover! Dennis was also fucking with Carmen Elecktra at the time, and she actually had to hide from MJ when he got into the hotel. This is so amazing to me. This entire scenario is a movie in and of itself. Honestly, Rodman leaving the team to party and gamble in Las Vegas and fuck Carmen Electra mid-season, might be the most baller thing I’ve ever heard of! Could you imagine if a player like this, or an event like this, happened in today’s social media era? Their life and career would be over.

Jordan then talks about Rodman rejoining the team and how Rodman still had the energy to beat the team in some of the warmup drills.

Next, we transition from Rodman to Phil Jackson, starting with Jackson explaining to Rodman that they have this Native American connection. It’s where we start to learn about the very interesting personality of Jackson and his different philosophies regarding the personalities he deals with in the game of basketball. His early life and career as a player and coach are covered, especially his dangerous stint in Puerto Rico, which was crazy to hear about. This jumps to Jackson taking over for Doug Collins as head coach of the Bulls in 1989, with a brutal (but hilarious) news anchor telling us the headline:

“If you’re getting ready for work right now, you’re probably not Doug Collins”.

Understandably, Jordan was not a fan of Collins being fired, mostly because Phil’s utilization of the triangle offense would take the ball out of Jordan’s hands and be more of a team-orientated offense instead of everyone standing and watching Jordan go to work. Following this, we see the team’s last devasting loss to the Pistons in Game 7 (If Pippen didn’t have those migraines, it very well could’ve been a different story), and Jordan and the team responding in the offseason immediately after it ended with intense weight training to build their bodies up enough to be able to fight the Pistons next year. As we know, they swept the Pistons the next year and effectively ended their run at the top, with the Pistons taking it like straight up “bitches” (as Horace Grant would say) and walking off without congratulating them. Isiah Thomas argues that shaking hands afterwards isn’t how they did things back then because the Celtics did the exact same thing when the Pistons finally defeated them.

Admittedly, I never knew about Boston doing this, and it’s odd that no one ever talks about it but attacks Detroit for it. With that being said, it’s still bullshit either way. Jordan made sure to shake everyone’s hands, including Thomas’s, the year before. He showed respect in the loss, despite how close he got and how much he hated that team. This should be reason enough for Thomas to show the same respect back. I still think Isiah Thomas is a top five-point guard of all time but in terms of petty assholes, he may be number one or close to it.

For the record, Pippen has found himself in the top five as well for recent comments in his new book Unguarded.

Lastly, Chicago’s first championship win in 1991 is covered, as well as more of the trouble that happened in the 97-98 season. Of course, it stems from Jerry Krause and the front office reiterating that Phil Jackson will not be back as head coach at the end of the season and MJ responding by saying in February that he won’t play without him. Do you know how much pressure that puts on this team and these players? Very few teams could survive this amount of outside drama and still succeed at a high level. The front office has the audacity to then say that they’d love to have Michael back, but he would have to play for someone else. Why? Why couldn’t they adhere to this demand from a guy who has brought them this many championships (the whole purpose of being a professional sports team)? Is Krause that much of a cunt that he refused to have Phil be loved by everyone, including the greatest player of all time, and refused to continue a proven winning formula purely based on ego?

Yes, I think so. It seems that in every episode, Jerry Krause proves himself to be an absolute jerk off.

5. Episode V opens with the 1998 NBA All-Star Game and just seeing a young Kobe Bryant walking past Jordan gave me goosebumps. It’s heightened by seeing Jordan hold a basketball during the All-Star photoshoot with Nas’s “If I Ruled the World” plays. As we jump to MJ breaking out the Air Jordan 1’s for his final game at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks, we go back to cover Jordan when he first tried to figure out his sponsorship deals, especially with what shoe company he was going to sign with. During the 80s, Converse was still the king. Many hoopers now would probably laugh at this statement, but it’s true. The problem was that Converse already had so many people signed that Jordan wouldn’t be a focus. MJ initially wanted to sign with Adidas, but his agent was able to get him a much more lucrative deal with Nike, along with a signature shoe that would later make Jordan a billionaire. Interestingly enough, his agent is the one that came up with the “Air Jordan” name which I thought was cool.

Next, we go to Jordan taking offense to the media comparing him to all-time great Clyde Drexler and how he used this as his fuel against the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1992 NBA Finals. Immediately after, Jordan and Pippen join the legendary “Dream Team” to represent the USA in the Olympics. They cover it very well, especially Jordan’s importance to the team and Isiah Thomas not being included for obvious reasons, but there’s a lot to focus on if you want to learn more. NBA TV did a great documentary on it in 2012 called The Dream Team. For fans of the old era of the NBA, it’s a great watch. Since I already saw this documentary a few times, some of this episode was a bit of a retread, though entertaining, nonetheless. It just reiterates Jordan’s famous competitiveness (even in card games), and Pippen and Jordan making it their mission to beat the hell out of Toni Kukoc when they faced Croatia. This was essentially a subliminal message to Jerry Krause since Krause was out and proud over his love for Kukoc, even choosing to go out of his way to court Kukoc to the team over handling Pippen’s contract situation at the time.

Again, why is it even a question why Krause got this much shit from the team?

Furthering the discussion on advertising, we see Jordan cover the Reebok logo on his warm-up suit at the gold medal ceremony with an American flag (because he’s a Nike guy). There’s also the very famous “Be Like Mike” campaign for Nike that furthered his image as a role model, something Jordan struggled with mightily. This is evidenced by the whole Harvey Gantt controversy and how he didn’t support him publicly. Jordan argues he’s a basketball player and not an activist, which is okay. Not every athlete has to be an outspoken political figure. It did seem a bit unfair for Jordan to get so much hate for this, especially considering he still gave money to Gantt’s campaign regardless. Is it that bad that he was just focused on basketball? I don’t think so. He never asked nor wanted to be politically active. People just wanted it to happen because he was the face of the NBA and not getting that type of public support may have contributed to Gantt losing.

Episode V finishes with the most 90s moment ever, with Michael Jordan having a conversation with Jerry Seinfeld. I actually laughed out loud when Seinfeld walked by the board Phil Jackson wrote the gameplan on and remarked, “This isn’t going to work by the way”.

6. Episode VI focuses more on what lead to Jordan’s first retirement, as public scrutiny and constant media coverage starts to get to him. Though the Nike ad may talk about how badly some may want to “Be Like Mike”, living in Jordan’s shoes sounds exhausting and you can see it in his eyes. It’s eating at him. Imagine everywhere you go, you’re hounded by thousands trying to talk to you, get your autograph, take your picture, or ask you a question. This is the dark side of being the most famous athlete in the world. Following this, the timeline jumps to Sam Smith’s book, “Jordan Rules”, and the rift it caused in Chicago as it painted Jordan like a tyrant. Though we never found out who leaked so much inside information to Smith, Horace Grant (though he denied it) seemed to be the culprit according to a few guys on the team. BJ Armstrong argued it couldn’t be just Grant but if anything, that made him look guilty too.

Next, is the 1992-93 New York Knicks and MJ’s trip with his dad to Atlantic City to gamble during the playoff series against them and how it became national news. It’s ironic how serious this was taken in real life and during this documentary, despite Rodman doing much worse years later as evidenced in Episode IV and X. It just goes to show you the pedestal these “role models” are on compared to people they expect to fuck up. I guess it doesn’t really matter in either case because they won the NBA Championship in both scenarios.

Basically, the lesson is that as long as you win, nobody gives a fuck.

The Last Dance also surprisingly covers Jordan dealing with known gangster Slim Bouler because Jordan lost a lot of money to him betting on his golf outings. In court, he had to admit to giving Bouler a $57,000 check. All things considered, if gambling is the only black mark on Jordan’s record, it’s not the worst thing. It did do damage to his squeaky-clean image though. The 1993 NBA Finals are covered when the Bulls beat Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns too, capped off with the legendary “I’m only packing one suit” line when the Bulls went back to Phoenix for Game 6. Even after winning in such glorious fashion, finishing off the three peat that neither Magic Johnson nor Larry Bird could pull off, Jordan is drained.

One of the final things he says in Episode VI was “If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would never wanna be considered a role model”.

The episode ends with Jordan talking about how he won’t miss the game once he’s gone, right before he goes to face the New Jersey Nets in the first round of the 1998 NBA Playoffs.

7. Episode VII has to have one the best openings of the entire series, next to Big Pun’s “Still Not a Player” being played for the Rodman party sequence in Episode IV. Here, we get a very funny press conference where a reporter asks Jerry Krause if he’s surprised how well the team is doing despite the backstabbing between him, Phil Jackson, and the players, and Krause storms out saying there is no backstabbing (which is definitely not true). Once he leaves, we hear a soundbite from one of the other reporters saying, “Way to go, Craig”.

It felt like it was straight out of an episode of Family Guy.

The focus shifts to the mentally and physically exhausted MJ and how going into Game 1 against the Nets in the first round of the 1998 NBA Playoffs, he looked rough in the win. It’s compared to where he was at in 1993. As we know, Jordan retired for the second time after 1998, so the comparison makes sense. A lot of the episode is devoted to the aftermath of the 1993 title, his first retirement, his dad’s murder, the ludicrous and downright disrespectful speculation about his father’s death being traced to his gambling despite zero evidence, and the urban myth that Jordan “actually” retired because Commissioner David Stern suspended Jordan for gambling.

Without a doubt, this was a conspiracy created purely out of jealousy.

How outrageous can people be? Why can’t people accept the fact that the man just wanted to rest? Not only did his father just die but he was MURDERED. On top of that, he just won THREE NBA titles at the highest level and has been constantly dealing with the media attacking his every move. Wouldn’t you just want to get away? Why is that so hard to believe for some people? After this, we cover Jordan’s baseball tenure and Scottie Pippen’s breakout season as the star of the Bulls without MJ, along with the aforementioned refusal to go in during the final seconds of Game 5 because Phil Jackson wrote the play for Toni Kukoc instead of him. It ends with them beating the Nets in 1998 and more coverage on Jordan’s win-at-all-costs mentality that made him a bit abrasive towards his teammates. Even though he did come off as an asshole to a lot of people he played with, as we see from the montage, it yielded results.  

8. Episode VIII is centered around Chicago’s semifinals matchup against the Glen Rice-led Charlotte Hornets, with former Bulls guard BJ Armstrong tying the series in Game 2 and letting Jordan, Pippen, and Phil Jackson know about it. This inspires Jordan for the rest of the series. Something we are reminded of constantly throughout The Last Dance is that all Jordan needs is a reason for motivation. To further this, David Aldridge reminds us of the lone time Bullets guard LaBradford Smith had a good game against Jordan that pissed him off so badly, he had to match Smith’s point total the next game but in the first half. Though he was one point off, it shows how different of a breed Jordan was. Next, we jump back to the series against the Hornets, and it gives us this iconic picture as Jordan gears up for Game 3:

The last few things covered are Jordan leaving baseball after the strike, the iconic return in 1995 with the press release of “I’m back”, losing to the Orlando Magic, immediately beginning training for the next season after the loss, the filming of Space Jam, the cool footage of the pickup games played on the lot in-between filming scenes with some of the best players in the NBA, punching Steve Kerr during a practice for the upcoming season and his subsequent apology, the showcasing of the greatest NBA team/season of all time in the 1995-96 Bulls that went 72-10, and facing the underrated Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals. This gave us the Twitter moment of the century with Gary Payton talking about how the series changed when he was able to guard MJ for the last few games of the series, and Jordan completely disagreeing. They show Jordan the video footage of Payton’s comments and seeing Jordan light up and start laughing was easily my favorite moment of The Last Dance.

9. Episode IX starts off centered around the back-and-forth rivalry between Jordan’s Bulls and Reggie Miller’s Indiana Pacers, with it culminating in the electric 1998 Eastern Conference Finals matchup between the two teams that went the full seven games. Additionally, we jump back to when Jazz guard Byron Russell talked trash to Jordan during his first retirement and Jordan always remembering that going into the 1997 NBA Finals, the iconic “Flu Game” and it actually being food poisoning, Steve Kerr’s life and career, and Kerr’s father being a college professor sent to Beirut where he was eventually murdered. After learning about all of this, Kerr hitting that shot against the Jazz to seal their fifth championship means a lot more. The episode ends with the Bulls beating the Pacers in 1998 after Jordan guaranteed, “We will win Game 7”. There’s also a very sweet friendship Jordan had with his security guard Gus Lett that is highlighted.

10. The final episode starts with the 1998 NBA Finals, with the Bulls faced with an even hungrier Utah Jazz that have been ready for their rematch. After a Game 3 blowout though, Rodman is nowhere to be found and shows up on WCW programming, hanging out with Hollywood Hogan and the nWo. Despite the national coverage, very little is done to him because of the timing of it all, though we do get this cool scene where security helps Rodman escape the media by going through a back exit out of the arena. Following this, we go back into Finals coverage and see Pippen injure his back mightily and still pushing through to be a decoy to help Jordan (and himself) win their final NBA Championship against all odds. Then, the aftermath of the title came, and it was official. Everything came apart.

Apparently, Jerry Reinsdorf did offer Phil a deal to come back, but Phil was respectful enough to turn it down because he knew Jerry Krause would flip. Essentially, this was the catalyst that ended the Bulls. As a fan, it really pisses me off too, especially after hearing Reinsdorf’s reasoning for it all. He talks about how all of the guys were going to be offered too much money that summer, and it would be stupid to offer them big contracts because their market value was too high, and they were already an aging team. First of all, this is bullshit because Ron Harper, Toni Kukoc, Bill Wennington, Randy Brown, and Dickey Simpkins were all still on the team for the 1999 season anyway. It would literally just leave Jordan, Pippen, Jackson, Rodman, Kerr, Jud Buechler, and Luc Longley. Buechler was never commanding a big contract, so this is a non-issue and Scott Burrell was released after the lockout, so they could’ve kept him too. Even if they couldn’t per say, both of those guys were easily replaceable. Also, don’t you think some veteran free agents wouldn’t mind signing with the Bulls for a shot at the title if those spots were left open?

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Now, it’s basically up to the starters. If they actually acted like they wanted and needed Phil Jackson, he would’ve came back. If he did, Jordan, Rodman, Kerr, and probably Longley would’ve came right back with 1-year deals. In the last part of Episode X, Jordan mentions the hypothetical, “We give you a 1-year contract to try for the 7^th. Do you think they would’ve signed? Yes”. I’m inclined to agree. Yes, the team was aging, but to not even try and defend the title when you’ve just won six out of eight just seems like bad management. Pippen was still demanding his max contract but like Jordan said, if everyone would’ve returned, there’s no way Pippen misses out. If the worst thing that happens is that Pippen becomes the highest paid player on the team along with Michael for a year, that’s not unreasonable considering the results. Once again, it’s Krause’s fault.

He lost one of the best coaches ever and one of the best two-way players ever. As a result, he lost the greatest basketball player to ever live, just because he had a Napoleon complex. What an assclown! I don’t care how old the core was, you have to try and see if you can do it one more time. Otherwise, you’ll forever think, “What could’ve been?”, something continuously eating at Jordan to this day. I just can’t believe Reinsdorf had the audacity to say they still could’ve brought back MJ, and Krause could’ve built a championship team in a “couple of years” had he stayed. Why the fuck would Jordan shoulder the load of that team for a few meaningless years, waiting for Krause to build a team around him when they ALREADY HAD ONE? They just won the title! How does Reinsdorf not find this statement ridiculous? How can he say that with a straight face, knowing Jordan was already 35 years old at the time? Did Reinsdorf actually believe Jordan had the patience to wait until he was 38 to carry the team? I’m not even going to use his stint with the Wizards as a “hindsight” answer. If Reinsdorf actually believed wholeheartedly that this was the way to go instead of keeping the team that just won the title together for another year, then he’s actually a lot stupider than I thought.

The final moments discussed was Phil Jackson coming up with this poetic way of ending the team’s “Last Dance” together by having everyone write down what the team meant to them, talking about it out loud and then burning the messages in a coffee can. In the closing scenes, Jordan and others reflect on the memories that were made.

My Thoughts:

The Last Dance was an event.

Each episode follows this back-and-forth format, and it keeps you involved from start to finish. Now, I can’t say I was shocked at most of the content thrown at us. As a huge basketball fan, there was very little that I didn’t already know about Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, coach Phil Jackson, and many of the other players and personalities interviewed. I’ve seen a lot of basketball-related documentaries and have done my own research over the years to where some of these episodes that were focused on Rodman’s lifestyle or Pippen’s shitty contract situations weren’t necessarily a new thing to me. However, to casual fans or even fans of the NBA that forgot about the greatness of these teams and players, this is a no-holds-barred reminder of it all, and I would be shocked if there was a single person that didn’t have a newfound appreciation for this team because of it. The interweaving narrative was the perfect touch as well. It was seriously thought-out and well-developed. All in all, it’s an incredible look at one of the most iconic teams and players in sports history, showing us once again who the greatest really is.

The best part about all of this is that a camera crew was allowed full access to that 1997-98 title team. It’s like they knew this would be history in the making (and it was). This was my favorite part about The Last Dance. We see footage of practices with Jordan talking shit to his teammates and trying to keep them focused, footage of the All-Star Game that year with the players discussing Kobe’s ball hog mentality, Reggie Miller and MJ talking at a press conference in the middle of their ECF series, Karl Malone getting on the team bus to congratulate Michael after their last NBA Finals matchup, and another favorite moment involving Jordan talking shit to Larry Bird once they beat the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals in a grueling seven game series. So even though the information wasn’t new to me in terms of what happened before and after this team, I was still highly entertained seeing these real-life athletes and stars interact as the cameras followed them around. It really felt like something we weren’t supposed to see and that feeling made The Last Dance feel special on a whole different level. It’s also inspiring. Seeing Jordan fail early on in his playoff games against the Celtics and the Pistons and buying into a system that he wasn’t a fan of because it took the ball out of his hands more often than he would like (the famous Triangle Offense) and taking on an unproven coach to win three straight titles twice is the stuff of legends.

The most frustrating thing to revisit as a Bulls fan is that of GM Jerry Krause being the reason this team fell apart. You can say anything you want to defend this man, but MJ was right. As I mentioned in the summary, they should’ve gotten the chance to defend their title at least one more time. They weren’t beaten before this team was dismantled. How can someone in charge be that much of an egocentric prick to say to Phil Jackson that no matter what happens in the ’98 season, this is your last year coaching. Krause told Jackson he can go “82-0”, and he’d STILL be let go at season’s end! Krause should’ve been fired on the spot for saying something this outrageous. I don’t care if Krause and Jackson had problems with each other personally, if you had this much success (six titles in eight years), you need to roll with it for the sake of the franchise, considering that’s the whole point of Krause’s job. I agree with Jordan in that I personally can’t get over the mishandling of the 1998 offseason and the question of, “What could’ve been?”.

With that being said, you’ll really love this documentary and getting to know everyone personally, especially Jordan. Hearing his motivations going into games, his killer instinct, and win-at-all-costs mentality is so admirable. Even though he was a known asshole, you have to understand the sacrifices you have to make in pursuit of the ultimate goal. Some are built for the moment, and some aren’t. Jordan was “The Man” for a reason and to be this type of person, you may have to piss some people off to get there. It’s incredible watching his evolution as a leader because of it. He starts off as the ultra-talented rookie just trying to get acclimated in the league, despite already having extreme confidence in himself and a drive to win. However, he doesn’t truly start winning until he changes his tone into that of the ultimate alpha male or lion willing to pounce on his prey, whether that be on his opponents or his weak-minded teammates who weren’t as dedicated as he was. Those willing to match his energy won titles with him and those who didn’t were pushed to the side.

If you’re not an athlete or motivated person, his personality may turn you off, but for those that have experienced similar situations in life, this is the type of content that can inspire a movement or your mentality in life. This is what The Last Dance reminds us of, especially hearing Jordan remind us of how many times he took something personally as drive to overcome his doubters. If you want to be the best in whatever you do, this is the mindset you need to have.

“Be Like Mike”.

You don’t become a worldwide phenomenon because you’re an All-Star. You become a worldwide phenomenon because you’re the best.

In addition, the soundtrack was the chef’s kiss. Every song chosen represented the moment to perfection and was also a flat-out banger. Every time a song was played over a montage of highlights, I was hyped the entire time. When you add the amazing camera angles following MJ out onto the court like in the exhibition game in France, as we hear the roar of the crowd, or Jordan trying to find his way through a sea of fans on numerous occasions as he tries to get somewhere, you are placed directly in the passenger’s seat of this title-winning team. It’s exactly what us fans wanted out of this documentary.

We hang onto every soundbite from MJ like we’re watching history before our very eyes. It’s that special.

After the last NBA Championship is won, Jordan hangs out with friends and media people in his hotel room, and you feel like you’ve been through this rollercoaster ride with him. You feel the exhaustion. They put us through the ringer in this ten-episode series, but it all led to that moment. It was all worth it. I may know a lot about MJ and the Bulls already but even so, The Last Dance is a must-see for those that have even the slightest of interest.