Here are five key points from episodes 7 and 8 of “The Last Dance,” the documentary series that focuses on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ championship season of 1997-98:
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1. So that’s why he was a jerk
Rather than simply a scoop, this delved deeper into the mindset and driving force behind Jordan. His strict treatment of his Bulls teammates, tougher than most Marine drill instructors with new recruits, was primarily for his benefit. He desired to ensure that his fellow players, the Jordanaires, were capable of securing championships.
However, it was also for them. We witnessed an unimaginable level of “tough love” in Jordan’s expectations, taunts, and confrontations with his fellow Chicago teammates.
Finally, we got Jordan pulling back the curtain on it.
“Winning comes with a cost,” Jordan stated in his recent discussions with the documentary crew. “Leadership also carries a cost.”
“Once you became a part of the team, you had to live up to the standard I set through my gameplay. I wasn’t going to accept anything less.”
Bill Wennington, a center who became a part of the Bulls during Jordan’s first retirement, received a straightforward welcome when Jordan came back. According to Wennington, Jordan told him, “I want you to ride my coattails. But you have to hold on tight.”
If that involved physically assaulting teammates like Will Perdue and Steve Kerr, verbally tormenting Scott Burrell, or bringing Dennis Hopson to tears (an incident from 1990-91 that isn’t covered in the documentary), then so be it.
“B.J. Armstrong stated, “His mentality wouldn’t allow him to be a nice guy.”
Adam Carolla, a renowned podcast king, often mentions Jordan – emphasizing that Jordan didn’t just want you to do your best, he wanted you to match his best. He was quite clear that he never demanded anything from a teammate that he himself didn’t do.
He got very emotional too.
“Winning was my goal, but I also wanted them to share in that victory,” said Jordan, his voice becoming heavy. “If you’re not interested in playing that style, then don’t play that way.”
He paused at that point and said, “Break”, essentially calling his own “cut” to the scene.
2. James Jordan never left his side
We were destined to revisit the summer of 1993, which was marred by the random roadside murder of Michael Jordan’s father, James, on a Carolina highway. However, Episode 7 clarified that Michael’s retirement wasn’t a direct result of this tragic event. In fact, he had been considering ending his career after winning the ’93 championship, possibly even as early as fall 1992.
His venture into baseball was primarily inspired by his father.
Michael's No. 1 fan from the beginning.#TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/nW4YeC1p7Y
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) May 11, 2020
Before his basketball career skyrocketed, Jordan had a passion for baseball. He had observed accomplished athletes like Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders successfully juggle two-sport careers. However, it was his family’s support for baseball and his father’s advice to pursue what brings him joy that led him to enter the world of professional baseball, despite skepticism. He went to Birmingham, Alabama, to play for the Class AA Barons in the Chicago White Sox system.
At his 1993 retirement press conference, which occurred 10 weeks after his father was tragically murdered, Jordan made two comments that had a significant impact. The first one was, “The word ‘retire’ means you can do anything you want.” And the second one, “He saw my last basketball game.”
The documentary, which fluctuated between different time periods, portrayed James Jordan as a constant figure by his son’s side, comparable to Scottie Pippen, right up to the 6th game of the 1996 Finals against Seattle. Those who reported on the championship series, during which Chicago initially held a 3-0 lead but then lost Games 4 and 5, prompting a return to United Center, retrospectively contemplated if there was some unseen force crafting a narrative: The deciding match took place on Father’s Day, with Jordan and the Bulls securing their first championship without Michael’s father present.
We’ve witnessed NBA stars shedding tears and expressing emotions when they achieve championship victory. However, Jordan’s reaction was a different level of authenticity. He was on the trainer’s room floor, crying as he clung to the basketball and attempted to avoid the cameras rather than pandering to them.
3. Pippen’s star turn, minus 1.8 seconds
At the time Jordan was working in Minneapolis, his first retirement was immediately marked with cruel irony. The Timberwolves, who had been amusingly poor during their initial four years, were finally about to step up. They were set to host the 1994 NBA All-Star Game in February, a major milestone for the team.
And now, it was getting an All-Star Game without Michael Jordan, gulp.
Of course, that was a narrow-minded perspective. Consider the shock of Bulls fans as the best player of the game retired at his peak. Both groups were pleasantly taken aback.
Pippen experienced the pinnacle of his career in a season where he guided Chicago to an unexpected 55-27 season, especially surprising considering they had just lost Michael Jordan right before training camp started. He ended up third in the MVP voting, trailing behind Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson. He also delighted basketball fans in the Twin Cities by filling Jordan’s shoes as the top star, winning the All-Star MVP trophy.
Pippen was not the same as Jordan, both in terms of player style and personality. This resonated well with his teammates. However, given our fixation on Jordan’s aggressive, demanding, and relentless approach towards his peers, some of the Bulls were perceived as somewhat soft for embracing this change.
The entire dynamic of the team dramatically changed within 1.8 seconds when Pippen decided not to participate at the end of Game 3 of the East semifinals series against New York. Coach Phil Jackson had designed the final play for Toni Kukoc to take the last shot, and Pippen, who wasn’t even on the court to serve as a distraction, was assigned to inbound the ball. Pippen was arguably the team’s best passer.
After years of playing second fiddle to Jordan and eventually moving up in hierarchy, Pippen felt he was back in a subordinate role to rookie Kukoc. Kukoc, the European discovery of General Manager Jerry Krause, was already a source of annoyance to Pippen.
His reasons might seem correct now, but he was completely mistaken. It was intriguing to watch both the footage from ’94 and the retrospective views from various Bulls players about the conduct of grown men following a betrayal by a teammate. This happened after Kukoc had managed to keep the Knicks at bay by scoring a buzzer beater.
“It was devastating, he quit on us,” said Steve Kerr.
Bill Cartwright, the center, was so upset that he cried when he confronted Pippen in the locker room.
Pippen immediately offered an apology which Kerr stated was accepted by the team. Despite the Bulls being eliminated, Pippen displayed ferocious performance in the series’ final three games.
Pippen’s legacy is firmly established. He is a member of the Hall of Fame, was recognized as one of the Top 50 players in NBA history in 1997, with another seven seasons still ahead of him, and is generally regarded as the most significant second-in-command in NBA team history.
Even today, you can find replica jerseys in Chicago that, instead of his usual number 33, bear the inscription “Pippen 1.8.”
4. Comparing Jordan’s ‘bodies’ of work
The NBA’s top player took a break to play minor league baseball for a season, and may have continued if not for the prolonged labor dispute in the sport that extended into spring of 1995.
Seeing Jordan swing his bat at curveballs rather than sticking out his tongue during dunks was a change. However, he seemed just like his usual self, reflecting on that diversion and reviewing the footage on Sunday.
However, he wasn’t. He had exchanged his exceptional basketball physique for one more appropriate for baseball. Was there much discussion about this at the time?
Back then, it appeared that the brief period of the season and postseason from March 1995 until the Bulls’ loss to Orlando was mainly memorable for some remarkable performances by Jordan during his comeback. This included the short time he wore the number 45, instead of his well-known 23, on his Bulls jersey. However, it turns out that Jordan wasn’t simply out of practice or too new, unexpectedly joining the reformed Chicago team as he did.
Jordan had trained to become a baseball player instead of a basketball player. However, he had to physically revert back to his original state.
Good Guys Wear Black (& Red) #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/gi6LnaJL3W
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 11, 2020
“Reflecting on it, I didn’t have ample time to recondition my body for basketball,” said Jordan.
No disrespect intended, perhaps, to young Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway or former Bull Horace Grant, but convincing Jordan to say that might be a challenge.
Tim Grover, Jordan’s personal trainer, and Chip Schaefer of the Bulls supported this explanation. The reflexes, strength, and agility required for one sport varied greatly from the other. It may have been less noticeable than, for instance, transforming Yankees’ heavyweight Aaron Judge, who stands at 6-foot-7 and weighs 280 pounds, into a competent NBA power forward. However, the difference was tangible.
This section of the document depicted Jordan’s involvement in “Space Jam” during the summer of 1995, highlighting his determination to regain his form. The movie studio was instructed to build the “Jordan Dome” on its premises, a fully-equipped court and gym where he spent two hours each day working out. In the evenings, he headed high-level pickup games with NBA talents, simultaneously sharpening his skills and assessing theirs.
5. Don’t look, talk or even breathe at Jordan
If you desire to stand a chance against him, don’t do it. On Sunday, Jordan’s tendency to turn perceived slights — whether actually present or just imagined — into intense motivation was fully showcased.
In sports, we often hear that players and teams may be capable of tapping into their hidden talents at the right moments and occasionally prolonging their peak performance zone during intense focus. However, they are not expected to instantly elevate their performance like flipping a switch or hitting the nitrous oxide in a drag race.
Apparently, Jordan was an exception. Not only did he transform immediate resentments into outstanding performances, but he also discovered ways to create them. This was when he would become Bruce Banner, shifting into full Hulk mode.
The LaBradford Smith story was early legend. That’s when Jordan got so incensed by the Washington guard’s big scoring night against him in Chicago that he torched Smith the very next night of a back-to-back. But the kicker was Smith’s alleged remark (“Nice game, Mike”) after the first game never happened. Somehow, Jordan convinced himself that it had and got his revenge.
On Sunday, we saw plenty of the kind of incidents that caused a rift between Isiah Thomas and Jordan. One example was Nick Anderson’s postgame comment following the Magic’s victory in Game 1 of their ’95 playoff series, when he stated, “45 isn’t 23.”
Seattle coach George Karl’s restaurant mishap, where he was in a lose-lose situation whether he decided to stop by Jordan’s table to pay respects or not, had no impact on Jordan, regardless of their mutual Carolina connections.
“That’s everything I required,” he stated. “It turned into something personal for me.”
Lastly, we revisit Jordan’s earlier response in the series to a comment made by Thomas, as he watches a video on a tablet given to him. This time, it’s Gary Payton expressing how the ’96 Finals could have had a different outcome if Karl had assigned him to defend Jordan prior to Game 4.
Gary Payton thought he found a way to get to MJ … Mike wasn't sweating the Glove #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/Z8NG7qN5hW
— ESPN (@espn) May 11, 2020
“Continuously striking and assaulting him impacted Mike significantly,” Payton said. “That’s when the series took a turn.”
The highlight of the situation wasn’t Jordan’s cackling, but rather his patronizing pronunciation of Payton’s nickname, “The Glove”, as he returned the tablet.
However, the cackling was also quite good.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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