Here are five key points from episodes 7 and 8 of “The Last Dance,” a documentary series focusing on Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 championship season of the Chicago Bulls:
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1. So that’s why he was a jerk
This wasn’t so much an exclusive story but rather an in-depth exploration into Jordan’s psychological drive and ambition. His tough approach towards his Bulls teammates, even more than typical Marine drill instructors with new recruits, was primarily for his own benefit. He needed assurance that his fellow players, the Jordanaires, were capable of winning championships.
However, it was also intended for them. We witnessed some of the most intense forms of “tough love” imaginable in Jordan’s expectations, ridicule, and confrontations with his Chicago teammates.
Finally, we have Jordan pulling back the curtain on it.
“Victory comes with a cost,” stated Jordan in his recent interactions with the documentary team. “So does leadership.”
“Once you become part of the team, you had to live up to a certain standard that I set while playing the game. I wouldn’t accept anything less than that.”
Bill Wennington, a center who had joined the Bulls during Jordan’s first retirement, received a straightforward greeting upon the boss’s return. Wennington shared that Jordan told him, “I want you to jump on the cape. But you have to hold on.”
If it required physically confronting teammates like Will Perdue and Steve Kerr, verbally tormenting Scott Burrell, or even reducing Dennis Hopson to tears (an incident from 1990-91, not featured in the documentary), then so be it.
“B.J. Armstrong said, “With his mentality, he couldn’t be a nice guy.”
As podcast king Adam Carolla often points out, Jordan’s approach was not about you doing your best, but about you achieving his level of excellence. He was very clear in stating that he never asked a teammate to do something that he himself did not do.
He got very emotional too.
“Winning was my desire but I also wanted them to share in the victory,” Jordan expressed, his voice becoming husky. “If you’re not interested in playing like that, then don’t.”
He paused at that moment and said, “Break,” effectively calling his own “cut” to the scene.
2. James Jordan never left his side
We were bound to revisit the summer of 1993, when Michael Jordan’s father, James, was brutally murdered in an unexpected roadside attack on a Carolina highway. However, what Episode 7 revealed was that Michael’s decision to retire was not a direct result of his father’s heartbreaking demise. Rather, he had been contemplating retirement since the 1993 championship, or maybe even back in the autumn of 1992.
His venture into baseball was largely inspired by his father.
Michael's No. 1 fan from the beginning.#TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/nW4YeC1p7Y
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) May 11, 2020
Jordan’s passion for baseball preceded his skyrocketing basketball career. He had observed top-tier athletes like Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders effectively juggle two sports. However, it was his family’s support of baseball and his father’s advice to pursue what brought him joy that led him to a doubtful sports world in Birmingham, Ala., where he joined the Class AA Barons in the Chicago White Sox system.
At his 1993 retirement news conference, held 10 weeks after the murder of his father, Jordan made two comments that struck a chord. He stated, “The word ‘retire’ means you can do anything you want” and “He saw my last basketball game.”
As the documentary shifted back and forth through time, James Jordan’s presence remained a constant at his son’s side, rivaling the significance of Scottie Pippen. This was evident up until Game 6 of the 1996 Finals against Seattle. As journalists covering this championship series, we watched Chicago take an initial 3-0 lead, only to lose Games 4 and 5, forcing a return to the United Center. Looking back, it seemed as if some unseen force was crafting a poetic narrative: the decisive game took place on Father’s Day, marking the first time Jordan and the Bulls won a championship without Michael’s father in attendance.
We’ve witnessed NBA stars shedding tears and expressing emotions when they grasp the reality of their championship victory. But seeing Jordan on the floor of the trainer’s room, weeping as he clung to the basketball and attempting to avoid the cameras rather than performing for them, was an entirely new degree of authenticity.
3. Pippen’s star turn, minus 1.8 seconds
At the time when Jordan made his first retirement, he was working in Minneapolis. The cruel irony was instantly apparent: The Timberwolves, a team that had been amusing but mainly terrible for their first four years, were finally stepping up to the plate by hosting the 1994 NBA All-Star Game in February.
And now, it was getting an All-Star Game, devoid of Michael Jordan.
Of course, that perspective was quite narrow-minded. Try to envision the feelings of Bulls fans when the greatest player in the game decided to quit while he was still at his peak. Both fan bases were agreeably taken aback.
Pippen experienced the best individual season of his career, spearheading Chicago to an unexpected 55-27 season – this was no small feat considering they lost Michael Jordan just before training camp. He secured the third position in MVP voting, trailing behind Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson. Moreover, he catered to the Twin Cities basketball enthusiasts by filling Jordan’s shoes as the star player, even winning the All-Star MVP trophy.
Pippen was not the same as Jordan, in terms of both player style and personality. His approach resonated with his teammates. However, we’ve been so focused on Jordan’s aggressive, demanding, and obsessive method of motivating his teammates that some of those Bulls seemed somewhat (if we dare say) weak for appreciating the change.
The entire dynamics of the team shifted within a brief moment of 1.8 seconds when Pippen decided not to participate towards the end of Game 3 of the East semifinals series against New York. The play was designed by Coach Phil Jackson for Toni Kukoc to make the final shot. Surprisingly, Pippen, who was the team’s best passer, wasn’t even positioned on the court as a decoy. Instead, he was assigned to inbound the ball.
After years of being second to Jordan and eventually ascending in the hierarchy, Pippen perceived himself to have returned to a subordinate role to rookie Kukoc – a European discovery by GM Jerry Krause, who already annoyed Pippen.
Despite how correct his reasons may seem at present, he was completely mistaken. On Sunday night, it was intriguing to witness the footage from ’94 and the reflections from different Bulls players on how adult men reacted after feeling betrayed by a teammate. This took place after Kukoc successfully scored the buzzer beater, temporarily staving off the Knicks.
“Steve Kerr expressed, “He abandoned us. It was devastating.”
Bill Cartwright, the center, was so upset when he confronted Pippen in the locker room that he cried.
Pippen immediately apologized and Kerr confirmed that the team accepted his apology. Although the Bulls were eventually eliminated, he demonstrated ferocious performance in the final three games of the series.
Pippen’s legacy is firmly established. He has been inducted into the Hall of Fame, was recognized as one of the Top 50 players in NBA history in 1997 (even though he still had seven seasons left to play) and is widely regarded as the most significant second-in-command ever in an NBA team.
Even today, in Chicago, you can find replica jerseys that display “Pippen 1.8” instead of his usual number 33.
4. Comparing Jordan’s ‘bodies’ of work
The top player in the NBA took a detour to play minor league baseball for a season and potentially would have continued if it wasn’t for the lengthy labor dispute that extended into the spring of 1995 in that sport.
Jordan’s bat swinging at curveballs was a different sight compared to his typical tongue-wagging dunks. Nonetheless, he maintained his usual demeanor, revisiting that diversion and the accompanying footage on Sunday.
However, that wasn’t the case. He had swapped his world-class basketball physique for one more appropriate for baseball. Was this widely discussed at the time?
Back then, it appeared that the brief period from March 1995 to the Bulls’ defeat against Orlando was significant primarily due to Jordan’s impressive performances in his comeback. His temporary switch from his iconic 23 to 45 on his Bulls jersey also attracted attention. However, it turns out that Jordan’s return wasn’t simply about shaking off rust or acclimating to the revamped Chicago team.
Jordan had trained to become a baseball player instead of a basketball player. However, he had to undergo a physical transformation to revert back.
Good Guys Wear Black (& Red) #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/gi6LnaJL3W
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 11, 2020
“Reflecting on it, I didn’t have sufficient time to get my body back into basketball shape,” said Jordan.
With all due respect to the young Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway, or even the former Bull, Horace Grant, it might be a challenge to get Jordan to admit that.
Tim Grover, Jordan’s personal trainer, and Chip Schaefer of the Bulls endorsed this explanation. The reflexes, strength, and agility required for one sport were markedly different from the other. This distinction might not be as apparent as outfitting 6-foot-7, 280-pound Yankees hitter Aaron Judge with a body fit for an NBA power forward, but it certainly existed.
The doc highlighted Jordan’s commitment to his “Space Jam” role in the summer of 1995 and his determination to bounce back to his peak form. He requested the movie studio to build the “Jordan Dome,” a full court and gym on its lot, for his daily two-hour workouts. He further sharpened his skills in the evenings by leading high-level pickup games with NBA talents, simultaneously studying their game.
5. Don’t look, talk or even breathe at Jordan
If you intend to stand a chance at defeating him, you should think twice. Jordan’s habit of turning perceived or imagined insults into intense motivation was in full display on Sunday.
It is often said in sports that players and teams can occasionally delve deeper into their potential, showcasing their skills at the perfect moments, and sometimes, extend their zone of focus. However, what they’re supposedly incapable of doing is instantly enhancing their performance like activating nitrous oxide on a drag strip.
Apparently, Jordan is an exception. He transformed immediate resentments into amazing displays, and even found ways to create them. At that point, he was akin to Bruce Banner transforming into the Hulk.
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.
Sunday was full of the kind of incidents that caused friction between Isiah Thomas and Jordan. One such incident was Nick Anderson’s postgame comment following the Magic’s victory in Game 1 of their ’95 playoff series. He said, “45 isn’t 23.”
Seattle coach George Karl’s restaurant failure, trapped in a catch-22 situation, was not stopping by Jordan’s table to pay respects. Regardless of their Carolina roots, it was of no significance to Jordan.
“That’s everything I required,” he stated. “It then turned personal for me.”
Finally, there was a repeat of Jordan’s earlier reaction in the series to a comment by Thomas, as he watched a video on a tablet given to him. This time, it was Gary Payton expressing his belief that the ’96 Finals could have turned out differently if Karl had used 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, I was hitting and banging him. It took a toll on Mike,” Payton admitted. “After that, the series took a different turn.”
Ignore Jordan’s laughter. The main event was his condescending tone as he said Payton’s nickname, “The Glove,” while giving back the tablet.
However, the cackling was also quite impressive.
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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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