Taking a trip back down memory lane. Michael Jordan was larger than life, especially back in the 1990s, but this documentary goes to great lengths to show that it isn’t easy being him. People followed him everywhere, he was viewed as a saintly role model, but every now and then, we’re reminded that as great as he is, he is still human, and every human has positive traits and flaws alike.
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| Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant went head-to-head in the 1998 NBA All-Star Game. (Photo: HENNY RAY ABRAMS/AFP via Getty Images) |
We start off by taking a look back at the 1998 All-Star game, as Michael Jordan plays in his final All-Star game as a Bull against a young Kobe Bryant. It was nice to watch Kobe tell stories of Jordan providing guidance to him, and seeing them play one-on-one against each other in that game, as we were given a look at the two greats go head-to-head, with Kobe being the future of basketball after the Jordan era. Kobe played well and had some good moments, but Jordan played really well, and he ended up taking home All-Star MVP honors as he was the best player in the game.
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| Michael Jordan wore his Air Jordan 1s in 1984 and 1998. (Photo: Sneaker News, via John Kim's article at sneakernews.com.) |
Later, we see Michael Jordan play at Madison Square Garden in his final regular season game in 1998 against the Knicks as a member of the Chicago Bulls, and he decided to wear his vintage, Air Jordan 1 “Chicago” shoes that he debuted in 1984. Jordan played tremendously, and he put forth another legendary game. The shoes certainly looked cool, and it was an homage to the shoes he wore as a rookie, but it also left his feet bleeding. Wearing 14-year old shoes is an insane idea, especially when the time period was the 1990s, as shoes don’t exactly have a long shelf life the moment you put them on.
We are then treated to the 1992 season, where the Chicago Bulls begin their quest to defend their title, and they dismantle their opponents easily. They make quick work out of their opponents as they win 67 games in the regular season.
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| The 1992 Bulls-Knicks' playoff series was fun and intense, and a sign of things to come in 1993. (Photo: Modern Notoriety, via Oscar Castillo's Article at Modern Notoriety.) |
The documentary breezed through the 1992 series against the New York Knicks, which was actually a harder series than viewers were led on, as the Bulls won that one in 7 games. We did get treated to some nice Michael Jordan highlights, including one where he scored on Xavier McDaniels and proceeded to give it to him verbally.
After dispatching the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals, they then faced the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1992 NBA Finals.
Much was made in the press about the supposed Michael Jordan-Clyde Drexler rivalry. In the first game though, we learn that Drexler was no match for Jordan. The Blazers were unprepared for his onslaught of points, as Jordan made 6 threes in the first half, and dropped the famous shrug after he made the 6th three towards the scorer’s table as he waltzed back past Cliff Robinson in the process. The Bulls handled the Blazers, and won in 6 games, as they won their 2ndNBA championship.
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| Ah yes, the famous Michael Jordan Shrug Game, as he made 6 threes in the 1st half of Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals. (Photo via Giphy.) |
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen then were able to go to the 1992 Olympics to play for the Dream Team, and it was fun watching them hang out, and we saw the famous scrimmage game where Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan went head-to-head in practice. Magic’s team was up, and then Jordan put on a barrage of points to win the scrimmage.
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| Future Chicago Bulls' teammates, Toni Kukoc and Scottie Pippen played against each other in the 1992 Olympics. (Photo by Richard Mackson /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) |
Later on, we’re introduced to Jordan’s future teammate, and Chicago Bulls’ forward, Toni Kukoc from Croatia. He’s a 6-10 versatile point forward who had a lot of the same skills that Scottie Pippen had, except he was younger, fawned over by executive Jerry Krause, but he had zero NBA experience, and wasn’t nearly the defender that Pippen was. Kukoc was a good player back in 1992, but he had no idea what was in store for him when he first was going up against both Jordan and Pippen. As we learned from the Dream Team documentary, his first game against them was brutal, but it's good to hear from Kukoc's point of view this time around.
First game, Jordan and Pippen took turns to defend Kukoc, and it turned out to be an embarrassing game for Kukoc, as he struggled mightily in the first half, and scored just 4 points in his team’s blowout loss to the Dream Team. Jordan and Pippen were gunnin’ for him, not because of him specifically, but more because he was the new player that Krause was gushing over while the Chicago Bulls were winning championships.
In the Gold Medal game, Toni Kukoc played well, and he showed a resiliency by not folding and by playing his game. He bounced back by scoring 16 points, and he showed off passing wizardry, as he showed off his strong playmaking skills that especially dazzled in transition. Of course, the Dream Team easily won the match, as the U.S. squad was stacked and loaded with superstars and all-time greats, and USA went on to get the gold, but it was clear that after the gold medal game, Kukoc could certainly be a solid player in the NBA. (And he did end up being a solid NBA player for the Chicago Bulls. His versatility, strong playmaking skills, and ability to create mismatches in his team’s favor definitely helped the Bulls, and he really strengthened the Bulls’ second unit by giving Chicago another dynamic playmaker that they can count on.)
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| Chicago Bulls' legendary superstar guard, Michael Jordan, and 44th president of the United States Barack Obama were both featured in The Last Dance. (Photo: EPA/SHAWN THEW/CP Images, via ET Canada.) |
Also, somewhere in the episodes, the 44thpresident of the United States, Barack Obama talks to the documentary, and commentates on Michael Jordan. Growing up as a Chicago Bulls’ fan, there really wasn’t anything shocking in these episodes, as Jordan’s ultra-competitiveness, and his love of golf, cigars, and gambling isn’t exactly new information. Perhaps the most controversial aspect was disclosing Jordan’s political stance, or seeming lack thereof in the public eye. As where Muhammad Ali and LeBron James are/were not only great athletes but are/were also social activists, Jordan seemed to be unconcerned with politics, but almost solely occupied on staying dominant at basketball. (Side note: How many cigars did Michael Jordan smoke a day??? To be THAT athletic and smoke cigars as just beyond me, as cigars are not healthy at all.)
(2nd side note: The Chicago Bulls did have a player that was a political activist in the 1990s, but he hasn't been featured in any of these episodes, which would be sharpshooter, and 3-time Three-Point Contest champion, Craig Hodges, who famously wore a dashiki when the 1991 Bulls greeted George Bush at the White House, and confronted the then-president about social issues. Unfortunately for Hodges, he played only one more year after that as the Bulls did not re-sign him after the 1992 season, and he did not end up playing in the NBA again after that. Hodges also appears to have been mostly omitted from this documentary, despite having contributed to the 1991 and 1992 NBA championship teams for the Bulls. A separate documentary on Hodges' NBA playing career and political activism would have been quite interesting. It is also potentially worth noting that Hodges later criticized MJ for various comments in the Last Dance episodes, as it seems to be implied that MJ and Hodges seem to have a particularly frosty relationship with each other, or so it seems stemming from Hodges' comments in which he aired many grievances about how MJ conducted himself in the documentary.)
(2nd side note: The Chicago Bulls did have a player that was a political activist in the 1990s, but he hasn't been featured in any of these episodes, which would be sharpshooter, and 3-time Three-Point Contest champion, Craig Hodges, who famously wore a dashiki when the 1991 Bulls greeted George Bush at the White House, and confronted the then-president about social issues. Unfortunately for Hodges, he played only one more year after that as the Bulls did not re-sign him after the 1992 season, and he did not end up playing in the NBA again after that. Hodges also appears to have been mostly omitted from this documentary, despite having contributed to the 1991 and 1992 NBA championship teams for the Bulls. A separate documentary on Hodges' NBA playing career and political activism would have been quite interesting. It is also potentially worth noting that Hodges later criticized MJ for various comments in the Last Dance episodes, as it seems to be implied that MJ and Hodges seem to have a particularly frosty relationship with each other, or so it seems stemming from Hodges' comments in which he aired many grievances about how MJ conducted himself in the documentary.)
To me, Jordan never has really been a political activist, and when asked, he has been quoted as having said, “Republicans buy sneakers, too.” What’s good for Jordan financially may have missed the mark socially. He had an opportunity to endorse democrat, Harvey Gantt for senate, but opted not to but said he gave a donation instead, but Gantt ended up losing to Jesse Helms in the 1990 senate race. I never really thought about Michael Jordan as a political activist, so maybe him taking a stance was a missed opportunity, but I’ve always thought of Jordan as a tremendous and legendary basketball player.
In Episode 6, the main focus was on the 1993 season, while they also spent some time covering the 1998 regular season in the later months. The critical aspect was Michael Jordan’s extreme competitiveness, but also how the spotlight was never really off of him.
The 1993 season started off similar to the 1992 season, as they were on a quest for a three-peat, but suddenly we get sidetracked because of Sam Smith’s book, “The Jordan Rules.” Here, the public is made aware of Jordan’s tough, aggressive, and at times potentially vociferous leadership and management style, as the book claimed that he rubbed some of his teammates the wrong way as a result.
Another revelation back then that was that he was a lover of gambling, and so another focus was whether or not if he had a gambling addiction problem. Jordan made it clear that he didn’t have an addiction problem, but rather is very competitive. In one aspect, he challenges the United Center security guys to a game of quarters after seeing them play, and he places bets due to his intense competitiveness. To some, his extreme competitiveness may be a bit off-putting, but it also can be sort of endearing, in a way. It depends on how you look at it. Of course, the public ended up being doused with claims of Jordan’s supposed gambling problem, as that took a bit too much of the spotlight.
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| The United Center's security staff member, John Michael Wozniak did the shrug of his own, after beating Michael Jordan in a game of quarters. (Photo: 12Up, via Mark Powell's article at 12up.com.) |
The documentary people interviewed David Aldridge and Charles Barkley, and they gave great bits of information on the 1993 Chicago Bulls’ season. Sue Bird also was interviewed later on, where she talked about the famous (or infamous) John Starks’ dunk in the 1993 playoffs, as people have held debates on whether or not if he actually dunked on Michael Jordan.
The most intense rivalry of my day was watching the Chicago Bulls-New York Knicks games, and that was a prime focus of the 1993 playoffs. As a Bulls' fan growing up, I did not like the Knicks one bit. I did not like how they played, I thought they played dirty, and I didn’t think there was much of a place for extreme physicality in basketball. But the Knicks did play very good defense, as their extreme hard fouling and intimidation tactics were factors in defeating their opponents. They were also led by Hall of Fame coach, Pat Riley, and superstar center, Patrick Ewing. Make no mistake, the Knicks’ teams were very tough though, and they placed a great deal of emphasis on defense and by turning games into an absolute grind to get wins.
The 1993 Bulls dropped the first two games on the road against the Knicks, and there was some worry and doubt, as bad memories from their early days against the Bad Boy Pistons had seemed to sprung about again. Suddenly, the media focus ended up being on Michael Jordan’s Atlantic City trip with his dad, and if he had a gambling addiction problem, on top of whether or not if the 1993 Bulls had it in them to come from behind to win the series. The Bulls certainly had enough fuel, and they went on to win four straight, including a tough, hard-fought Game 5 where they stuffed and stripped, and ultimately stopped Charles Smith from scoring to win that one on the road. So essentially, the Bulls win in 6.
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| Michael Jordan (pictured right) and Charles Barkley (pictured left) went head-to-head in the 1993 NBA Finals. (Photo: John Swart/Associated Press, via Business Insider.) |
Later on, they squared off against the Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals against regular season MVP Charles Barkley. Again, as a Bulls’ fan growing up, I thought Michael Jordan should’ve been the MVP, but the media weirdly voted for him, and then Karl Malone for the MVP years later. But individual awards don’t really matter that much in this documentary, anyways.
The Chicago Bulls win the first two games on the road, and it appears that they have a clear, easy path to win the title. Game 3 comes along, and it is a marathon that goes into double OT. I remember it as the game that went on very long, and then Charles Barkley dominated in double OT, where he then intercepts a terrible Stacey King pass to score, and the Suns steal Game 3 on the road. You the viewer must be thinking, “I know where this is headed, first team that wins a home game wins the series, right?”
Yep, pretty much. The Chicago Bulls win at home in Game 4 handily. But suddenly, the fans start pre-maturely celebrating before Game 5, and the Bulls get wrecked and drop another one to the Suns. The Bulls are up 3-2, but have to go on the road to win the series. Also, another interesting note, as a kid, I remember watching a young Richard Dumas play, and he seemed to play his best basketball in Chicago. He played really well in this series, specially at the United Center, and I remember thinking that he was like a young Shawn Marion (except I didn’t know who Marion was back then, because it was 1993), as I remember thinking Dumas to be a young star on the rise. Unfortunately for Dumas, he didn’t have many good years left in the NBA, as it later turned out that he had a substance abuse problem.
Yep, pretty much. The Chicago Bulls win at home in Game 4 handily. But suddenly, the fans start pre-maturely celebrating before Game 5, and the Bulls get wrecked and drop another one to the Suns. The Bulls are up 3-2, but have to go on the road to win the series. Also, another interesting note, as a kid, I remember watching a young Richard Dumas play, and he seemed to play his best basketball in Chicago. He played really well in this series, specially at the United Center, and I remember thinking that he was like a young Shawn Marion (except I didn’t know who Marion was back then, because it was 1993), as I remember thinking Dumas to be a young star on the rise. Unfortunately for Dumas, he didn’t have many good years left in the NBA, as it later turned out that he had a substance abuse problem.
Fast forward back to 1998, it’s close to the end of the regular season, and the Bulls get their 60thwin over the Horace Grant-led Orlando Magic. Michael Jordan gets Phil’s blessing to go celebrate and have the squad take the practice off with him, and they go out golfing and have a good time at that.
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| John Paxson's best moment of his NBA career, he made the game and series-winning shot in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. (Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images, via Bright Side of the Sun.) |
The Bulls get to celebrate once again, but this time, the mood seems different than how it was in 1992. The feeling is strangely more somber and the feeling seems to be more relief than joy from Jordan and the Bulls. The 1993 season was very fun to watch as a viewer, as the Bulls and Knicks had an intense rivalry, and the top Bulls-Suns games went down to the wire. That season was a fun time, and it’s a good point to close the chapter. It’s after the 1993 season where tragedy strikes though, as Michael Jordan loses his dad to an untimely death, and Jordan ends up retiring for the first time while deciding to give baseball a try.
Anyways, that’s my sort of recap and some of my thoughts on Episodes 5 and 6. I didn’t really know how to parse this stuff out, as there was a lot of stuff to unpack, so I decided to just write what I thought about when watching these episodes. Thanks, and feel free to follow me on Twitter @AlanLuSTL.
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