In 1991, the Chicago Bulls were crowned victorious with Michael Jordan as their king. By 1998, the Bulls became legends, and Jordan became a basketball messiah. If anyone is curious to know what went on years before, after, and everything in between, then look no further than Netflix or Espn. The Last Dance is currently streaming worldwide, providing two new episodes each week encompassing an epic culmination of how Michael Jordan led the Bulls to two separate ‘three-peats’ along with how the story ended, and everything that led up to moments of their success.
This series has given the world an opportunity to see a far different side to Michael Jordan than they’re used to seeing. To mainstream audiences around the globe, Jordan was an almost unstoppable force of nature on the basketball court, using every tool and skill afforded to him at his disposal in order to dominate and beat his opponents in epic fashion. The Last Dance not only displays that side of Jordan, and explains in depth why he is/was that way, but also offers the audience the chance to see Jordan as something no one ever believed he was: human. Yes, like us, Jordan has a family, had an upbringing, trials and tribulations, good times, bad times, and his own decisions to make for the betterment of his life. This may be a lot for some viewers to take in because Michael Jordan has transcended sports in a way that most people, or even most celebrities in their field could never have even dreamed of doing.
Jordan is far from alone in telling this story. In The Last Dance, everyone offers their insight. A variety of different people made it into this documentary to either share their opinion, or first-hand experience. Those include legendary coach Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Justin Timberlake, and even Barrack Obama and Bill Clinton just to name a few. Jordan is also not the only topic of discussion concerning the Bulls, because MJ is not the only part of the story. Some of the most notable Bulls stars of the 1990’s weigh in with their corroboration or separate sides of the stories including Scottie Pippin, Dennis Rodman, Tony Kucoc’, and Steve Kurr. All offer their insight as to what was going on behind closed doors, at practices, before and after games, and in their personal encounters with Michael Jordan as well as with each other.
The Last Dance will show that he expected any and all of his teammates to adhere to it.
It is a story for the ages as all of what society thinks they know is stripped bare to set the record straight on multiple topics of conversation during the time of the Bulls reign. Nothing is off limits in The Last Dance. Everything from personal vendettas to team and front office politics is brought to the table. Fans of the franchise can expect many a question answered regarding team GM Jerry Kraus and his relationship with Phil Jackson, and also that of how the players felt about both of them personally. Most importantly, all who are curious will get a chance at seeing Michael Jordan address personal issues and things that bothered him during his time as a champion.
‘Winning at all costs’ was Jordan’s mantra. He lived by it. The Last Dance will show that he expected any and all of his teammates to adhere to it. Whether or not they did it to the full extent he did remains up for interpretation, but one thing is clear: There is many a former player who made it into the NBA Hall of Fame that did so without a championship ring because Michael Jordan made that so. Don’t miss the chance to see how it all came to fruition.
