The Last Dance, ESPN Films, Jump 23, Mandalay Sports Media, NBA Entertainment

Sports Dynasty

ESPN Films original documentary The Last Dance drops ep3 and 4 tonight April 26, 2020.

#TheLastDanceis ESPN’s most-watched documentary.

rottentomatoes: 97%

metacritic: 92

imdb: 9.7



Michael Jordan, ESPN, ESPN Films, Jump 23, Mandalay Sports Media, NBA EntertainmentMichael Jordan, ESPN, ESPN Films, Jump 23, Mandalay Sports Media, NBA EntertainmentMichael Jordan

Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls push for their 6th NBA championship outside of 1997 Chicago, Illinois.


Michael Jordan, ESPN, ESPN Films, Jump 23, Mandalay Sports Media, NBA Entertainment“Thank you.  Thank you.  To all the fans in the city of Chicago, if you guys remember in 1984 when they drafted Michael Jordan, I said when I got here that we would be champions by the time I leave.  There they are.  This is what you’re looking for.  Well, we’re five times champions going for six, and we need your support.  Thank you very, very much.” — Michael Jordan

“I just want the franchise and Chicago Bills to be respected as a team, like the Lakers or the Philadelphia 76ers or the Boston Celtics.  And it’s very hard for something like that to happen, but it’s not impossible.  But hopefully I can, and this team and this organization can build a program like that.” — Michael Jordan

“My name is Michael Jordan.  I played with the Bulls from ’84 to ’98.  Took a 18-month vacation, hiatus, so I would say that’s 13 years that I played with the Bulls.  I just kept hearing this over and over again, and I was just getting irritated.  Like, we were winning.” — Michael Jordan

“We’re entitled to defend what we have until we lose it.  If we lose it, then you look at it, and you say, ‘okay, let’s change.  Let’s just go through a rebuilding.’  No one’s guaranteeing rebuilding’s gonna be two or three, four or five years.  Coach has been rebuilding for 42 years.  If you want to look at this from a business thing, have a sense of respect for the people who’ve laid the groundwork so that you could be a profitable organization.” — Michael Jordan

“We’ve just finished winning a fifth title.  It’s a lot of uncertainty.  Management started talking about, ‘the franchise is gonna change,’ or ‘we’re gonna rebuild.’  I thought it was unfair.  I would never let someone who’s not putting on a uniform and playing each and every day dictate what we do on the basketball court.” — Michael Jordan

“Um… we know the team is much bigger than 15 players.  Those guys who work in the front office, they were good people, but the most important part of the process is the players.  So for him to say that is offensive to the way that I approach the game.” — Michael Jordan

“So those are those pills you take to keep you short.  Or are those diet pills?  I said from day one, ‘if Phil’s not coaching, I’m not gonna be a part of rebuilding.’  Phil should be the head coach, and I shouldn’t be put in a position to have to make a choice to play for another coach other than Phil Jackson.  Sadly as it may be, I have choices, you know, and I will not choose to play for another coach.” — Michael Jordan

“Very little, but that’s okay.  I get by.  Uh, this — yeah.  Huh?  I thought it was keeper.  Getting out there in front of 60,000-some people, I was young, but I had no time to be nervous.  You had two great teams going against each other who were very well coached.  He was drawing up a play for James, and he says, you know, ‘when you get the ball, swing it back.  Swing it around.  Michael should have a shot.’  He looked at me, and he said, ‘if you get the shot, take the shot.’  He gave me the green light.  I caught it in total rhythm.  They had no clue that I was gonna take that shot.” — Michael Jordan

“It felt really good that I did something, you know, to help out the whole team and maybe win the game.  And I just felt very excited at the time.  That turned my name from Mike to Michael Jordan.  It gave me the confidence that I needed to start to excel at the game of basketball.  I’m just the freshman on the block, and I enjoyed my freshman year.  And I hope in the next three years that I’m here that we can win at least two or three more.” — Michael Jordan

“Right after junior year, I was planning on coming back to school.  Buzzard!  But Coach Smith recommended I go pro.  Well, to tell you the truth, I really just decided, I guess an hour and a half ago.  I didn’t know.  I was 50/50.  And I talked to Coach this morning, and, you know, he helped me, and my parents helped me.  And I felt that would be better for me to start now while I’m young.” — Michael Jordan

“Hopefully, I can go in and contribute and maybe turn it around.  You know, I’m looking forward to that.  I came from a program in college that was about team game.  You know, it was a clean program.  It prepared me to go into the Chicago situation, which was totally different.” — Michael Jordan

“I’d never heard that– uh, look.  Guys were doing things that I didn’t see.  At one event, preseason, I think we were in Peoria.  It’s in a hotel.  So I’m trying to find my teammates.  So I start knocking on doors.  I get to this one door, and I knock on the door, and I can hear someone says, ‘shh, shh, shh, shh.  Someone’s outside.’  And then you hear this deep voice say, ‘who is it?’  I say, ‘it’s M.J.’  And then they all say, ‘aw… he’s just a rookie.  Don’t worry about it.’  So they open up the door.  I walk in, and practically the whole team was in there.  And it was, like, things I’ve never seen in my life, you know, as a young kid.  You got all — you got your lines over here.  You got your weed smokers over here.  You got your women over here.  So, the first thing I said, ‘look, man.  You know, I’m out,’ you know? ‘Cause all I can think about, if they come and raid this place right about now, I am just as guilty as everybody else that’s in this room.  And from that point on, you know, I was more more or less on my own.” — Michael Jordan

“I enjoyed, you know, just hanging out, playing cards, watching movies.  You know, I wasn’t going to the clubs.  I don’t smoke.  I don’t do lines.  I didn’t drink at the time.  I was looking just to get some rest, get up, and go play.  When I first got to Chicago, I went in considering myself the lowest on the totem pole.  Whatever people had been saying about me, I still had to earn my stripes.  From the first day of practice, my mentality was, whoever’s the team lead on that team, I’m going after him.  And I’m not gonna do it with my voice because I had no voice.  I had no status.  I have to do it with the way that I play.  I felt like I earned my stripes in the third game.  Milkwaukee’s always been a nemesis for Chicago.  We were losing going into the 4th quarter.  Before, guys would get down on themselves, and they just kind of give up.  You know, ‘okay, we just chalk this up.  We look for the next game.’  And I’m saying, ‘well, the game’s not over with.’  And Kevin Loughery sensed that in me and he just started feeding me the ball, and I just started going.  We come back, and we win the game.  From that point on, everybody on that team felt like, ‘this young kid is not gonna let us lose.'” — Michael Jordan

“Well, I think it’s been pretty easy.  Don’t mess up.  Don’t mess up.  I like it.  It’s crazy this is France, you know?  How’s the wife?  You just getting in?  You were?  Cool.  Yeah, sure.  You guys not allowed sorry.  Nah, I’m just kidding.  Come on in.  Alright.” — Michael Jordan

“You got to set me up with a schedule for when I get back.  Get this s*** taken care of.  It don’t count.  It don’t count.  Good game.  Good game.  Alright.  Good game.  ♪ We can go home ♪.  Is that going to the Berto Center?  Phil keep it.  Don’t let Jerry get it.  For all you guys that have never won before, welcome to being a champion.  That was a good start.  That was a good start.” — Michael Jordan

“Even more so.  Put it in perspective as we work for #6.  Yeah, we just going to warm up right now.  Jerry, you want to do some layups with us?  They gotta lower the rim.” — Michael Jordan

“You guys remember in 1984 when they drafted Michael Jordan in the city of Chicago?  I said then that we’d be champions by the time I leave.  Well, we’re five time champion going for the six, and we need your support.  Thank you very, very much.” — Michael Jordan

“That season could be it, you know?  It could very well be, and we had to think that way.  Let’s get re-focused back in this game, let’s get out of the blocks quickly, and let’s do what we did last time.” — Michael Jordan


Phil Jackson, ESPN, ESPN Films, Jump 23, Mandalay Sports Media, NBA EntertainmentPhil Jackson

“We created an image that people wanted to be part of.  I think that’s all you can hope for.” — Phil Jackson

“I think Jerry was looking forward to having a clean slate and going out and, you know, rebuilding.  His relationship with me had become such a circus, there was no chance for reconciliation.” — Phil Jackson

“You know, things evolve.  People evolve.  They don’t stay stagnant and static in any position.  And, you know, more than anything else, coaches’ salaries went like this, and general managers’ salaries might have gone like this.  I’m not gonna speculate on that.” — Phil Jackson

“Jerry called me in his office and said, ‘this is going to be your last year.  I don’t care if you win 82 games in a row.  This is going to be your last year here.’  So I said, ‘fine,’ and I walked out of the room.  And that was the only words that were exchanged.” — Phil Jackson

“I’d like to thank you for coming along on this ride on this fabulous train.  No.  Tonight, Michael put on quite a show, and we’re proud to go home and continue on this quest for another championship in 1997-’98.  Thank you.” — Phil Jackson

“I talked to the players about particularly how important it was for us to really be together in this last run that we were going to have.  So I called it the Last Dance.”

“This is the last night we celebrate the championship of last year.  It’s going to be a nice celebration, and we’ll enjoy it.  But remember, what’s important tonight is winning this ball game.  We’ve got to start off with a win.  So get yourself back in tune to what we have to do, and take care of business tonight.  Okay?  Alright, guys.”


Scottie Pippen, ESPN, ESPN Films, Jump 23, Mandalay Sports Media, NBA Entertainment Scottie Pippen, ESPN, ESPN Films, Jump 23, Mandalay Sports Media, NBA Entertainment

Scottie Pippen

“Scottie Maurice Pippen, from Hamburg Arkansas.  We felt like we were the greatest team ever.” — Scottie Pippen

“So, you know, my mentality was, let’s put things aside, you know, from a business sense, and focus on our craft.  Let’s give them a reason not to think that way.” — Scottie Pippen

“Hey, Jerry.” — Scottie Pippen


Dennis Rodman, ESPN, ESPN Films, Jump 23, Mandalay Sports Media, NBA EntertainmentDennis Rodman

“Dennis Rodman.  What’s up?  I was shocked that the Chicago Bulls even asked me to come.  I think I was a little more eccentric for them.  Is it because I’m different?” — Dennis Rodman


Steve Kerr, ESPN, ESPN Films, Jump 23, Mandalay Sports Media, NBA EntertainmentSteve Kerr

“I guess what’s unique is that we’re, uh — you know, we’ve got Michael, and that –” — Steve Kerr

“Phil always looked for a theme for every season.  And given that it was the last year we were gonna be together — management had already made that decision — in typical Phil fashion, you know, he had a name for it.” — Steve Kerr


Jerry Reinsdorf, ESPN, ESPN Films, Jump 23, Mandalay Sports Media, NBA Entertainment

Majority Owner Jerry Reinsdorf

“After the fifth championship, which was ’96-’97, we were looking at this team, and we realized, other than Michael, the rest of the guys were probably at the end of their high productive years.  We had to decide whether we keep the team together or not.  And we realized maybe this was the time to do a rebuild and not try to win a sixth championship.” — Jerry Reinsdorf

“Jerry Krause was a scout for the White Sox.  He was there when I bought the White Sox in 1981.  And after I bought the Bulls, he came to see me, said he’d like to be the general manager of the Bulls.  If everybody’s ready, we can get started.  I asked around the league, and everybody I talked to said, ‘don’t touch the guy.’  Yeah, he had a way of alienating people.  But I wasn’t hiring somebody to win a personality contest.  I wanted somebody who truly believed in building a team the way I wanted to, and Krause was the guy.” — Jerry Reinsdorf

“Jerry Krause was one of the nicest, kindest, sweetest men I’ve ever known.  But sometimes, he would love people who really didn’t love him back and would disappoint me.  Well, he loved Phil in the beginning.  But then you, you know, they developed a tension between the two of them.  I recall that, and I think that was bad form on Jerry’s part.  I’m not sure it bothered Phil that much.  If somebody doesn’t invite me to a wedding, I’d like to thank them.  It was sad that there was such an acrimonious relationship, because Jerry Krause started Phil Jackson’s NBA coaching career.  Jerry Krause brought him to Chicago as an assistant coach.  If that hadn’t happened, you never would’ve heard of Phil Jackson.” — Jerry Reinsdorf

“I have tremendous regard for Phil, personally and professionally.  I really like Phil Jackson, and I wanted Phil Jackson to come back and coach the team.  And I just thought that the presence of Jerry was counterproductive.  And I just thought if Phil and I would sit down and talk, we’d work it out.  And I flew out to Montana.  I offered him the opportunity to come back.” — Jerry Reinsdorf

“The Bulls were being out-drawn at the Chicago Stadium by an indoor soccer team, the Chicago Sting.  Basically, the state of the team was that, yeah, it was Rodney Dangerfield.  It didn’t get no respect.” — Jerry Reinsdorf


Jerry Krause, ESPN, ESPN Films, Jump 23, Mandalay Sports Media, NBA EntertainmentGM Jerry Krause

“Well, as you know, David, it was a misquote.  What I said was that players and coaches alone don’t win championships, and organizations do.  I do sincerely believe that organizations as a whole win.  One part of it can’t win alone.  The guy left the world ‘alone’ out of there.  And he admitted later on, ‘oh, yeah, I left the word out.’  Well, you dumb son of a… that’s what killed the quote.” — Jerry Krause

“Phil is the coach.  Jerry’s the owner.  Those two needed to talk.  And we got it done, and we’re very happy to have it done.  This will be Phil’s last year as the coach of the Bulls.  At the conclusion of the year, we’ll look towards the future.” — Jerry Krause

“Yup.  Yep.”– Jerry Krause


Krause Interviewer

“This quote that was attributed to you– right.”

Producer

“Did he love Phil?”

Producer 2

“Do you think Jerry Krause resents that?”

Mark Vancil, ESPN, ESPN Films, Jump 23, Mandalay Sports Media, NBA EntertainmentMark Vancil

“To his credit, he did his job.  But Jerry had the little man problem.  He grew up the little, fat kid, not a lot of money.  He was always the underdog.  And he just couldn’t control that part of him that needed credit.  He was good.  But he wasn’t good enough to do without Michael Jordan.  You could argue that Michael Jordan was as good at his job as anyone has ever been at their job ever in any thing.  And Krause wants to make the point, you know, ‘organizations win championships, not players.’  It sounded like he was making a very specific point to a very specific person.  Krause was picked on an awful lot during this by Michael and Scottie.  In Jerry’s mind, you move pieces in and out.  You didn’t move Michael Jordan’s piece.  Phil Jackson, yeah, you can move him in and out.  And he was wrong about that.”

Sam Smith, ESPN, ESPN Films, Jump 23, Mandalay Sports Media, NBA EntertainmentSam Smith

“All the attention is going to Michael and Scottie and Dennis and Phil.  And Krause was getting resentful about this.”

Deloris Jordan, ESPN, ESPN Films, Jump 23, Mandalay Sports Media, NBA EntertainmentDeloris Jordan

“I think Mr. Jordan’s vision and my vision — who is going to help him continue to grow as a young adult, not just basketball but his education?  ‘Cause for me then, the first priority was education.”

“‘Dear mom, how has life been treating you?  Fine, I hope.  I am doing just fine.  I am sending you my account number so that you can deposit some money in my account.  I have only $20 in there.  Tell everyone I said hello, and smile.  God and I love you.  Love, Michael.  P.S., sorry about the phone bill.  Please send me some stamps.’  Is that not a college student?  ‘Please send me some stamps.'”

ESPN Anchor

“Jerry Krause, the Bulls’ general manager, says, ‘organizations win titles, not players.’  Funny thing, I’ve never seen him post up and hit a short jump shot.”

ESPN Anchor 2

“After weeks of public debate, many would argue that Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf has finally come to his senses, signing Phil Jackson to a one-year deal to return as coach next season.”

ESPN Anchor 3

“Defending NBA champs left for Paris late last night, after their loss to Atlanta.  They’ll compete in the McDonald’s Championship later this week in Paris.  Now, no NBA team has ever lost a game in the short history of this event, and the Bulls don’t plan on being the first.”

NBC Sports Anchor Ahmad Rashad

“Basketball fans from around the world have been gathering since early today here at the Palais Omnisports de Barcy here in Paris.  They’re here to see one man, Michael Jordan, five-time NBA champion Chicago Bull.  The Bulls are without Dennis Rodman, and they’re without Scottie Pippen.”

“Michael played every game as if it was his last, every single game.  There was never a day off.  He knew that there was gonna be somebody in that crowd that never saw him play before.  That’s what kept him going.  It wasn’t like, ‘oh, hey, I went to see this guy play, and he only got 12 points.’  Didn’t happen.”

McDonald’s Paris Game Caster

“Intimidation.  That’s what this is all about.  These guys have never played against a team like this.  Nothing but net for Michael Jordan.  Jordan.  Look out.  Three in a row!  Jordan.  Call Haagen-Dazs, ’cause I want two scoops of this scoop shot.  The French players just helpless out there.  The Bulls win by 26.”

Bulls Player 1

“Your first championship.  Congratulations, dog.  I’ll get a bottle of champagne with you tonight.  How’s that sound?”

“How’s it going?  Warm up now?”

Bulls Player 2

“Alright.  Can I get a hug too?  I’m gonna hug Jerry and Marcus, then.I won a championship, I’m gonna go tell them.”

Bulls Player 3

“What time is it?!”

Bulls Player 4

“Game time!  Whoo!”

Paris Bulls Fan

“Can I have your armband?”

Sports News Anchor

“He’s only played professional basketball a few months, but at age 21, Michael Jordan Michael Jordan is the National Basketball Association’s hottest draw.”

Sports News Anchor 2

“Since he arrived, the stadium, which used to be 2/3 empty, has been sold out every game.”

David Stern Interview

“David Stern, thank you for stopping to talk to us.  Talk about the perspective you can put on this team and what it has meant to your league.”

Barack Obama

“When Michael first came to town, I didn’t have the money to buy tickets for a Bulls game, even the discount ones back in the day.  I was pretty broke.  But suddenly, you have a sports figure that puts Chicago on the map and that everybody was able to rally around.”

 

Michael Wilbon, ESPN, ESPN Films, Jump 23, Mandalay Sports Media, NBA EntertainmentMichael Wilbon

“So, going into 1997-’98, the Bulls have won five championships.  There’s drama that summer as to whether they’re even gonna come back, although I think most of us who are from Chicago and call Chicago home knew somehow they’d be back.  I mean, Jerry Reinsdorf, the majority owner, would have to leave town if they didn’t come back.  I mean, at that point, Michael Jordan’s already the ultimate sports alpha male.  I mean, the only comparisons that I can recall being apt were to Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali.  That’s it.  That’s the list.  There’s nobody else in it.  I mean, they made fun of him.  They mocked him.  They mocked him openly.”

J.A. Adande, ESPN, ESPN Films, Jump 23, Mandalay Sports Media, NBA EntertainmentJ.A. Adande

“You can’t argue with championship after championship after championship.  They were still the best team in the NBA.  You have Scottie Pippen, an incredibly talented athlete, very skilled scorer.  His mental sharpness and his court awareness and his basketballs savvy made him the greatest #2 player ever.  Dennis Rodman was the defensive presence, the rebounder, someone who, on a team with big egos, didn’t need the ball.  And he never ran out of energy.  That was the thing.”

David Aldridge

“Phil, from a contract standpoint, wanted to be compensated like the other coaches that he had beaten.  And Jerry wasn’t going to do that.”

Bill Wennington

“Was Jerry Krause a bad guy?  No.  He was a good guy.  He was fun.  You knew he was a good man.”

“We’d arrived at the practice facility.  It’s our first official meeting as a team.  Get the team handbook.  Laminated on the front page, ‘Last Dance.’  That whole meeting was, ‘enjoy what’s happening, ’cause this is it.'”

Rick Telander

“Jerry Krause was the general manager of the Bulls.  And he was certainly at the root of what made the tension of that so severe.  If you saw him interact with your kids and saw him –”

“All of a sudden, there’s this guy from Iowa State, Tim Floyd, the head coach.  He goes fishing with Jerry Krause.  Like, what?  So Krause is clearly grooming the next guy.  He is gonna be the next Phil Jackson.  Krause’s stepdaughter gets married that summer.  He invites everybody from the team and Tim Floyd, and he doesn’t invite Phil Jackson, the head coach.”

“The Bulls are coming off this glorious season.  They had a three-peat, and they won two more.  And there they are in Paris, where they were mobbed.  I mean, it was like The Beatles had come to town.”

“His townhouse was just a regular place, and at the start, his mom, would be there an awful lot.  And Jordan’s buddies would come by, you know, players and what have you, but he was just living like he was still in college.”

“When Jordan first came to the Bulls, he was the #3 pick, so a lot of people thought, ‘well, he’s only 6’6″, so how much can he really do?'”

“Scottie Pippen wasn’t there.  He had an injury.  You know, and you figure, ‘well, they don’t need him.’  Dennis Rodman wasn’t there, either.  He was holding out.  But it was irrelevant, ’cause you knew that Michael was going to annihilate everybody.”

David Stern

“Michael was like the Piped Piper walking down the Champs-élysées.  I think he was wearing a beret because he’s Michael.”

“The Houston Rockets select Hakeem Olajuwon of the University of Houston.  Portland selects Same Bowie, University of Kentucky.  The Chicago Bulls pick Michael Jordan of the University of North Carolina.”

“Good, everything’s good.  She’s here.  No, I was here for the game last night.  Reading all about you.  Enjoyed the photo of you.  Yeah.”

“Good to be here.  There’ll never be quite another team like this.  They have gotten to be the #1 sports team in the world.  It’s a very exciting time in the life of the league and in my life, too.”

“I’m here on behalf of basketball fans around the world to congratulate the 1997 NBA champion Chicago Bulls, a team of our time, the basketball team of our time, and one for the ages.”

Coach Dean Smith

“Good job, man.  On 2-2.  Look at the basket, hit the zone.  That’s it.  Michael’s parents did a tremendous job with him.  He was a fine young man, a very conscientious student, a very good student.  He was very inconsistent as a freshman, but he was one of the most competitive ones we’ve ever had in our drills.  He wanted to get better, and then he had the ability to get better.”

“What Michael really did was improve considerably between his freshman and sophomore year.”

Coach Roy Williams

“Michael Jordan tells me one day he wants to be the best player to ever play here.  And I said, ‘well, you got to work harder than you did in high school.’  He said, ‘I worked as hard as everybody else.’  I said, ‘oh, excuse me.  I thought you just told me you wanted to be the best player to ever play here.’  He said ‘I’m gon’ show you.  Nobody will ever work as hard as I’ll work.'”

“I can’t pick one moment.  And when I think of Michael Jordan, yes, I think of the shot, but I think of three years of watching that youngster get better and better and better.  Michael Jordan’s the only player that could ever turn if on and off.  And he never freakin’ turned it off.”

James Worthy

“After about 2 1/2 hours of hard practice, I’m walking off the floor, like, drenched sweat, tired.  And here comes Michael, like, pushing me back on the floor, wanting to play a little one-one-one, wanting to see where his game was.  I was better than he was, for about two weeks.  He wanted to learn.  He wanted to grow quickly.  From month to month and game he was soaking up information.  Once he got something and added it to the raw talent that he already had, it was really explosive to see.  And by the time we got to the Master’s Championship game, he was a great player.  Coach Smith called that time-out, and we’re down 1.  This was where Coach Smith was extremely cool.  They knew they were gonna be focusing on the internal.  That’s where the defense was collapsing.  Michael’s wide open.”

Patrick Ewing

“Both teams were equally matched.  Michael had some big key buckets and had some big shots.  Our offense shifted to one side.  The whole defense went that way.  Michael was on the left side.  The ball was reversed.”

???

“He was very comfortable in Chapel Hill.  But at the same time, he was hearing, ‘you could be one of the top three or four picks.’  So it was weighing heavy on him.”

Rod Higgins

“Whatever somebody else might have been doing off the court or if it was partying, whatever, that wasn’t part of what he wanted to do.  Orange juice and 7 Up was his go-to.”

“When he arrived into the gym on the first day of practice, you can see that this guy is the best player here.  This cat is different.”

“It was just a phenomenal thing to kind of watch it.  Country boy that comes into the big city and makes the big city a special place.”

UNC Game Caster 1

“Watch the post guard.  Watch out.  He’s on a tear right now.  And foul.  Foul by — and what a play for –”

UNC Game Caster 2

“Now Carolina turns it over.  Dawkins trying to run past Braddock.  Oh!  Look at Michael Jordan cover ground, oh, just get up there.  I think he hit his head on the backboard.  I heard a little bang.  And that’s how high that young man got up.  He hit the back of his head.  Jordan!  Look at that!  Michael Jordan– holy cow!”

NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Caster

“The 44th NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.  The largest crowd ever for a basketball game.  An electric atmosphere.  Jordan on the– oh, what a lay-up!  He put that ball up about 12 feet.  32 seconds to go.  A 1-point lead for Georgetown.  Dean Smith asks and gets time-out.  32 seconds to go.  A 1-point lead for Georgetown.  No, they stay in the 1-3-1 with Ewing in the middle.  They’ve got to look to get it in there.  18.  Shot, Jordan!  It’s over!  It’s over!  North Carolina has won the 1982 NCAA Championship.”

NCAA Interviewer

“And of course, the man who hit the crucial shot down the stretch for North Carolina, Michael Jordan.  Those 2 points proved to be the game winner.  Michael, how did it feel when the ball dropped through the net?”

NBA Draft Commentator

“Welcome to the 1984 NBA College Draft.  We are just about ready to go, as we go to the podium and introduce Commissioner of the NBA David Stern.  And now the second choice, owned by the Portland Trail Blazers.  Let’s go to the Commissioner, David Stern.  Michael Jordan seems to be the next one up.  The Chicago Bulls having the third pick in the draft and went with the sensational Michael Jordan of North Carolina.  Jordan, who led North Carolina now looking to step in to lead the Bulls.”

Post Draft Interviewer

“You’ve got a great opportunity to step in there and win a city that is crying for a winner.  Perhaps you can turn that Bulls thing around.”

Billy Packer

“It was about as tightly contested a game you could ever want to see.  And then for the ending to be the way that it was rather amazing, as well.”

MJ Interviewer 1

“This is your mom reading aloud a letter home from you.”

“One of the articles I read, they called it ‘the Bulls traveling cocaine circus.’  Accurate?”

Rod Thorn

“We weren’t very good, you know, during the time leading up to Michael.  The team was, you know, on a downward keel, if you will.”

“Olajuwon would have been picked first by anybody who picked, including me.  Portland had Clyde Drexler, who played the same position as Michael.  So Portland’s feeling was that they needed a center.  So I knew that, you know, Jordan would be there for us.  The reality is, we were lucky the draft was before the Olympics.  Michael became the most popular amateur basketball player in the world because of the Olympics.”

“We wish he were 7’1.  But he isn’t.”

“The first day of practice, I got a call from the assistant coach, and he said to me, ‘congratulations.’  And I said, ‘for what?’  And he said, ‘you did not screw this draft up.  This guy is really good.’  Every time we played them, they beat us.  They had Sidney Moncrief, who was the reigning defensive player of the year.  They had a tremendous defensive team.”

“Everybody on that Bull team within a two-week period knew he was the best player we had.”

Kevin Loughery

” When we drafted Michael, I did not know how good Michael was.  The strength he had, the physical strength, was amazing.”

Walt Frazier

“Michael got to realize that he’s not 7 foot, so he’s not gonna carry a team in the NBA.”

Mark Eaton

“I really don’t think that in the NBA anymore, there’s really not any such thing as a one-man team.  And I don’t think that you can come in expecting one guy to turn the whole thing around.”

Sidney Moncrief

“I kind of thought I knew his potential, because I had played against the best players in the NBA so far — the Magics and the Birds and the Dr. J and Kareem.  These were some great players.  And all of a sudden, this rookie comes into the NBA, and I watched the way he moved on the court and his instincts.  I’m like, ‘wow.  that’s going to be scary.’  Every time we went to trap him, he would split, go down the lane, make a really difficult shot.  He was so explosive.  I don’t think it’s anybody that could defend Michael.”

Pat Riley

“As a rookie, he was not a rookie.  He proved right out of the gates there was none other like him.”

Isaiah Thomas

“It was like he had, like, a extra levitation gear or something.  It just didn’t seem real.”

Magic Johnson

“His balance, his footwork, his fundamentals.  The dude was just mm, mm, mm.”

Brian McIntyre

“Back then in Chicago, everyone was a Bears fan.  North Siders were Cubs fans South Siders were Sox fans.  Blackhawks had fans scattered throughout.  But there was no buzz about the Bulls.”

“Chicagoans kind of like to think of themselves as being a little tough, blue-collar, roll up your sleeves, you never mail it in.  So people loved to see somebody who gives it everything they’ve got.  Jordan did that.”

???

“Before Michael Jordan got to the Bulls in 1984, drugs were prevalent — cocaine and recreational drugs of all types.  So he had a lot of partiers.”

Bulls Game Caster

“They’ve obviously got some problems. The ball club has not been winning.”

Bulls Game Caster 2

“Number 23, Michael Jordan!”

Bulls Game Caster 3

“The Milwaukee Bucks have taken control here.  They have a 9-point lead.  Jordan now at 24, and he keeps the Bulls in it.  Jordan goes for it, gets it!  There’s Jordan driving — whoa!  Oh!  Unbelievable!”

Bulls Game Caster 4

“And now the noise factor begins to really increase.  Here is the man, Michael Jordan from North Carolina, the #3 pick of the NBA draft.  Jordan what a move!  Jordan on the break-out.  Driving all the way in!  Unbelievable!  Looking for penetration.”

Bulls Game Caster 5

“Tonight’s attendance — 18,688.”

Bulls Game Caster 6

“He’s the reason for sellouts everywhere they go.”

Bulls Game Caster 7

“Good evening, everyone, and welcome once again to Bulls basketball, as the Bulls open the home portion of their ’97-’98 campaign.  Always nice to hear Michael talk about the possibility of winning #6, and you’ll see that ring ceremony.  It’s only moments away now here at the United Center.  The architect of the 1996-’97 Bulls championship team and two-time Executive of the Year, Jerry Krause!  Phil Jackson, the coach!  And now, your five-time world champion Chicago Bulls!  Bill Wennington!  Steve Kerr!  Toni Kukoc!  Dennis Rodman!  Scottie Pippen!  From North Carolina, at guard, 6’6″, Michael Jordan!”

Sports News Caster 3

“Tonight, Jordan and the Bulls return to Chicago for the ring ceremony.  It’s not like the first time, but it ain’t bad for M.J. and company, ring #5 and banner #5.”

M.J Interviewer 2

“Your fifth ring ceremony just as exciting as the first?  There you go.  Good luck tonight.  Thanks for stopping.”

Bulls Game Solicitor 1

“Game-time programs tonight, folks!  Only 2 bucks on the outside!”

Bulls Game Solicitor 2

“Caps!  T-shirts!  Souvenirs, right here!  T-shirts!”

Chicago News Caster

“1984-‘-85 season will go down in history as the year Michael Jordan came to town.”

Chicago News Caster 2

“He has touched the hearts of Chicagoland and the nation.  What’s in his immediate future?  Coronation as the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, a fitting tribute to a man who rescued what some considered a dying franchise.”

NBA Awards Caster

“The 1984-’85 NBA Rookie of the Year.  Michael?”

Bulls Fan 1

“Seems like it’s exciting again.”

Bulls Fan 2

“He does some things that I just never seen before.”

Bulls Fan 3

“Word’s can’t describe him.  He’s poetry in motion.”

Bulls Fan 4

“If you don’t go see Michael Jordan, well, you’re missing out on life, that’s for sure.”

Bulls Fan 5

“She said, ‘do you want Christmas presents under the tree, or do you want to see Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman?’

Bulls Fan 6

“We picked the Bulls.”

Joe O’Neil

“When Michael came in ’84, we got an immediate shot in the arm.  The city was just beside herself.  The interest just grew, and it grew dramatically.”

Bulls Post Game Interview

“How’s the transition been from college to the NBA?”

Sports News Caster 4

“Can the Bulls keep this team together?  Is there any doubt that Michael will come back?  Finally, questions about the future of Phil Jackson.  Will this be his last year?  How will the Bulls ownership feel with their aging stars?  Process of becoming something transcendent, you can see it evaporating.  You have to wonder why Michael Jordan, who is surely the most popular player in our time, would be, in effect, driven out of professional basketball.  What a move from Jordan!”

Sports News Caster 5

“NBA champion Chicago Bulls went to Paris for the McDonald’s Championship.  There’s one man who’s hogging the attention — Michael Jordan.”

Sports News Caster 6

“‘He’s bigger than the Pope,’ screams the morning paper.  And everybody wants a piece of him.”

1997 Press Conference

“Michael, obviously, in the wake of this incredible celebration, there’ll be some very difficult business decisions.”

Olympics Caster

“Jordan gets it, puts it in the hole.  Jordan.  U.S. has its ninth gold medal.  But it’s been an all-USA show in this tournament.”

Bobby Knight

“Jordan.  He’s the best athlete.   He’s one of the best competitors.  He’s one of the most skilled players.  And that to me makes the best basketball player that I’ve ever seen play.”

Rando News Caster

“Michael Jordan waded into the undertone of bitterness in the Bulls when asked what the Bulls’ biggest challenge would be this year.”

“Michael glancing up at the office of GM Jerry Krause.”

French Security 2

“Pocket?  Would you mind signing this?  Oh.”

Bulls Legal

“Not now, not now.”

French Basketball Announcer

“You don’t have to be a connoisseur to know the greatest basketball player of all time.  The person who is the closest to a god on Earth, Michael ‘Air’ Jordan!”

French Talk Show Host?

“Michael Jordan!  Michael Jordan!”

Bob Costas

“You couldn’t make a short list of the most consequential and successful teams in American sports and leave Michael Jordan and the ’90s Bulls out.  But the Bulls who immediately preceded the Jordan era could be characterized as mediocre.”

“Hi.  I’m Bob Costas.  Join me and Johnny Kerr for exciting Chicago Bulls basketball action here on WGN television, Channel 9.”

“The Bulls were in need of a lot of reinforcements if they were gonna be a contending team.  And here comes a young Michael Jordan, brimming with charismatic talent.  Michael was one of the top recruited high school players in America.

David Falk

“He decided to play at Chapel Hill for one of the greatest coaches of all time, Dean Smith.  And at the University of North Carolina, Coach Smith ran a very tight ship.”

“There was no one alive — not Coach Smith, not Rod Thorn who drafted him– no one, none of the experts, thought that he would become what he would become what he became.”

Buzz Peterson

“He was a disciplinarian, tremendous teacher.  Michael had a ton of respect for him, and he knew he had the best interests for Michael.”

Interviewer 1

“Do you have any sense of destiny — you know, why is all this meant for you, and, you know, what’s down the road, or are you just taking it a day at a time?”

1991 Championship Caster

“Michael Jordan, with 30 points.  And the Chicago Bulls have won their first-ever NBA Championship!”

1992 Championship Caster

“There’s Jordan for 3!  Yes!  He has done it again.”

1993 Championship Caster

“Well, Pippen dodges– there’s Paxson for 3!  Yes!  Three great NBA Championships.”

1996 Championship Caster

“The Chicago Bulls have won the ’96 NBA Championships!”

1997 Championship Caster

“Chicago Bulls, 5 seconds remaining in regulation.  The in-bounds.  Pippen.  Pippen rolls it to Kukoc.  And the Chicago Bulls have won their fifth championship in the last seven years.  It is bedlam here at the United Center.”

Sports News Caster

“To hometown Chicago fans, winning the Big One is starting to feel almost like a Constitutional right, as the Bulls took their fifth NBA title on Friday night.”

Sports News Caster 2

“Count them.  1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 NBA Championship trophies.”

Sports News Caster 3

“As hundreds of thousands of fans cheered the Bulls, the drama of what will happen to this great dynasty was apparent to all.”

Rando Game Caster

“Great passing!  Oh, my!  Looked like he just appears in air.”

Rando Game Caster 2

“Oh, and Rodman just kicked the photographer.  And the photographer is hurt.  That is the last we will see of Dennis Rodman.”

Arsenio Hall

“Please welcome, from the Chicago Bulls.  All-Star forward Scottie Pippen!”

David Letterman

“He has led the NBA in rebounds for the last five years.  Please welcome back Dennis Rodman.”

Oprah Winfrey

“The most famous man on the planet is here.”

Bulls Fans 1

“Michael!  Michael!  Michael!  Michael!  Michael!  Michael!”

Bulls Fans Interviewer

“Why is everybody here?”

Bulls Fan 1

“Michael Jordan.”

Bulls Fan 2

“Michael Jordan.  Everybody loves Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan.”

News Caster

“The debate will now rage about whether they are the best team ever.”

News Caster 2

“They’re not just great athletes — they are a fascinating assortment of personalities.”

News Caster 3

“At the heart of this team is a rare spirit, Coach Phil Jackson.”

Interviewer 2

“What’s unique about this particular dynasty?”

Rando Commentator

“There’s something about you that’s frightening.”

French Security

“Hello, Michael!  How much French do you know?  What do you think about the Eiffel Tower?  Don’t stop.  Let’s go.  Let’s take a picture.  Quick step, quick step.  Move back.  Move.  How do you feel, Michael?”

Camera Crew

“Thanks, Michael.”

Dwayne Wade

“I’ve said this many times, and I’ll say it again.  The 1990 Bulls team –the ’91 team specifically — is the reason I started my quest to become an NBA player.  They gave me the vision and the dream to want to do exactly what they did — bring joy, bring happiness to families, especially families in need.  So, thank you guys for that.”

Larry Bird



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That '98 Finals swag #TheLastDance

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🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

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Baby 🐐 #TheLastDance

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Jordan never let off the gas 💥#TheLastDance

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This should get you ready for Sunday. 🍿🔥🍿

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Jordan really inspired an entire generation 👏

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