The Last Dance – A Nostalgic Masterpiece Docuseries

At the time, Michael Jordan was bigger than the game of basketball itself, hell he still is today. There weren’t many sports figures like him during the historic Bull’s run of the 1990s. The ongoing debate about “who is the greatest basketball player ever” has heated up this past decade thanks to LeBron James and his historic run. One thing is for certain, the footage assembled in The Last Dance was surely to never see the light of day, until James’ 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors in an unforgettable come from behind win in the NBA finals. That’s when MJ got on his Batphone and made a phone call to release it to remind the world that he was a bad man back in his day too.

The Last Dance is a 10 part docu-series that saw the highest of highs and the lowest of lows during the Chicago Bulls memorable run. It all started in 1984 when the Bulls selected Michael Jordan with the 3rd overall selection in the NBA Draft (we all now what happened next). However, what many may not remember were the many bumps and bruises over the course of Jordan’s first 7 years in the league. He wasn’t an instant success with the Bulls, individually of course. When it came to winning, that would take some time. So how did he overcome, he worked very hard. Jordan knew that in order to overcome certain aspects of his game, he would need to work harder than anyone had before him. He was at his core, a winner, and would do anything to win. His teammates didn’t understand this at times, causing rifts and sometimes physical altercations. In the end, that’s what builds character and builds a team. While Jordan wanted to win more than anyone, he also wanted his team to win. Doing whatever it took to win was perceived by some as selfish, however, it was the only way he knew how to win.

Each episode of The Last Dance is unique in its own way, highlighting certain players, coaches, seasons, and adversaries including Jordan’s main man, Scottie Pippen, the outrageous Dennis Rodman, or the two biggest foes in Jordan’s entire career, his owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, and his General Manager, Jerry Krause. Without question one of the most appealing aspects of this series, was his back and forth relationship with the upper management of the Chicago Bulls. However, it’s certainly difficult when dealing with someone who is bigger than basketball and also someone who thinks they know what’s best for the team more than the people running it. Listen, we can fathom what it would be like to be in their shoes, but after seeing everything that transpired and how the Bulls reign eventually ended, it’s difficult to understand why things ended up the way they did. Jordan butted heads with almost everyone in his path, Horace Grant in particular, who helped him win his first 3 titles. In the end, he was unhappy with this docu-series and it’s hard to blame him.

The Bulls run ended quicker than it began, after Jordan’s final shot as a Bull, which gave them a 1 point lead over the Jazz in the 98 Finals, leading to their sixth title. It seemed like overnight Phil Jackson, the greatest coach in the game, Jordan, Scottie and Rodman were all out the door. In the blink of an eye the Bulls went from hero to zero. Before this moment came to be, The Last Dance captured so many magical moments that may be viewed by some as propaganda in some aspect. All this Jordan love, with very little blowback. No one is ever really criticizing him throughout the doc while a lot of his teammates surely had a lot more to say than they were allowed to. The series’ one big flaw was that it doesn’t go into any great detail into Jordan’s flaws. The series touches his battle with gambling and how he would push his teammates. Meanwhile, at the conclusion of the series, players were on record saying they were unhappy how they were portrayed as Jordan was painted as this all-around hero. The series should have showcased just how he behaved just not on the court but off it as well. It’s a hard thing to accomplish when he’s the main attraction of your documentary.

Arguably the best sports documentary since OJ: Made in America, The Last Dance will be something hard to top. Jordan transcended sports and is still around today. In the meantime, the NBA community will still debate who is the greatest basketball player of all time. One thing is certain, the LeBron James doc better be out of this world good now.

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Wannabe Movie Critic