Television The Last Dance (ESPN) | 97-98 Bulls and MJ
- Thread starter Carolina Red
- Start date
My uncle to this day swears that those Bulls were the greatest team to ever walk the planet, and that MJ was literally God
He doesn't even watch basketball today. He's seen it all apparently.
Anywhoo I'm gonna wait until all of this airs then binge watch it over one weekend
He doesn't even watch basketball today. He's seen it all apparently.
Anywhoo I'm gonna wait until all of this airs then binge watch it over one weekend
Also you can watch this on Netflix if you're outside the US.
Also Jordan still hates the Pistons. @Eboue
Also Jordan still hates the Pistons. @Eboue
Was about to post this. MJ is the best ever. Those who've never seen him play in his prime, just don't know. Can't believe this sat in the can for 22-23 years. Although now is the perfect time for everyone to appreciate his Airness.
“That wasn’t Michael Jordan out there. That was god disguised as Michael Jordan.”
- Larry Bird on the ‘86 playoff series
I can relate to your uncle. Not the part about the Bulls. I'm a Lakers fan, been one since the Showtime days. But MJ was the best to ever lace it up on the hardwood. Can't imagine another coming along who could ever match his greatness. So it's hard to get excited about anyone else when you've seen the GOAT. There might be someone better who comes along, just like someone might be better than Messi or Tiger, but I'll be that old fogie telling my grandkids nobody was ever better at basketball than Jordan. Never seen an athlete combine the talent, competitiveness and will to win like him in any sport.
And for Bird to say that...
No kidding... and that was right after “you can’t hold the great ones down”.And for Bird to say that...
Bird doesn’t just pass out compliments
That's what I miss the most about the current NBA, those 80s Celtics and Lakers teams, Detroit Bad Boys, Bulls were so fun to watch play against each other. Something got ripped out from the NBA when superstars decided to team up starting with the Heat.No kidding... and that was right after “you can’t hold the great ones down”.
Bird doesn’t just pass out compliments
What a great time for this. MJ, Phil, Rodman...overtaking the great Celtics/Lakers dynasties and the bad boy Pistons, not to mention smothering the Ewing led Knicks (my team at the time). Then the drama around Jordan and his break in MLB.
Such a fascinating dynasty. I don’t know where you go to top it in American sports, though some college football dynasties might have been equally astounding. The 00’s Red Sox are good source material I suppose if you can appreciate the context.
Such a fascinating dynasty. I don’t know where you go to top it in American sports, though some college football dynasties might have been equally astounding. The 00’s Red Sox are good source material I suppose if you can appreciate the context.
TIL that this wasn't something that was just made up for the movie Space Jam.
I've only seen about 10 minutes so far and this is going to be epic
Not sure there's 10 episodes worth of content in this really, but having been a Bulls fan as a kid during the latter part of that era I enjoyed it well enough.
as a Bulls fan, am I going to be depressed at the end watching this, given they blew the team up? they could have retooled and kept Jordan for another year at least.
It's not only looking at the final season, but also MJs and the Bulls' rise to the top.
Probably
It's amazing to think an owner sided with his GM and decided to blow up a dynasty with the game's greatest player and possibly the greatest coach after winning their 3rd consecutive championship. Would never see this happen nowadays as players have way more power. Still confused why Reinsdorf didn't get much blame.
Krause telling Phil before the season that he could win all 82 games and this would still be his last season.
Krause telling Phil before the season that he could win all 82 games and this would still be his last season.
Yeah, but it felt spread a bit too thin in those two episodes IMO, although others might have experienced it differently. I don't think it's doing a great job of narrating the rise either, it's lacking vital detail about his personal numbers and the Bulls' performances and season records pre-Jackson. The footage also repetitively depicts Jordan driving and scoring, when it could have been more constructively used to illustrate particular narratives I thought. Maybe the next few episodes will fill in some of the gaps.
Or maybe you'll understand it more if you don't already... Jordan willed this team to the 98 win, which should be massively visible through this, 98 is his true masterpiece. But I mean they possibly could of still done something around Jordan to still win... Kukoc could of been a strong 2, but at 35, why does he want to chase it really? It was more or less a natural conclusion, helped by a lockout.
I was quite surprised by the inclusion of Jordan 83-84 stuff.... like I really thought it was 97-98 almost exclusive, given that's where all the footage is. I'm curious how much it'll go indepth on his rise - obviously it'll touch on the Lakers/Celtics, definitely the Pistons roadblock, but what about minor stuff that proved his legend ... like him randomly going to PG - playing like a god and averaging a triple double while doing so... he was essentially the second best PG in the game if he wanted to be.
Theres already 30 for 30's on a lot of these - Celtics/Lakers(also a cracking HBO doc or Bird/Magic), Bad Boy Pistons, Rodman, his Baseball 'retirement'..... okay not from a Jordan/Bulls perspective etc.
What we really need is some Wizards stint doc, his run there is actually underrated.
Somebody should have punched Krause in the mouth.Krause telling Phil before the season that he could win all 82 games and this would still be his last season.
As a Chicago Bulls fan The Last Dance has been incredible viewing, this is a must watch for anyone though. Iconic. 
I find it incredible that there is literally a difference between those born in 91 and 95 as to who the greatest of all time is.
For me, Schumacher and Ferguson are the only two other people who are on the same level as MJ in the god tier of winners. Quite funny that the reason for Schumacher retiring from Ferrari was very similar to MJ's demise with a GM who was threatened by the influence of the staff.
For me, Schumacher and Ferguson are the only two other people who are on the same level as MJ in the god tier of winners. Quite funny that the reason for Schumacher retiring from Ferrari was very similar to MJ's demise with a GM who was threatened by the influence of the staff.
Jordan never had superstar team mates.
Pip is one of the most underrated basketball players ever. Dennis Rodman is another underrated player who was a selfless, yet dominate interior big playing the 4. Rebounds, protect the paint, put his body on the line, and was crazy competitive on the defensive end, relentless. You had 3 guys who could guard off the ball, on the ball, and run the count in Jordan, Pip, and Rodman. It was insane.
Then you had Phil Jackson, the Zen Master and Tex Winter...their understanding of the mind/ego and how to play a system (Triangle) that fit everybody's strengths. There was structure amidst the chaos that was their play.
Makes me wish United had agreed to something like this back when Fergie was managing. Would be incredible viewing.
I was being sarcastic. Of course, most teams have had at least 2 superstars join together to win.
Different situation entirely. Pippen basically was drafted by the Bulls. Rodman was a castaway. They weren’t angling for moves to all play together. When Miami got LeBron and Bosh, we saw superstars in their prime teaming up and it forever changed the course of the NBA.
Didn't the Celtics do it before the Heat?
Yes, though it didn’t fully fulfill expectations.
The Lakers did as well with adding Payton and Malone and then next time with the Gasol trade, with varying degrees of success.
Last edited:
Yup, good point.
Payton and Malone were on the downside of their careers though. Gasol was a shrewd move by the GM. Same with how the Lakers ended up with Kobe.
True, but nobody saw that coming when that Lakers team was put together. That Pistons team was so bizarre; they could’ve been the Bad Boys 2.0 had Lebron not went insane in that overtime playoff game; one of the best performances I’ve ever seen.
Trying not to read through this thread as my mind seems to have wiped what happens in that season, but my god the first two episodes have been great.
Found myself fully engrossed in it despite being over 20 years ago.
Found myself fully engrossed in it despite being over 20 years ago.
That's not true is it?... Pippen regarded himself as the best player in the planet when he came there and was only underrated by the Bulls GM as he was bar non the best nr two in the league on both ends of the court, Jordan said he was the best player he ever played with. They had Grant as a scorer and a defensive (4 times defensive all star) unit and Rodman who was monsters under the basket he had already won championships with Detroit. Krause assembled one hell of a team around Jordan full of shooters, hard workers and grafters that all had a lot of talent. This was a really good team and is probably there with the best of them like the old days Philly, Showtime and Celtics.
But MJ was just something else. Remember watching the NBA in the 90's staying awake all hours for the play offs because it was just that good every team seemed to have a superstar or stars.
Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
A bit off-topic but the '99-'17 Spurs and '02-'19 Pats both easily top it for me. It's "easy" to create a dynasty for 6 years around the greatest player to ever step on a basketball court, the true challenge is keeping it up for two decades. Something apparently the Bulls weren't even close to capable of, due to multiple reasons both front office and on the court.
Someone born in 91 didn't really live Jordan anyway. But I'm seeing this kind of thing come up a lot - which kind of makes no sense.... a lot LeBron fans are old enough to have been around for Jordan - hell in some cases, COVERED Jordan as a journo or what not yet still go that way - because they see longevity and big numbers as the key thing - or doing across multiple teams etc.
I can't think they will be much that a devout NBA fan who already has LeBron number 1 will get from this that would turn them back to Jordan as number 1. Surely there can't be that much hidden that isn't already known from leaks.
If someone has LeBron #1 because they are heavily uneducated on Jordan - then yes, it could turn them around. But then Curry or Kobe will likely be their 3, so stuff their input anyway!
Trump: “My coronavirus briefings did better”
The Patriots won 3 championships in 4 years - 01, 03, 04...then 3 in in 5 years - 14, 16, 18. There's no doubt that the Patriots have been consistent at a high level for a long time with Brady and Belichick. But that's two completely different eras and dynasties.
Spurs had a dynasty winning in 03, 05, 07. Winning in 1999, but then waiting 4 years later for another championship isn't dynasty worthy. From 2010 to 2017, Spurs only won the conference finals, making the NBA Finals twice, winning the NBA Finals once in 2014. Spurs had a dynasty in the mid-2000s. Their consistency has a franchise is awesome and they are well run with one of the top coaches/minds/motivators in Pop, but their dynastic run falls behind the Patriots and well behind the Bulls.
Back-to-back-to-back championships, a 3-peat on the trot. Then a year-and-a half without MJ, meant two years without a championship, but they still made the playoffs losing to better teams after the 1st round. Then another 3-peat on the trot.
So..Chicago = 6 championships in 8 years, two 3-peats / Patriots 6 in 18 years (3 in 4 ties them with the Bulls in terms of most championships within certain number of years, but never consecutive years) / Spurs 5 in 15 years (3 in 5 years is their best run, but no consecutive championships).