The Last After Party
Bulls
There's this saying in media that goes
The story behind the story is more important than the story.
This is exactly why viewership records were set with The Last Dance. We all knew the outcomes of the games. But we didn't know the stories behind them. I enjoyed every episode as I'm sure you did too. Now we await less captivating 30 for 30 documentaries and maybe some live sports.
A few observations:
Mj became so polished over time. His diction. Diplomacy. Demeanor. Wardrobe. It was just masterful. He had to have been coached by someone.
How terrible of a person was Isaiah Thomas for guys to not want to be around him on Team USA? He literally is the second best point guard ever and gets snubbed by his own head coach to be excluded from the DREAM TEAM.
There was absolutely no spacing on NBA floors in the 90s. The triangle offensive was the he closest thing to modern spacing. Its so hard to believe people scored like they did.
MJ had a serious dopamine and serotonin addiction. And we all admired him for it.
How did these guys remain great athletes while frequently smoking cigars and drinking beers during the season? I've played with guys who did this, but there weren't 82+ games to endure. And there were no NBA championships at stake.
Krause was a brilliant mind. And he knew it. He was basically the BILL BELICHICK of the NBA. He just was full of himself. Still impressive for a baseball guy to have an eye for basketball talent.
This will definitely motivate more athletes to bring camera crews along with them for their own documentaries. MJ started a new trend…again.
The triangle only works if you have an elite 1 on 1 talent. Without one you don't really create an advantage, you just create floor balance and synchronization.
I wish there were more episodes. I wanted to hear more about MJ punching people.
Doug Collins acted really weird when he was asked about Phil Jackson taking his job. Definitely needs therapy for that.
I keep marveling at how perfect of a storm this all was. Such a great collection of force multipliers in Chicago. Phil Jackson was the perfect coach for MJ and Rodman. He couldn't have gotten a guy like Iverson (almost like MJ and Rodman combined) to buy in to passing to non athletic shooters. And how lucky is Phil to have found Tex Winter? Just so much happenstance.
MJ was an incredible code switcher. He was basically comfortable in any social setting. Unlike Iverson.
The Kobe cameo was really difficult to watch. And they had no clue he would be this good in the 90s. They basically saw him as a taller version of Iverson (last one I promise).
Scottie Pippen was a D3 player. How do the Razorbacks live with themselves?
Scott Burrell did not deserve the taunting he got from MJ. But then again, he was a better baseball player than MJ. I think that's where it stemmed from.
How on Earth does MJ get 1 year contracts for 3 years straight? The best player on Earth had no long term security from the team he brought relevancy to.
Steve Kerr has some depth to him. He's incredibly bright. He was an TV analyst, a front office GM, and a Head Coach. He did possibly end up with more rings than Phil Jackson some day.
There's no way a non scoring rebounder who skipped practices and games to have WWE appearances and Vegas benders would survive in today's NBA (talking about Rodman).
Carmen Electra had more appearances than Barak Obama and Magic Johnson combined. Hmmmm.
I don't believe they would've gotten championship number 7. They would've gotten passed the Knicks but wouldn't have beaten the Spurs.
This was quite possibly one of the best productions I've ever seen on television. It deserves some type of award. Reliving these moments was incredible. I can say without question that were it not for Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 90s, I would not have ever taken up basketball in any capacity. He was a magnet. I must thank him for the life the game has brought me, and I never played in the NBA.
I think the real lesson of this all is that there really is no substitute for winning. There's no other currency that holds more value than the W. MJ didn't play for staying active, or notoriety, or even for the money. He enjoyed the neurological rewards of winning. Basketball was his drug. The NBA was a 15 year drug deal.
Finite games create a finite number of victors. And in the 90s, that was especially true. The actors in the game gain power because of this. And nobody amassed more power than MJ. If the dawn of the NBA was the big bang, the era of MJ was the age of enlightenment. It pushed the game forward so much that it seemed to have created a new construct in and of itself. MJ was Hobbes, Locke, Gallileo, Rousseau and Voltaire all in one. He did that much for the NBA, for basketball and truthfully for entertainment. I still believe he is vastly underpaid. Long live 23.