NBA
The Best in Sports: Michael Jordan Ep. 3-4
Highlighting the best things to know from the Michael Jordan "Last Dance" documentary Episodes 3-4
CBS Sports
‘The Best in Sports’ is a daily PSO original series showcasing the best highlights, facts, and stories going on in the land of the NFL, NBA, & MLB every day. This is a special Michael Jordan Edition for Episodes 3-4 of “The Last Dance’ released on April 26, 2020. Get a recap on EVERYTHING that happened in sports on April 26th here.
Here are the best things to know about Michael Jordan & the Chicago Bulls from Episodes 3-4:
Dennis Rodman’s legacy is largely remembered for his signature various hairstyles. It’s often forgotten that Chicago’s third wheel was once a Bad Boy Piston, and there’s even a moment in the documentary showing Rodman and Jordan arguing as opponents during the Bulls-Pistons rivalry. Detroit’s HC Chuck Daly said there wasn’t a better player he’d want to be associated with than Rodman because of the outstanding work ethic he showed in the ’80s.
While MJ made it clear that Rodman was an alcoholic and never gets enough sleep, it was NOT because he did drugs. Rodman claimed he’d be around his friends doing drugs all the time growing up, but never did them himself. He had other mental problems though that went as far as almost committing suicide with a gun in his car but he “luckily fell asleep.”
Dennis Rodman’s unique decisions made him one of the biggest celebrities on the planet and he even dated Madonna in the early 1990’s. After Rodman’s time in Detroit, he was “acting out” in San Antonio during his two seasons playing in Texas before the Bulls saw that Rodman’s style of play can help them win, seeing first-hand how tough he is.
After Horace Grant’s dismissal (who was integral for Championships 1-3) Rodman was the perfect replacement. Known as an all-time rebounder, the Hall of Famer led the NBA in Rebounds for seven consecutive years despite being only 6’7″. It was interesting to see how he spent all this time studying specific players shots off the rim and mastered the right angles to grab rebounds over taller opponents.
Dennis Rodman was one of the few players that could change the game just by his presence on the floor. MJ & Pippen accepted Rodman for who he is because he could help them win and he instantly fit in like “a hand in a glove,” said Scottie Pippen. Despite their differences, they all got along because of their desire to win Championships. Chicago won the NBA Finals all three seasons Rodman wore a Bulls uniform.
While Dennis Rodman was a great player on the court, his connection with reality off the court was sinking as his drinking and partying became a distraction. Phil Jackson told Michael Jordan that Dennis wanted to talk to him which Jordan said “when Dennis wants to tell me something, I know it’s something I don’t want to hear.” Rodman demanded a vacation in the middle of the season where Jordan’s understandable response was, “if anybody needs a vacation, I need a vacation.”
Phil Jackson said “can you finish your vacation in 48 hours” which Rodman agreed to as he would take anything he could get even though Jordan knew “you’re not going to get that dude back in 48 hours.” After 48 hours of going out in Vegas, Michael Jordan had to go get Rodman back himself, knocking on his door in the morning with Carmen Electra hiding under some covers after a two-day escapade.
Along with these entertaining scenes was the realness of the public pressure that Rodman claims “is what we get paid for. I’d play the game for free.” While there was certainly a lot of attention on Rodman during his 14-year career, especially during the Bulls 1990’s dynasty, there would be sooo much more if he played in today’s world. Imagine a NBA superstar in 2020 with a beer in their hand before driving off on a motorcycle on the Vegas strip in the middle of the NBA season. It would lead to him really hating the media, to say the least.
Before Phil Jackson’s arrival in Chicago, Michael Jordan had a good relationship with Doug Collins. Collins knew how to drive Michael, including putting him on the ‘second team’ in practice to help keep a competitive equality. Their closeness even reached a level of them kissing each other’s cheeks in front of the media to signify they “kissed and made up.”
Collins replacement Phil Jackson had a somewhat rough beginning to his tenure in Chicago trying to convince Jordan to play with the ball less but before that, he had a very interesting background. Jackson apparently was an acid user and once thought he was a lion roaring down a beach. GM Jerry Krause discovered Jackson after he won the 1984 Championship in the little-known CBA (Continental Basketball Association). After that, Phil said the Bulls “tracked me down and I got an interview for an assistant job” under Doug Collins.
Jerry Krause’s strong relationship with Phil Jackson not only played an instrumental role in Jackson being hired as an asst. on Collins’ staff but also what led to his elevation as Head Coach before the 1989-90 season. Despite Jordan’s congratulations message to Jackson’s hiring, MJ didn’t like the idea of Jackson taking the ball away from him. That obviously became the best thing for Jordan, and more importantly the Bulls, as they went on to win six Championships together. The greatness of the Zen Master along with the greatness of Air Jordan led to a 78% win percentage, which still stands as the best ever for a player-coach combo in NBA history.
Before Chicago was able to get over the hump, another midwest team was seen as the next team to run the East in Cleveland. Before their famous 1989 Eastern Conference First Round 5-game series, Cleveland swept Chicago 6-0 in the regular season (NBA teams played their division six times back then). However, their Playoffs series went to a winner-take-all 5th game after Michael Jordan’s missed clutch free throw contributed to a Game 4 loss.
Game 5 will forever be remembered as Michael Jordan’s iconic shot over Craig Ehlo. Before that however, Jordan hit another clutch shot which Ehlo answered himself with a bucket of his own in the final five seconds to take a one point lead. The final possession is what will never be forgotten. Before the iconic shot, defensive specialist Ron Harper wanted the assignment of guarding Jordan which MJ admitted “Ron Harper played me best.”
Instead Harper’s frustration proved valid as the rest is history: Michael Jordan fought through a double team to get the ball on the inbounds and literally floated in the air to drain a game-winner as iconic as Damian Lillard’s Game-5 series buzzer beater in last year’s Playoffs. It became a landscape-changing shot that led Chicago to two straight Eastern Conference Finals before the arrival of Phil Jackson and Scottie Pippen to help lift them over the hump.
After getting past Cleveland, Jordan’s Bulls ran into the Pistons in three consecutive Eastern Conference Finals (1989-91). Detroit knew how special Michael Jordan was and took pride in messing up the story of MJ becoming the next in line after Magic and Larry. Michael Jordan’s legendary turnaround layup at the rim happened in this initial ECF matchup and then he drilled the Game Winner in Game 3. “Jordan took over down the stretch. He showed he’s the superstar he really is,” said Detroit’s HC after being reminded who’s the best player on the floor.
However, the Bulls came up short after 6 games in 1989. The very next ECF, the series was much more competitive with Phil Jackson calling the shots as it came down to a winner-take-all 7th game. Unfortunately in Game 7, something wasn’t right with Scottie Pippen. “I couldn’t focus. I told them it was too bright. I can’t see,” before he was taken out of the biggest game of the year, finishing with just 2 points (1-10 FG) as the Bulls got blown out in the Palace despite Jordan’s 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists.
Jordan handled the loss with class in a postgame interview saying “they were the better team and played like it today” despite taking a physical beating throughout the series and being the victim of Detroit’s “Jordan Rules” which include:
Related: Team Highlights
Detroit’s “Jordan rules” and physical play style took its tole on his Airness and his teammates as well. A ripple effect was that their toughness rubbed off on the young Bulls and led Jordan to telling Horace Grant “Be strong. We’re going to beat these bullies… Don’t let them see you wine.” After a second consecutive ECF exit at the hands of the ‘Bad Boys’ Jordan admitted to being devastated and crying after the Game 7 loss in Detroit.
Jordan’s Dad helped him re-focus by saying “It’s just one game” and to focus on next year. What proceeded was a monumental offseason that changed the trajectory of Michael Jordan’s career as we know it. Instead of “them dishing it to me, I’m going to dish it back to them” said Jordan, referring to him now being the one that administers pain.
His aggressive offseason weight training was the stuff of legend that was fueled by Jordan’s desire to “get strong enough to play Detroit.” His trainer would ask him to do six reps during a set, which Jordan responded by hitting 12 reps. All those offseason reps paid off the very next season.
In 1991, the Bulls took a quick 3-0 series lead in their third consecutive ECF matchup against the Pistons. With their backs against the wall in Game 4, Detroit tried to do anything possible, including a clear cheap shot on Scottie Pippen that pushed him to the sidelines under the basket. However, Pippen responded with nothing but a straight face and took that energy and put it toward winning. Pippen played lights out after that and it made the team realize “there was nothing Detroit could do after that” that would take them off their course of winning the Eastern Conference.
After Chicago finally won the Eastern Conference, the Pistons didn’t handle their first ECF loss in four years very well. Isaiah Thomas said it was the “only time I’ve ever been swept. I was usually the one doing the sweeping. Their time had arrived and ours was over.”
Coming to that realization was difficult for many of the ‘Bad Boys’ as Bill Laimbeer suggested walking out before time expired and avoid shaking their hands. The documentary showed some players reactions to it with Rodman (who was on the Pistons) saying them leaving was their way of saying “fuck you guys.” Horace Grant of the Bulls stated Detroit walked out “like straight up bitches.” Isaiah Thomas admitted “we wouldn’t have done it knowing what we know now” but MJ still clearly holds animosity, saying “No way you can convince me he wasn’t the asshole.”
However, Thomas defended his actions saying “back then, that’s just now how it was passed. When you lost, you left the floor,” which Jordan quickly responded by pointing out the previous series losses where Jordan and the Bulls handled it with class since it shows a certain respect to the game and sportsmanship. It should be noted that some Pistons stayed to congratulate and shake hands with the Bulls despite their leaders taking a different path. Whether they shook hands or not, the Bulls finally defeated the Pistons and to Jordan “that was in some ways better than winning the Championship.”
Michael Jordan’s first Finals appearance was against the Showtime Lakers in their first year without Pat Riley in what would be Magic Johnson’s last NBA Finals and full season (diagnosed with HIV later in 1991). Nothing was more anticipated about this Finals than the Michael vs. Magic matchup. After LA won Game 1 in Chicago, “everyone assumed the Lakers would win” their sixth Championship in 12 years.
Michael Jordan reminded the world who they’re dealing with in Game 2 when he only missed three shots (15-18 FG) for 33 points in a blowout victory that marked the turning point in the series. Defensively, Scottie Pippen picked up the best Point Guard in the world (Magic) from full court. Nobody did that. It wasn’t unfamiliar to Jordan who saw “Pippen do that all the time. He gets in your face, he harasses you. Once we did that in Game 2, we never looked back.” The Bulls won three games in a row to take a 3-1 lead.
All indications before Game 5 was that Chicago would win it all, but the game was tied entering the 4th quarter. A major event happened in that final quarter as Phil Jackson said forcefully to Michael “Paxson is open, get him the ball.” Jordan obliged by continuously penetrating and kicking it out to a wide-open Paxson who drilled shot after shot in the final period. Phil telling him to believe in his teammates was a key factor in Michael Jordan winning his first Championship (and many more).
The NBA Finals essentially signified a passing of the torch from Magic Johnson & the 1980’s to Michael Jordan & the 1990’s. Johnson handled it gracefully, saying “If I’m going to lose, I’m going to lose to Michael and that’s how it should be.” After the series (and to this day), Jordan won’t say he’s the GOAT, but did state that he fits in the category of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson after joining them as Champions. Jordan crying with the trophy in his hands and hugging Magic Johnson in the hallway after the game became immortalized images that capture the significance of this moment on the landscape of the NBA.
This documentary fluctuates between focusing on strictly the 1997-98 season while also highlighting the earlier years that led to those moments. Before Pippen finally came back from injury on January 10th against Golden State, Jordan got tired of all the questions about next year. After continuous identical questions from the press about what the future holds, Jordan revealed that if Phil wasn’t here, there was “no chance” he himself was coming back either.
After an impressive winning streak after Rodman’s return from vacation, the Bulls faced a “litmas test” against the Jazz in what people considered a “likely Finals preview,” after the Bulls Finals victory over Utah the year prior. Chicago had a 24-point lead in a physical game, but the Jazz came back despite MJ’s 40 points and swept Chicago 2-0 in the regular season. After the loss, the media questioned “is this the end of the Bulls as we know them?”
GM Jerry Krause made it clear that if Jordan doesn’t retire, he’ll have to come back on a different team. Everybody knew the 5x Champions were on their ‘Last Dance’ together and they put their all into 3-peating their way out of town. Since the 1997-98 season, Chicago has just five Playoff series wins while Phil Jackson went on to win five more rings himself with the Los Angeles Lakers (three in his first three years; 2000-02).
What continues to stand out more than anything on these Last Dance documentaries is Michael Jordan’s ultra competitiveness. It became part of his legacy, but never as clear as it is now with video evidence. Michael Jordan represented greatness in every way almost instantly in the league by winning Rookie of the Year, a Slam Dunk contest, being an All-Star, Scoring Champ, Defensive Player of the Year, and MVP. With greatness, comes great expectations.
One of Jordan’s famous quotes, “There’s no ‘I’ in team, but there’s an ‘I’ in win” became iconic as Jordan’s quest for his first Championship continued in his early career. He had to realize that just him scoring 30 points isn’t going to win the last game of the season. While Jordan’s competitive nature prevented him from wanting Bill Cartwright (or any other player) to have the ball with under five seconds left, Jackson taught him that defenses can create a strategy to stop one player if he’s the only one with the ball, which led to him sharing the ball and Scottie Pippen blossoming into one of the top players in the league.
Jordan began to refocus his energy toward his teammates and pushing them to excel. He became dedicated to this proposition of being the #1 team, not #2. Teammates described Jordan’s competitiveness as “no mistakes allowed” and seeing “a screaming devil” because of his demands for perfection. Jordan knew the best way to lead was to lead by example and his teammates knew if they didn’t give it their all, Jordan didn’t want them there.
Before Jordan altered his next level competitiveness to better suit a team-style environment, there was the narrative that all Jordan does is win scoring titles, not championships. When he finally won the Championship, his emotion of joy was shocking to his teammates as they only knew the ‘win at all costs’ Michael Jordan. Some questioned if he even had feelings or if he was even human. They “only saw anger or frustration.” That was just how Jordan’s next-level competitiveness defined his legacy.
One subject that wasn’t directly discussed in the documentary but gradually became clear was how the Bulls all needed each other. Scottie Pippen had elite athleticism and defensive skills but needed Jordan’s killer instinct, mental focus, and confidence that helped him excel. Jordan said, “you stand next to him, you make him stronger” showing how the duo was stronger together than individually.
Meanwhile, Phil Jackson got Michael Jordan to sacrifice scoring for Championships. Jackson needed Jerry Krause to bring him into the NBA and Bulls organization to be recognized as the 11x Champion he is today. And the whole theme of these two episodes focused on Dennis Rodman and Phil Jackson who weren’t the stars of the story but without them, the stars wouldn’t have aligned how they did and the narrative of Michael Jordan being great, but not great enough to be a Champion, could be alive to this day.
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