ESPN's "The Last Dance" Documentary Series
I there are a bunch of sports fans in the BM community, so considering how anticipated this series is and how good the first 2 episodes were, I figured it might be worth making a thread for it.
Considering how important the '97-'98 Bulls were to my childhood, I'm not sure I'm going to have a more emotional reaction to anything in pop culture this year than when I heard the intro music play in the first episode. I gotta say, even though I obviously think Krause was crazy blow up the team, I'm surprised how villainous they are making him out to be. Regardless of what happened at the end, Jerry Krause architected arguably the greatest dynasty in all of professional sports. Of course he was lucky that he had the GOAT, but building a championship team is rarely just about only accumulating talent (see my beloved Sixers this year) and Krause built the perfect dynasty around MJ. His inferiority complex just got the best of him and I feel for him there.
Also, maybe this will change but I'm surprised at how selfish they are portraying Scottie Pippen as being. The Bulls Scottie Pippen is one of the most undervalued players in NBA history, and there is no way Reinsdorf would be able to get away with his hardline no re-negotiation stance in today's NBA.
Anyone else watching?
Considering how important the '97-'98 Bulls were to my childhood, I'm not sure I'm going to have a more emotional reaction to anything in pop culture this year than when I heard the intro music play in the first episode. I gotta say, even though I obviously think Krause was crazy blow up the team, I'm surprised how villainous they are making him out to be. Regardless of what happened at the end, Jerry Krause architected arguably the greatest dynasty in all of professional sports. Of course he was lucky that he had the GOAT, but building a championship team is rarely just about only accumulating talent (see my beloved Sixers this year) and Krause built the perfect dynasty around MJ. His inferiority complex just got the best of him and I feel for him there.
Also, maybe this will change but I'm surprised at how selfish they are portraying Scottie Pippen as being. The Bulls Scottie Pippen is one of the most undervalued players in NBA history, and there is no way Reinsdorf would be able to get away with his hardline no re-negotiation stance in today's NBA.
Anyone else watching?
Comments
My biggest question is how they approach MJ's sabbatical from the NBA for Southern League minor league baseball. It's kind of an open secret as to why this happened, but I wonder if they just drift pass this or if they actually address it.
None of this changes the fact he was/is the best player ever, but there will be questions about this for a long time.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/131997-mjs-1st-retirement-was-it-a-secret-suspension
I'm familiar with the theory, and read the article you posted - not buying it. It's fun to theorize, but it's a conspiracy theory that is completely hearsay. You could say "This is all second or third hand information, but there is so much smoke around this that you can't just dismiss it as a fantasy story." about every conspiracy theory, that's what makes them compelling.
The article makes zero mention of Jordan's father being murdered the summer before his retirement. Occam's razor, coupled with no credible journalist finding compelling evidence for a forced retirement by Stern, leads me to dismiss the suspension theory as nonsense, honestly. It's actually quite dark and cynical to speculate Michael and/or Stern used his father's murder as cover for a secret suspension.
Sure, he gambled compulsively, probably even on basketball games I imagine, but it's very unlikely Stern forced him into retirement as some sort of punishment. This theory leads to more questions than answers and requires suspension of disbelief on many levels, like most conspiracy theories.
Bill Simmons is a known conspiracy theory hobby-ist - I'm not sure if push came to shove he'd bet his life that the theory is actually true, though.
Completely forgot about the No Tippin Pippen thing. I think you hit the nail on the head, it's just of matter of the details. So, for example, if he went out to dinner and the bill was for $100 and he left no tip or like $5, then sure, that's a problem no matter who you are (at least in my opinion). But if he was leaving $15 or $20 and people say because he's got millions he should be leaving like $30 or $40, then I think i'd agree that the nickname is not deserved.
As for Jordan's 18 month hiatus, I think it has to be addressed one way or the other. He may try to spin it in a way that it was really about his father being murdered that impacted him or maybe he just says that he was burnt out and needed a break from the game to regain his passion for it. I'd be stunned though if he ever admitted to any gambling issues/concerns though.
What I'm looking forward to is watching the "Jordan Rules" part. Additionally, I really enjoyed listening to Magic and Bird talk about MJ as he was ascending and how they knew he was coming for them.
Also, for Krause, he did luck into MJ. I mean, I forget if it was him or someone else that said if they had the #1 pick, they would have taken Hakeem. I think you give Krause credit for seeing something in Pippen that other teams didn't. And I guess also trading Oakley. However, if Krause was looking to deal Pippen, you'd think maybe he would try the tactic of something like "hey, we're not actively looking to trade you and we really don't want to but it's business and if someone blows us away with an offer, we at least have to think about it" and maybe that type of approach where it's face to face might have worked better. But I think if you're Pippen and you know that your contract is a steal for the organization and how much you would be worth on the open market in addition to the club trying to trade you, I mean, I can get why he'd be pissed off and take his sweet time coming back. Then, you throw in the Phil Jackson stuff and getting rid of him (which will trigger MJ also leaving), I mean, it seems an odd move for Krause. It seems more of a "hey, look at me, look how smart I am" type of move as oppose to just trying to keep winning as a whole organization.
But I don't want to argue with you if you just think its just tin foil land.
So apparently they are going to go in depth on Jordan's baseball interlude and why he left and why he came back along with some of the conspiracies around it according to the director of the doc. He was interviewed on the Rich Eisen Show and he says so around the 11:20 mark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngJ4agyxerw&t=4s
I think the funniest part is just Jordan's reaction. He has his opinion and nothing is ever going to change it. You could give Jordan mind reading powers and have him go inside Isiah's head and see if he was truly being honest or not and Jordan would still not believe him.
I enjoyed the 30 for 30 on the Bad Boys. If I see it on, I usually flip the channel and watch it. But probably because i'm just a fan of the 80's NBA as well and it's interesting to get a different team's perspective on things.