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The Last Dance is a 2020 American sports television documentary miniseries co-produced by ESPN Films and Netflix. Directed by Jason Hehir, the series revolves around Michael Jordan's career, with particular focus on the 1997–98 season, his final season with the Chicago Bulls.

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Transcript
00:30Michael Jordan has said it many times.
00:31He considers Madison Square Garden to be the mecca of basketball.
00:38If, in fact, this is his final NBA All-Star game, it's a perfect place to make a last statement.
00:44On the verge of a repeat-repeat, Michael Jordan is playing his last year.
00:49Bulls GM Jerry Krause swore on Wednesday that Bill Jackson would not return next year
00:55and said if Michael chooses to leave because there's another coach, then it's his choice.
01:00Boy, hey.
01:01Hey, your feet look good.
01:04Kobe Bryant, meanwhile, the youngest All-Star in history at 19 years, five months.
01:09I've been talking to him.
01:11It's the same thing as the 19-year-old kids.
01:12You know what they said, Kobe?
01:13You're ready to be the man at the All-Star game.
01:16You can't forget the king is still on the court.
01:18If I rule the world, imagine that.
01:22Hey, do you Michael's girl right here?
01:25There you go.
01:25There you go.
01:25There you go.
01:26There you go.
01:26There you go.
01:26Man, I must be the old guy.
01:29I remember I used to be way in the back.
01:30We want to give you a nice, comfortable chair.
01:32If I rule the world, still living for today.
01:37You feelin' right, huh?
01:41I guess so, since you're gonna play me for 20 minutes.
01:44We're ready.
01:44We're having a slam.
01:45Shots out there.
01:47You get in the middle, you don't have anything, kick it out, make that extra pass.
01:49Somebody should be wide open for a three, okay?
01:52While we're here, we might as well win.
01:54All right.
01:56I don't believe the boys want to take everybody to win.
01:59I know, right?
02:00Yeah.
02:01We don't like to Kobe.
02:02Yeah.
02:02He don't let the game come to him.
02:04No, man.
02:05He just brought this team.
02:06He's gonna take you, bro.
02:07He's gonna make his game.
02:08He's gonna make this shit happen.
02:09I'm gonna make this a one-on-one game.
02:11Yeah.
02:12Look, I figure after the first four attempts, it didn't go in, he was gonna chill.
02:15What?
02:15Shit.
02:16After the first four attempts, if I was a teammate, I wouldn't pass him to fuck the ball.
02:20Hey, you want this ball again, brother.
02:22You better rebound him.
02:23What?
02:26This is the East locker room over here.
02:30Hold up, hold up, hold up.
02:31You got nothing to do with the West.
02:32Hold up.
02:32Hold up.
02:32Hold up.
02:32Hold up.
02:33This motherfucker got nothing but his damn Lego colors on.
02:36Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:37Like he coached me.
02:40Now, I'm with the old mother.
02:41Oops.
02:42Old mother.
02:43There ain't many of us here, dawg.
02:44That's why I come and say what's up to my boy.
02:47How you been doing?
02:48How you feeling?
02:49Damn.
02:51Hey, Michael.
02:51I'm loving it, dawg.
02:52Would you like to have some his ass today?
02:55Hey, hey.
02:55You know I'll be coming at his ass.
02:57Just like I used to come at both of y'all.
02:59Just about tip-off time at Madison Square Garden for the 48th NBA All-Star Game.
03:07And there you see Kobe Bryant in the foreground, the man many have dubbed the next Michael
03:12Jordan.
03:12I got my, I got my.
03:14Here is Michael.
03:15Ah!
03:16Count it, plus the foul for Jordan.
03:23I grew up watching Michael on TV.
03:25And now you got a chance to go face-to-face with him.
03:28You get a chance to really see and, like, touch and feel.
03:32Strength, speed, quickness.
03:34And, um, it was fun to be out there.
03:37He's got the ball in his hands again to Garnett.
03:41Back to Kobe.
03:45You just want to get to the options of me and go one-on-one.
03:47We're going to make it there and work down here.
03:49He's making it out.
03:49We got to get back.
03:51He hauling in.
03:52Hey, hey, I ain't trying to be that an opposing, dawg.
03:55I ain't jumping with something.
03:57No.
03:57It was a rough couple years for me to come into the league.
04:00Because at the time, the league was so much older.
04:01It's not as young as it is today.
04:03So nobody was really thinking much of me.
04:05I mean, I was, you know, a kid that shot a bunch of air balls.
04:09You know what I mean?
04:10And at that point, Michael provided a lot of guidance for me.
04:14Like, I had a question about shooting this turnaround shot.
04:17So I asked him about it.
04:18And, you know, he gave me a great detailed answer.
04:22But on top of that, he said, if you ever need anything, give me a call.
04:26He's like my big brother.
04:29You know, I truly hate having discussions about who would win one-on-one.
04:35And you're a fan saying, hey, Kobe, you beat Michael one-on-one.
04:39I feel like, yo, what you get from me is from him.
04:44I don't get five championships here without him.
04:48Because he guided me so much and gave me so much great advice.
04:52Kobe has challenged Michael.
04:53Michael comes out and he's saying, not tonight, young fella.
04:57Uh-uh, Kobe.
04:57I got some more drinks left in my bag.
05:00He's not ready to leave yet, folks.
05:03Here we go, guys.
05:04How's it going to go, boy?
05:06I know it.
05:07I know it.
05:08I'll see you down the road.
05:09Cool.
05:10Congratulations.
05:13See you in the final.
05:14Hopefully.
05:15I'm going to be here.
05:16Oh, I know we really.
05:17I hate that song.
05:19Forget it.
05:19I'm only going to allow him to have his trophy if he promises to come back and do it again.
05:28The all-star of all-stars, the MVP, Michael Jordan.
05:34If there was ever any doubt that he could have kept playing at an MVP and championship level,
05:40here's the all-star game.
05:41He's the MVP.
05:43He's still the star among stars.
05:47Even though there were explanations offered, people couldn't understand why he was going to step away.
05:53The public wanted him to keep going.
05:58Oh, the game's over.
06:01Chicago Stadium is going wild.
06:04First of all, there's no backstabbing going on here.
06:08It's time for me to move on.
06:09This will be Phil's last year as the coach of the Bulls.
06:14Are the expectations way too high?
06:16Where do we go from here?
06:17The only question, how long can it last?
06:19Knowing this is the last dance, unless something actually changes.
06:41Going into Madison Square Garden.
06:44This is the last time I'm going to be playing here.
06:46And that was my favorite place to play.
06:53Went back and grabbed the old pair of Jordan 1s.
06:57It's the first shoe I wore in the garden.
06:59So this is going to be the last shoe.
07:01You know, being that this is going to be the last time I play in the garden.
07:03Can I kick it?
07:04Yes, you can.
07:05Can I kick it?
07:07Yes, you can.
07:08Can I kick it?
07:09Yes, you can.
07:10I'm born.
07:12Born, man.
07:13Can I kick it to my tribe that blows in lay?
07:16You're going to blow out my heart.
07:17Sweet.
07:19Place those.
07:20Come on, man.
07:22So you was nowhere around.
07:23You was a baby when I broke these ass.
07:2484.
07:2584.
07:27How old are you?
07:27That's when I started.
07:28You were 12 years old.
07:29That's when I started.
07:30Tony was still a diaper.
07:31Hey, man, you look at these shoes.
07:34You put these shoes on, then put on some of them.
07:37Innovation is taking a long turn.
07:58I first met Michael Jordan in 1984.
08:00I actually went to North Carolina to interview Michael and his family to represent him.
08:07As parents asked great questions, they were very intelligent, extremely personable.
08:12Our firm, ProServe, had a lot of very high-profile tennis clients like Jimmy Conner, Stan Smith,
08:18Arthur Ashe.
08:19Arthur Ashe had his own shoes.
08:21He had his own tennis racket.
08:22This is the racket I won Wimbledon with, and you could have bought it.
08:26Really?
08:27The strategy was to try to take a team sport player and treat him more like a golfer or a
08:33boxer or a tennis player.
08:35I said to David, what are you trying to do?
08:38You trying to turn this guy into a tennis player?
08:40He's a basketball player.
08:42He's not a tennis player.
08:44I said, that's exactly what I'm trying to do.
08:46And the very first deal was shoes.
08:49We took him out to meet Converse, which at that time was the official shoe of the NBA.
08:54The Converse weapon.
08:55That's a shoe.
08:56That's Magic do what he was born to do.
08:59They have Magic Johnson, Dr. J, Bernard King, Larry Bird.
09:03You already know what you did for me.
09:05What?
09:05I walked away with the MVP.
09:07The Converse weapon.
09:09The number one weapon in the NBA.
09:11Converse had big players and told me, we cannot envision you being put ahead of them.
09:18Okay, fine.
09:19Did you have a shoe company that you wanted to know with?
09:22That was Adidas.
09:24I like the Lakers.
09:25I like Marcus Johnson.
09:27And I like Adidas.
09:29I like Adidas shoe.
09:31Adidas was really dysfunctional by that time.
09:33And they had just told me, like, we'd love to have Jordan.
09:36We just can't make a shoe work at this point in time.
09:40I wanted Michael to go at Nike because they were the upstart.
09:44In the early 80s, Nike was, for the most part, a track shoe company.
09:50Michael didn't even want to be at Nike.
09:54I couldn't even get him to get on the damn plane and go visit the campus.
09:58So I called his parents.
10:00And my mother said, you're going to go listen.
10:01You may not like it, but you're going to go listen.
10:04Mom, I don't want to hear her.
10:05I know what I want to do.
10:07I am not going to Nike's mom.
10:09I said, Michael, you have to give him an opportunity.
10:12And she made me go on that plane and go listen.
10:16Going to that meeting, not wanting to be there.
10:19Nike made this big pitch.
10:22My father said, you got to be a fool for not taking this deal.
10:24This is the best deal.
10:25Back then, the best guys might have gotten, like, $100,000 or so.
10:33And he got probably $250,000.
10:35It was like, well, you would pay him what?
10:39A young rookie that's done nothing?
10:44You must be out of your mind.
10:48When I negotiated the Nike deal, I said to him, you're a small company.
10:52And if you want Michael Jordan, he's got to have his own shoe line.
10:56Nike just come out with this new technology for their running shoes called Air Souls.
11:02And obviously, Michael played in the air.
11:03I said, okay, I got it.
11:04We're going to call it Air Jordan.
11:06Man, Jordan.
11:08I got a pretty good ring to it.
11:10I'm your idol, the highest title, numero uno.
11:14Nike's expectation when we signed the deal was that at the end of year four,
11:18they hoped to sell $3 million worth of Air Jordans.
11:22In year one, we sold $126 million.
11:25I get paid when my record is played, to put it short.
11:28I got it made.
11:29I got it made.
11:30I got it made.
11:31As a commodity, Michael Jordan is as hot as a Cabbage Patch doll right now.
11:39The endorsements are fast and furious.
11:41The photo sessions seem endless.
11:43Like a politician, Jordan moves gracefully through a crowd of admirers,
11:47sipping orange juice, collecting business cards.
11:50Deals have already been cut with Wilson's Sporting Goods, McDonald's.
11:55For a kid, it was almost like owning a lightsaber from Star Wars.
12:01You needed that shoe to be like him.
12:04It was more than a status symbol.
12:06You knew this guy was the guy.
12:08It came in different styles.
12:13Other brands didn't change too much.
12:15Jordan changed with the time.
12:17Everybody was like, you got to get a pair of Jordans.
12:18You got to get a pair of Jordans.
12:19So, every year we would save up money.
12:23I would cut grass and do chores and save up money and wait in line at Foot Locker.
12:28Before Michael Jordan, sneakers were just for playing basketball.
12:34And all of a sudden, sneakers became fashion and culture.
12:39My first film was called She's Gonna Happen.
12:42I played a character named Morris Blackman.
12:44And I made sure that Morris would be wearing a pair of Jordans
12:47because Michael is the hero of the youth today.
12:51You know, the fact that Nike used Spike Lee to produce Jordan commercials
13:08suddenly brought urban culture and crossed it together with sports.
13:13Yo, Morris Blackman here with my main man, Michael Jordan.
13:18Yo, Mike, what made you the best player in the universe?
13:20Is it the vicious dunks?
13:22No, Morris.
13:23Is it the haircut?
13:24No, Morris.
13:25Is it the shoes?
13:26No, Morris.
13:27Money's got to be the shoes.
13:29Shoes?
13:29Shoes.
13:30You sure it's not the shoes?
13:32I'm sure, Morris.
13:33Cut.
13:34My game was my biggest endorsement.
13:37What I did on the basketball court, my dedication to the game,
13:40led to all this other stuff.
13:42Believe me, if I was averaging two points, three rebounds,
13:45I wouldn't have signed anything with anybody.
13:48So my game did all my talking.
13:53We are back at Madison Square Garden.
13:56Michael Jordan wearing the original Air Jordans
13:58that he wore the first time he played at Madison Square Garden back in 1984.
14:02And Michael will get a standing ovation from the garden crowd here.
14:12Michael, two seconds to shoot, over Houston.
14:15Got it.
14:17It must be the shoes.
14:19Michael, hits again.
14:25This is beautiful basketball they were watching.
14:27By halftime, my feet are bleeding.
14:34But I'm having a good game.
14:35I don't want to take them off.
14:37Michael.
14:38Oh, my goodness.
14:40A number of the players and even two of the officials are laughing.
14:44Michael Jordan now has 40 points.
14:46Only one guy has this level of artistry.
14:50Spinning in the lane for a slam.
14:52And Spike Lee is all over Michael Jordan.
14:55And Michael has a few words by way of retort.
14:58Well, he just told him that he couldn't guard him.
15:00Yeah, see, he said, he can't guard me.
15:02But you look at him, he says, hey, you come out here.
15:04You come out.
15:05Spike said, I will, buddy.
15:06And if this was Michael Jordan's final game at Madison Square Garden,
15:15he leaves no doubt whatsoever that he exits just as he entered.
15:19The best there is.
15:21I couldn't take those shoes off fast enough.
15:23And when I took the shoes off, my sock was soaked in blood.
15:28It's kind of fun to come back here and play and remember some of the old days
15:31and some of the games that I've had here.
15:34And the shoes are a part of that.
15:35It's all, you know, my feet are killing me.
15:48Close your arm.
15:49Close your arm.
15:50I had to go back to all the way.
15:52I ain't afford it with y'all ass.
15:53I got to do breath right now.
15:58I got to go back to the back.
16:00Here they come, yo.
16:03Here they come.
16:05prior to the season of 92 the team talked about the difficulty of repeating
16:25and we had this statement you're only a success at the moment you perform a successful act
16:30you have to do it again
16:35i've always thought that the 92 team was maybe the best bulls team ever
16:51starting over that season i felt michael jordan never played basketball anymore he just figured
17:10out how to win the game he knew how to steer momentum he knew how to get guys going and
17:18not only was he that good on the offensive end he was just as good on the defensive end
17:22so he was just playing a different game than the rest of us he let us play but he was there
17:29to win the game and he knew that and he once he figured that out you couldn't beat him
17:36good evening basketball fans wherever you may be tonight begins the 1992 nba finals
17:45the chicago bulls the portland trailblazers the two best teams in the nba go head to head
17:53we have two great teams led by two superstar players all eyes will be focused on the matchup
17:58of drexler and jordan and when you look at these two players there's not a whole lot of difference
18:02between them both had outstanding seasons seasons that statistically mirrored each other
18:07clyde the glide says we're the two best in the game but i'm not getting into a war of words with mike
18:13clyde was a threat you know i'm not saying he wasn't a threat but me being compared to him
18:18i took offense to that i'm working for nbc i'm covering the finals so the night before game one
18:28we're at michael's house playing cards and he said you know what's gonna happen tomorrow
18:33i'm gonna give it to this dude
18:35so he hit that first three and then here come the second one
18:51the third one
18:54michael didn't want anybody to have nothing over him
19:10and every time he hit the three he glanced over at me at the nbc table
19:24he was like i'm killing this dude
19:44based on the way i was playing at that time it wasn't even close so i attacked him every night
19:54here's short
19:59so
20:07Oh, my God.
20:37One is great, two is almost impossible.
20:52Congratulations, Chicago.
20:57The one thing I would say, and I'd say it from Jerry Reinsdorf, I'm down.
21:04This is a great organization.
21:07This organization is special.
21:09From Jerry, Jerry, it starts with Jerry, and it goes down all the way to Joe Lee,
21:12our clubhouse guy who's been here 25 years.
21:15It's an organization thing, and that's what it's all about.
21:17The team is a great team, but the organization is one of the all-time great,
21:21if not the greatest organization ever.
21:22That's what I'm so much proud of.
21:25Watch your car phone.
21:26You smoking a cigar?
21:28Yeah.
21:28Coming off his second championship, second finals MVP, second MVP season.
21:42Michael was the king of the world, and it was the first year that we were trying to get
21:48the pros into the Olympics.
21:50What do you put on the USA?
21:52Uh, another week.
21:54That's a week from Sunday, isn't it?
21:57Yeah, but I got a lot of money to do from now to then.
22:00I can charge you with somebody.
22:02Who knows the neighborhood?
22:03I'll tell you, the Olympics, if Chuck Daly played me over 10 minutes, I'm quitting.
22:23With the United States basketball taking a beating in international play,
22:27a call went out for NBA help.
22:29The result, in 1992, for the first time, a team of mostly NBA players will defend America's
22:37Olympic pride.
22:41Before the 92 Olympics, Rod Thorne calls me and says, we would love for you to be on the
22:47dream team.
22:49I says, oh, who's all playing?
22:51He says, uh, what does that mean?
22:53I say, who's all playing?
22:54You know, he says, well, the guy you're talking about, or you're thinking about, he's not going
23:00to be playing.
23:02All right, I'm just going to ask a few things about the Olympics.
23:06All right, more Isaiah Thomas questions.
23:07More Isaiah Thomas questions.
23:08Cool.
23:10Now, there has been speculation that your icy relationship with Isaiah Thomas is the reason
23:17that he was not selected.
23:20I respect Isaiah Thomas' talent.
23:23To me, the best point guard of all time is Magic Johnson, and right behind him is Isaiah
23:28Thomas.
23:29No matter how much I hate him, I respect his game.
23:33Now, it was insinuated that I was asking about him, but I never threw his name in there.
23:37I don't know what went into that process.
23:42I met the criteria to be selected, but I wasn't.
23:48The dream team, based on the environment and the camaraderie that happened on that team,
23:55it was best harmony.
23:57Would Isaiah have made a different feeling on that team?
24:00Yes.
24:02Magic Johnson angry.
24:04He's very upset up there.
24:05At that point, Magic and Isaiah had had their thing.
24:09Bird and Isaiah had their thing.
24:12And Scottie, man, it's half the team.
24:15They did not want to play with him.
24:18Everybody puts it on Michael.
24:19Because we knew that dislike was out in the open.
24:22They left the bench over 7 and 9 tenths seconds remaining.
24:26The Pistons just left.
24:28But there was a lot more to it than that.
24:30You want to attribute it to me?
24:31Go ahead, be my guest.
24:32But it wasn't me.
24:35With Jordan, Pippen, Magic and Bird leading the way, this team's built as the greatest ever assembled.
24:41What did you treasure the most about that experience that summer?
24:45The practices.
24:46And the camaraderie.
24:48You know, how the guys bonded together.
24:49Sometimes I dream that he is me.
24:55I'm going to want to be like Chuck.
24:57I mean, Michael.
25:00You can't get too close to Michael.
25:02It's a foul.
25:05You have been a foul in almost a year and a half, man.
25:08I hear you talking.
25:10My goodness.
25:12I don't think you ever found out of a game.
25:14Who do you ever found out of a game?
25:15I'm the young guy with the old Elvis statesman.
25:19That's right.
25:20That's right.
25:20They all had to listen to me.
25:22Whatever I say goes.
25:26Man, I had some of my fondest memories just hanging out with Michael.
25:32We played cards every night against each other.
25:36And if I had the upper hand, he wanted to play another hour.
25:40Another hour.
25:41And then he never wants to just beat you.
25:45He wants to put his foot on your neck and just...
25:48I mean, you're not satisfied with beating me?
25:53You want to crush me too?
25:54Yeah.
25:55They had a practice game in Monte Carlo.
25:59And Magic and Barkley's team got off to a big lead.
26:04That was the greatest basketball, I think, that we all were involved in.
26:12Great passing, great shooting, great defense.
26:17All NBA players going back and forth at each other.
26:22There was real trash talking going on, particularly from Charles and Magic toward Michael.
26:28Magic always got under Michael's skin for some reason.
26:31Way back, way back at each other.
26:35All right, now, we're going.
26:37It's all right.
26:38That's all right.
26:39There we go.
26:42Let's go, way back at each other.
26:43We don't take over each other.
26:44We're going to take over each other.
26:45We ain't in Chicago, stay in here.
26:47We're up about eight points, I think it was, something like that.
26:51And I went over and tapped him.
26:54And I said, look, man, if you don't turn into Air Jordan, we're going to blow you out.
26:58Man, what did I say that for?
27:02Michael proceeded to score every time down the court.
27:06It was like, okay, you want to know who the guy is?
27:08Here's who the guy is.
27:10He broke the huddle, hit a three.
27:11Bam.
27:12Came back down, hit another three.
27:14Bam.
27:14Came through the middle and just shook everybody.
27:17Bam.
27:19Before we know, they was up, too.
27:24He drove to the basket and the referee called a foul.
27:29And Magic threw the ball up to the top of the arena and was screaming about, just like the NBA, he gets every call, same thing over here.
27:39All they did was move from Google Stadium right here.
27:42That's all they did.
27:43That's all they did.
27:44This is Magic.
27:45This is Magic.
27:46He did it.
27:47He did it.
27:47He did it.
27:47He did it.
27:48He did it.
27:48He did it.
27:48He did it.
27:49He did it.
27:49He did it.
27:50What's that supposed to mean?
27:50This is Magic.
27:55How do you like that ass kick when we gave you up?
27:57No, no, no, no.
27:58Come on, man.
27:58After the practice, they get on the bus to go back to the hotel, and for a couple minutes, there's, like, no talking.
28:10When we got on the bus, it was, it was, whoo, man.
28:14And all of a sudden, Magic says to Barkley, he said, hey, Charles, I guess we shouldn't have pissed the man off.
28:20And then everybody, this is the greatest practice ever.
28:23We love this.
28:24Woo, la, la.
28:25After that game, everyone kind of acknowledged we're in a new era.
28:32Michael Jordan was the alpha alpha.
28:36Period.
28:37Michael, game on the line, who would take the last shot?
28:42Me.
28:44That's a dumb question.
28:45Me.
28:47But now a cavalry rides to the rescue as the Olympics open to NBA players.
28:52The U.S. sends the greatest team ever assembled.
28:54The United States will be the overwhelming favorite in Barcelona.
28:58Among the competition, though, there's one team that stands out.
29:01Like the U.S.A., it's loaded with talent.
29:04Croatia has built a basketball powerhouse.
29:10There's Tony Kukoc, the 6'10 wizard they call the left-handed Magic Johnson.
29:14A lot of excitement about tomorrow's game against Croatia.
29:18Our first chance to see Tony Kukoc against this kind of competition.
29:21What do you know about him and them?
29:23Well, I don't know a lot about him, but if you listen to Michael and Scotty, they know a whole lot about him.
29:29Because apparently, there was some mixed emotions about him going to Chicago.
29:34With the second pick in the second round, the Chicago Bulls select Tony Kukoc.
29:40Tony's certainly an outstanding young prospect.
29:44I also think that he's an outstanding young man.
29:48After I was drafted by the Bulls, the situation at home was not so great because of the war and everything.
29:57Yugoslavia is, of course, a country divided.
29:59In June, two of its republics, Croatia and Slovenia, declared their independence, igniting a bloody civil war.
30:06I just decided to play a couple more years in Europe, just to be there, kind of just to not take off completely.
30:19And I was making considerably more in Europe than I would make my first couple years here.
30:26We're not talking little money.
30:28We're talking a couple million.
30:29And Jerry went over to watch Tony play in what was then Yugoslavia and said Tony Kukoc is going to be the future of the Chicago Bulls.
30:41Jerry was fawning over Tony so much while our team here was winning championships.
30:49And it just, it rubbed a lot of the players the wrong way, unfortunately.
30:54The timing of this Kukoc thing is where the problem has been all along, okay?
30:57He went out to negotiate with Kukoc while Pippen was waiting to sign the deal that he's currently under.
31:03They kind of put him on hold while they negotiated with Kukoc.
31:06Kraus, you know, he's willing to put someone in front of his actual kids who have given him everything that we could give him.
31:15At that time, I have no idea what was going on with the Bulls.
31:20I don't know the frictions in between Scotty and Jerry, Michael and Jerry.
31:24So, going to the Olympics, I kind of thought everything was okay.
31:31The major storyline that carries into this game involves European star Tony Kukoc.
31:36In the Dream Team locker room before the first game against Croatia, Michael says,
31:40Hey guys, Kukoc, leave him for Scotty and me.
31:44Kukoc being played by Pippen.
31:50And Kukoc went to the reverse.
31:53There's Jordan with a step on Kukoc.
31:56Kukoc trying to return it.
31:58Pippen with a steal.
32:00Well, I didn't play a good game.
32:02I got surprised by how strict they played defense.
32:06I didn't expect somebody to be next to me literally the whole game.
32:11Jordan and Pippen are intense on showing their superiority.
32:16Tony Kukoc became a great teammate and I love Tony Kukoc for who he is.
32:21But the way he was introduced to me and Scotty was, you know, I didn't appreciate it.
32:25And it drove my energy.
32:27And at this point, Tony Kukoc, zero points, zero rebounds for the Croatian team.
32:33Jordan and Pippen have been all over him.
32:36I feel bad for Tony.
32:37And I thought Michael and Scotty were out of line.
32:39He was terrified.
32:42And it's Pippen again.
32:44It's Pippen given the rule.
32:46On the third foul, Pippen with a foul.
32:48Well, to this point, it has been all Scotty Pippen.
32:54Jerry paid away for a lot of hell for Tony Kukoc.
32:59Not only was just me and Michael, but every guy on the Olympic team looked at that kid and felt like
33:05he may not even think about coming to the NBA after he played against us.
33:09And the pressure continues.
33:11It wasn't anything personally about Tony, but we were going to do everything that we could
33:18to make Jerry look bad.
33:2018 off a 19-5 line.
33:22Jordan rejecting Kukoc.
33:24Here's a three-on-two.
33:25Here's a three-on-two.
33:25Pippen going on the way.
33:30A 33-point victory.
33:32Pippen also holding Tony Kukoc to four points.
33:35I know Scotty was a little pissed about all the publicity surrounding Kukoc.
33:40And he proved today that if they're going to give anybody in Chicago any more money, it
33:45better be him.
33:46You know, I still hear talk that, you know, he just had a bad game.
33:49He was nervous.
33:49But if he's that nervous, then he can't come to the NBA and play two games.
33:54They didn't know me.
33:55I mean, I don't see a reason why would they try to take it of me.
33:59They don't know me at all.
34:01That's the first time we meet.
34:04Scotty says he doesn't think he can play in the NBA.
34:08Yeah, that's a little bit unfair to him.
34:10I mean, you got to realize the guy was playing against 11 of the best players in the league.
34:15Once we're in the finals, because obviously the United States is going to be the second
34:20finalist, then we'll play.
34:23Coming up shortly, the dream team, the U.S. men's basketball team, will take on Croatia
34:27for the gold medal.
34:29This is the second meeting between the United States and Croatia.
34:33The last time they met last week, the United States won by 33 points.
34:38Remember the second game when we played him?
34:39Kukoc came back, and I give him credit.
34:41He came back and played a much better game than he did the first game.
34:48Tony Kukoc certainly has turned it around from his performance in the earlier meeting
34:52against the United States.
34:55Americans didn't understand how tough people like Tony Kukoc were.
34:59They had no idea.
35:00So people have no idea about the war-torn situations and the poverty and the oppression
35:06that guys like Kukoc came from, that produced them, that hardened them.
35:11And so it was stupid to call them soft.
35:14He had to fight to gain their respect.
35:16And he did it!
35:18To come back after being totally emasculated showed me a lot about Tony Kukoc.
35:23Kukoc got a 16.6 assist.
35:26I remember Michael coming back in the locker room saying, he played pretty well, man.
35:30He's tougher than we thought.
35:35The team won the 92 Olympics.
35:45And then Michael decided that he didn't want to display the Reebok logo that was on his uniform.
35:57Maybe Michael Jordan did come to the 92 Olympics with an innocent desire to recapture his pure love of sport.
36:04But money quickly complicated the sentimental journey.
36:07Reebok had spent millions to outfit the teams in Barcelona and expected all U.S. athletes to display its logo,
36:14especially the high-profile dream team.
36:17Something else.
36:20Harley Schilling, what a dick.
36:23Who's that?
36:23The guy who said if we don't wear, you know who, we can't accept the gold medal and all that stuff.
36:31Is that still a big issue, they're still talking about that?
36:33No, they're still digging.
36:35They're going to try to hide the Reebok on it.
36:37But they can't hide it like I'm going to hide it.
36:41They're in for a big roughness about it.
36:44Michael was so singular in his competitive drive, and a drive that extended to his partners like Nike,
36:53that he could not bear the thought of wearing the Reebok logo on a global stage,
36:58receiving a gold medal at the Olympics.
37:02So he covered the Reebok logo up with a United States flag.
37:07Michael Jordan's weight in the American flag.
37:11It was extraordinary.
37:12And that is not solely for patriotic reasons.
37:17Here at Barcelona in the Olympics, these folks have done a job taking basketball,
37:22and Michael Jordan particularly, to unbelievable heights.
37:25Michael was the face of the Dream Team, and the Dream Team changed everything about international basketball.
37:34The Dream Team's entirely responsible for the NBA's profile, taking a massive jump forward.
37:40And it just, it shaped how the world felt about the NBA.
37:46Michael Jordan, the Dream Team, helped bring sports into that place of cultural influence globally.
37:55So it wasn't just music that was cool.
37:58It wasn't just fashion in the U.S. that was translating into other countries.
38:01All of a sudden, it was the NBA.
38:06Yeah, I think it was the first time that sports was being sold in a cultural way.
38:11We were selling Americana.
38:13And then what attached to it was this incredibly handsome, successful player, his swagger.
38:21And people wanted to be part of that.
38:24After the Olympics, Michael was the most recognizable, the most popular sports figure, but really cultural figure in the world.
38:39He was really a global superstar.
38:42Everyone around the world knew Michael Jordan.
38:44Sometimes I dream that he is me
38:55Got to see that's how I dream to be
38:59Once he got to the point where it was, be like Mike
39:05Mike, be like Mike
39:07That changed everything for him.
39:10There's pressure to be like Mike.
39:11If you're going to be like him, you've got to be clean, you've got to be Teflon, you've got to be completely spotless as a person.
39:19And no human being is like that.
39:21Mike, be like Mike
39:23Like Mike
39:23Like Mike
39:24Like Mike
39:24Like a be like Mike
39:26Any African American in this society that sees significant success has an added burden.
39:38And a lot of times America is very quick to embrace a Michael Jordan or an Oprah Winfrey or Barack Obama
39:45So long as it's understood that you don't get too controversial around broader issues of social justice.
39:55Part of the reason he remained popular is that he never did anything to piss anybody off.
40:00Probably the most controversial thing Jordan said in his career was when Harvey Gantt was running for Senate to be the first African American from North Carolina to serve in the U.S. Senate.
40:12Michael would not come out and endorse or support Gantt and was quoted as saying Republicans buy sneakers too.
40:19Democrats in North Carolina have nominated Harvey Gantt as their candidate for the Senate.
40:25If he defeats incumbent Jesse Helms, Gantt would become the state's first black senator.
40:311990 North Carolina Senate race.
40:35You have the infamous Jesse Helms and an African American by the name of Harvey Gantt.
40:40The stakes are really high.
40:43Jesse Helms was a reprehensible figure in terms of his racism and conservative politics.
40:50There's nothing cool about Jesse Helms.
40:52Jesse Helms can take full credit or blame for killing a new national African American museum.
40:58Helms also stood against the Martin Luther King holiday.
41:01I'm not saying to you that we wouldn't have segregated schools or largely segregated schools under a freedom of choice plan, such as I've suggested.
41:10But I will say to you that that would be the choice.
41:14Michael refuses to do a commercial to support Harvey Gantt.
41:20And the statement that emerges, Republicans buy Nikes too, sounds as though Michael is saying my personal wealth is more important than my politics as it pertains to the issue of race.
41:34I don't think that statement needs to be corrected because I said it in just, you know, on a bus with, you know, with Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen.
41:43And it was, you know, thrown off the cuff.
41:45My mother asked to do a PSA for Harvey Gantt.
41:49And I said, look, Mom, I'm not speaking out of pocket about someone I don't know.
41:52But I will send a contribution to support him, which is what I did.
41:57Conservative incumbent Jesse Helms won a fourth term, defeating liberal black Harvey Gantt.
42:03There is no joy in Mudville tonight.
42:09Gantt was not bitter in defeat.
42:11But this contest proves that race is still a powerful issue in American politics.
42:16Michael did lose some credibility with an African-American audience, and people were disappointed because he did not come out and support Gantt.
42:25Everybody in the world respects Muhammad Ali.
42:28You know why?
42:29Because he stood for something.
42:31He stood for something even if it meant sacrificing a payday.
42:36We respect that.
42:38Ultimately, Michael Jordan may be forgotten.
42:42Muhammad Ali won't be forgotten.
42:43I do commend Muhammad Ali for standing up for what he believed in.
42:50But I never thought of myself as an activist.
42:53I thought of myself as a basketball player.
42:57I wasn't a politician when I was playing my sport.
43:01You know, I was focused on my craft.
43:03Was that selfish?
43:04Probably.
43:04But that was my energy.
43:06That's where my energy was.
43:07I'll be honest that when it was reported that Michael said, you know, Republicans buy sneakers, too.
43:15You know, for somebody who was, at that time, preparing for a career in civil rights law and in public life and knowing what Jesse Helms stood for, you would have wanted to see Michael push harder on that.
43:32On the other hand, he was still trying to figure out how am I managing this image that has been created around me and how do I live up to it?
43:47It's never going to be enough for everybody.
43:48I know that.
43:49I realize that, you know, because everybody has a preconceived idea in terms of what they think I should do and what I shouldn't do.
43:54The way that I go about my life is I set examples.
44:01And if it inspires you, great.
44:03You know, I will continue to do that.
44:05If it doesn't, then maybe I'm not the person that you should be following.
44:09In 97 and 98, the ticket requests, you know, went through the roof because there was a question mark.
44:30You know, did Michael want to play?
44:31Did he want to retire?
44:32In that year, we put our tickets on sale on a Saturday morning at 10 o'clock, and people lined up at the Chicago Stadium.
44:42By noon, the entire season was sold out.
44:46But then, every request was a battle for the rest of the season.
44:51Michael, on most nights, would need anywhere from 12 to 20 tickets.
44:57Other players would want some.
44:59And it was funny, too, because at some point, I had to limit the players.
45:02You know, we didn't have unlimited tickets in those days.
45:06You're sitting here like me.
45:07Hey.
45:09Does it matter where you are, man?
45:10Or you want to visit the building?
45:12You're going to be in the locker room next to God.
45:16Bam.
45:19Next to God.
45:20God.
45:21I just got one from him.
45:25Just kidding, man.
45:26Ah, don't we?
45:27I ain't going to win.
45:28No, yeah, yeah, no, yeah.
45:29Damn, that's a lie.
45:31Don't, don't, do not take that off the tape, either.
45:33You better.
45:33He's not kidding.
45:34She is.
45:34Lauren, I'm not with him.
45:37He's not kidding.
45:38Don't, make sure y'all don't edit that off.
45:39Get your ass on out of here, and I gave you a ticket.
45:41Get the hell on out.
45:42Make sure y'all don't edit that off.
45:43You ain't kidding.
45:45The road was sometimes more challenging than at home because you were dealing,
45:49and other people's arenas.
45:51When he played down in Atlanta, the Bulls played down there, and they had, you know,
45:55more people than he'd have for a football game in the Atlanta Dome just to see Michael.
45:58NBA record 62,046 fans packed into the Georgia Dome to see what may have been Michael Jordan's
46:18final game in Atlanta.
46:20And right now, if we had another 15,000 seats, I believe we could still sell them for this
46:24game.
46:24It's the hottest thing I've ever seen.
46:25All I know is when the tickets came this morning, my wife ran downstairs, and she was
46:29crying.
46:29She was so happy.
46:30So I'm the hero.
46:34There's nothing you can do about that.
46:36See, that's Michael Jordan at his best.
46:38Everywhere you went, people wanted tickets, but it became overwhelming.
46:44You don't see what he's joining.
46:48This is what you call a Pogan Jesus phenomenon.
46:50We save a lot of money, and we travel 24 hours to see Chicago Bulls.
47:13It's a dream.
47:15Tonight's game is sold out.
47:17Do not purchase tickets from Scalpers on 7th Avenue.
47:21They are counterfeit.
47:22Everybody in the world begged me for tickets.
47:25You know, movie stars would come in, and celebrities would come in.
47:29You've got to know people.
47:31I can beg.
47:32I'm a beggar.
47:33If this ticket's been gotten, I will find them.
47:35People expect you to still put on a show, and he does that each and every night.
47:48Hey, look, I want to be like Michael also.
47:52Michael doesn't pass me the ball that well.
47:59Michael doesn't pass me the ball at all.
48:01I want Michael to play as long as he wants.
48:03Right now, he's at the top of his game.
48:05It's a shame that Kraus and Ryan's going to have to do it.
48:07I don't understand it.
48:08The similarity between the Bulls and Seinfeld, the show of the 90s, the team of the 90s,
48:13and I'm trying to make quitting the move of the 90s.
48:17Let the new people in.
48:21How are you doing?
48:22Good to see you.
48:23I haven't seen you since the photo show.
48:24These are a couple of your good friends right here.
48:27Every day we come in and watch the game, they're watching your show.
48:30I'm not saying, soon or later, you've got to get tired of Seinfeld.
48:34Let's go, guys.
48:36Hi, Phil.
48:37How are you doing?
48:37All right.
48:37How are you guys?
48:38All right.
48:38Have a good game.
48:39He's kicking you out.
48:40Good to see him.
48:41All right.
48:42I'll see you, dude.
48:45This is not going to work, by the way.
48:47I'll be getting that out of there.
48:48Just keep the bottom line going.
48:49How are you doing?
48:50All right.
48:51Have a good game.
48:52When you get to the top, it's great to be admired and respected.
48:55I'm not saying that wasn't fun.
48:57But every time I would get by myself, I think about the end of the season, the ultimate goal.
49:05Holding up that championship trophy and being recognized as the best team in the world.
49:10It's something at the end of this rainbow that I'm fighting for, and I'm going to give every little bit to get to it.
49:15I'm going to give you a little bit to get to it.
49:45I'm going to give you a little bit to get to it.
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