- 6 weeks ago
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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00:00The NBA title up for grabs beginning Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.
00:24Part two between the defending champs and the mailman's crew.
00:27Super Mike and the gang looking human, working on just two days rest in the thin air of Salt
00:33Lake City.
00:34After they lost the year before, Utah came back, they were better the next year.
00:45The atmosphere in Utah was this is it.
00:49We can finally vanquish them.
00:51Utah was waiting for us.
00:54We basically had to fly to Salt Lake the next day and it just seemed like we were kind
00:59of running on fumes.
01:03Most people struggle to be present.
01:08People go and sit in ashrams for 20 years in India trying to be present.
01:13Do yoga.
01:14Meditate.
01:15Trying to get here.
01:16Now.
01:17What are you listening to?
01:20What are you listening to?
01:22Huh?
01:23What are you listening to?
01:24Kenny Lattimore.
01:25Brand new.
01:26Not even out yet.
01:27He's a friend of mine.
01:28You don't argue.
01:29Most people live in fear because we project the past into the future.
01:42Michael's a mystic.
01:43He was never anywhere else.
01:46I sense you know you're going to win this first game.
01:53I sense that.
01:54Whatever it is.
01:55Yes.
01:56No.
01:57Maybe.
01:58Coming into the final series, what's your mental preparation like on game day?
02:01Yes.
02:02No.
02:03Maybe.
02:04Whatever that was.
02:05His gift was not that he could jump high, run fast, shoot a basketball.
02:09Yes.
02:10Can I walk in peace?
02:11Go ahead.
02:12Yeah, go.
02:13I love you guys.
02:14There you go.
02:15There you go.
02:16His gift was that.
02:17He was completely present.
02:19And that was the separator.
02:21Go ahead.
02:39No.
02:40I got up to the stretch.
02:42Had a couple beers.
02:43Played a piano.
02:44One cigar.
02:45Did you get the lobby part out?
02:46No.
02:47It's my room.
02:48I got a piano in my room, man.
02:49I was in there.
02:50It's called the Jordan bar.
02:51See that gooey?
02:52Look at my fucking seat.
02:53I'm all going.
02:54MJ, you got four?
02:55KB's got nine.
02:56Mark, you got nine.
02:57You got nine.
02:58You got nine.
02:59I got nine.
03:00I got nine.
03:01I got nine.
03:02I got nine.
03:03I got nine.
03:04I got nine.
03:05I got nine.
03:06I got nine.
03:07I got nine.
03:08I got nine.
03:09Mark, keep it on the board, baby.
03:12Get on the board.
03:14Get on the board.
03:16Go down that rebound.
03:17A big downfall of a lot of players
03:19who are otherwise gifted is thinking about failure.
03:27Michael didn't allow what he couldn't control
03:30to get inside his head.
03:34He would say,
03:35why would I think about missing a shot I haven't taken yet?
03:38Garbage.
03:39Open up.
03:40Open up a nice lead.
03:41Oh, yeah.
03:46Damn.
03:47Damn.
03:48Put him away, MJ.
03:50I just told you.
03:52Nice man.
03:53Keep it a hole now.
03:55Keep it a hole now.
03:56I just love it.
03:57Keep it a hole now.
03:58Woo!
03:59Woo!
04:04Good!
04:05The game's over.
04:06Chicago Stadium is going wild.
04:10First of all, there's no backstabbing going on here.
04:12It's time for me to move on.
04:14This will be Phil's last year as the coach of the Bulls.
04:18Are the expectations way too high?
04:20Where do we go from here?
04:21The only question, how long can it last?
04:23This year's finals has a familiar feel to it.
04:38Same time, same team, same places, same high stakes.
04:41But Utah is hoping for a different end result this year.
04:46Remember what we talked about?
04:47Your breathing and your centering and getting yourself focused in the court.
04:50You guys know that you've got to support yourselves and your teammates.
04:54Here in this building, it's like sheep to the wolves.
05:03In 98, where you guys in Utah?
05:06No, my mom didn't let us go.
05:07Downstairs in the basement.
05:08Exactly.
05:09Watching the game.
05:10We had school.
05:11She felt like Utah was a little hostile for us as young kids.
05:20I don't remember much of the games and actually seeing him play,
05:23but I remember the fans and so loud.
05:27I mean, the screaming was just nonstop.
05:31It was brutal.
05:33We didn't like the jazz at all.
05:35As a family, we would just get down there and just talk someone's trash.
05:38Those games would get crazy.
05:41This Utah team is vastly improved from last year's finalists.
05:45Better skills and much more confidence.
05:47The Bulls have beaten every team in the league this season, except the Utah Jazz.
05:51They're ready to go!
05:52The Bulls have beaten every team.
05:53They've been working on Russell.
05:54Double-team Stockton.
05:55Comes over the street.
05:58The Stockton releases in off the left side of the lane.
05:59they've been working on russell double team stocking comes over the street and stockton
06:04rolls is in off the left side of the lane i never said oh my goodness this is the balls great team
06:10all the respect that they've deserved they get from me but i sure didn't feel an aura about
06:16michael jordan or the bulls i don't know how you would play against somebody with that
06:20we're there to win
06:2927th time out chicago guys this this is a scary fucking situation and this game should be dead
06:37fucking meat now god damn it get yourself serious on this come on come on come on it's scotty back to
06:44michael rushes on it around the long screen michael dishes too long up with the shot to tie the game
06:52and it's overtime in game one
06:55i'm going to go
07:0021 for malone
07:03stop it
07:12and game one goes to utah in overtime
07:17knowing that this is the last dance i'm trying to muster up the energy to finish this off
07:26we were mentally physically exhausted but we didn't lose focus of what we were trying to achieve
07:32on a second on michael fade away got it
07:37slices through the defense and slams it kukos hits off the baseline
07:45from michael with the shot clock winding down against hornacek michael's going to do it two
07:50defenders a whistle count the basket plus the foul chicago comes into salt lake city
07:58weary or not and gets out with a split
08:00the jazz won game one in overtime at home
08:21the bulls won a close game to even it it was a hard-fought series
08:25except for game three in chicago
08:37here's scotty into the lane another runner
08:40he puts it because he's coming to the line
08:43eisley has it blocked off
08:46carl on the run a little hook is an air ball
08:48michael spins on for the six
08:51on the left hand an absolute beauty
09:02the utah jazz of malone and stockton the jazz who managed to get to the finals two years in a row
09:23were held to 54 points the lowest point total since the advent of the shot clock in any game
09:30not just a playoff game ridiculous
09:35but somehow it seems like more than that
09:46hey coach this is actually the score
10:01is this the final
10:17it sports dennis rodman is in more hot water this morning the talk at practice monday wasn't just
10:23about what the jazz was missing in game three but who the bulls were missing the day after dennis
10:28rodman once again was nowhere to be found what is it like that dennis wasn't at practice today
10:34that's true is that an excuse no it's not what what's what transpired i don't know he's not here
10:43i got the world heavyweight title and we brought silly in the house there will be no
10:50stopping nw hollywood now so dennis rodman ran off after game three he took a detour
10:58um from playing the bulls to become a wrestler with hulk hogan and by the way big dog
11:07i just love the way you threw a balloon around like a dish rack you just beat a bomb brah
11:16i wasn't trying to do anything i was just trying to just play basketball party
11:19da da da da fuck all the girls and so it just happened just be me dennis you know there are
11:25some things worth missing practice for brother he has a chartered plane ready and waiting to whisk
11:32him off to some wrestling deal where the scripted action called from the bus some guy over the head
11:36with a chair oh my goodness that is rodman dennis's sideshow is it a reality check for the bulls i think
11:45they're all very disturbed the coaches and the players of course he'll be fine for this latest
11:50defense rodman faces punishment by the bulls for missing practice
12:02i think you weren't here to start were you
12:03you know we beat up dennis with some buffers you got to miss out on that ship
12:10because he he brought he brought uh fame and disreputation on all of us
12:14the bad boy reputation that frankly dennis carefully cultivated overshadowed his contributions
12:32as a player but phil knew that he was a singular defensive player who contributed mightily to the
12:41success of that team when he comes back he's taking away the focus from the finals no he's only
12:47taking your focus away from the finals not ours i just think that field realized that i need to
12:54always do me let's go do what i do you know like i said like you said the playoff game i'm gonna go
12:59wrestle if i did this i go over here if i do that i gotta go do this you know they're gonna get
13:03to 100 percent when i'm on the court all right so here's the problem you got 300 freaking media out
13:14there dennis bluff practice and he got fined and he's got nothing to say to nobody as he would say
13:19in his words so we got to try to sneak him out gate three and a half while 300 media are in the main
13:26hallway in front of the locker room i don't know if we're going to get that done
13:40so
13:55michael
14:10Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
14:19Has there been a Rodman siding, or is he off wrestling with Hulk Hogan tonight?
14:24Isley, got to get rid of it.
14:28Rebound to Rodman.
14:29It's a two-point game, and it stays there as Krippen misses, but Rodman chases it down.
14:37Rodman is there.
14:38Scotty for three.
14:40Rodman is there, and Anderson fouled him.
14:45Now the worm is a poor free-throw shooter.
14:47Certainly not the guy you want on the line in this situation if you're Phil Jackson.
14:52He rolls the dice, he makes them both.
14:54He needs practice.
14:56Off the court, his tired freak show continues, but on the court, he brings tremendous energy and heart.
15:02And Chicago wins it by four.
15:04And they're poised to finish Utah off on Friday night.
15:07What are your thoughts?
15:11It might not only be your last game of the Bulls, but your last game ever.
15:14You know, you've sat sitting on the fence a little here, and obviously it's a thing that the world wants to know.
15:20Well, I mean, the world basically is not to wait and see what happens.
15:25Because, I mean, the job is not done, so let's not celebrate yet.
15:29But we've had enough room.
15:30Amen.
15:31We're all right.
15:32We're all right.
15:34They're all right.
15:35Let's go.
15:36Take your time to the dog.
15:37Come on, Ma.
15:38Take your f**k in this.
15:39Hey, try not to be dogfight tonight, dog.
15:42But one time, come out ready to play.
15:44You know what I mean?
15:47You got that play hard tonight?
15:49If we win, y'all have to hit me no more ever again.
15:53I'm going to drop one of these, y'all.
15:54What you talking about?
15:55What time's y'all play?
15:56Scott, y'all see me tonight?
15:58Ben, not talking to you?
15:59If I ever see you again, I'm going to whip your ass.
16:02Hey, you know I'm going to whip your ass.
16:05Just because y'all must start in the bar and start a barroom brawl.
16:10I'm going to start in the bar and start a barroom brawl.
16:14Your shoes okay?
16:16I'm sliding all over.
16:18I'm going to slide a ring with your hands in that jacket.
16:20That's all you know.
16:22Tonight, game five of the 1998 NBA Finals,
16:26and a win for the Bulls caps the repeat.
16:29The repeat.
16:30The stage is set for a celebration.
16:33When Lycos goes to the finish line, he knows how to close.
16:36If this is the last dance,
16:38you might as well have it on your own dance floor.
16:43Malone's first shot is there.
16:45Stopped it.
16:46Gives it to Malone.
16:48It's just a little anxiety, a little tightness here in Chicago.
16:51Doug, it may be a lack of focus.
16:53Preparing for the parade and the celebration
16:55and forgetting that you've got to come out and play a game.
17:00Malone, 39 points,
17:03and personally pushing back toward Utah.
17:0710.4 seconds remaining.
17:09Kukoc will play it in.
17:11Pippen.
17:12Out to Kukoc for three.
17:13He hits it!
17:15Five seconds.
17:16It's a one-point game.
17:18A two-point Utah lead.
17:23Timeout Chicago.
17:25Bulls ball at half court.
17:27For the Bulls to win this at home,
17:30they're going to have to finish with a bang,
17:33and a giant bang.
17:34Harper.
17:35In the Jordan, a grab.
17:40And the hands-off.
17:44Rip up the headlines.
17:47It is very much a series.
17:51Well, I mean, I would've loved to have won it here at home.
17:54But it didn't happen.
17:57Everyone thought I could make a shot.
17:59And that's the beauty of the game.
18:01For 1.1 seconds, I mean, everybody was holding their breath,
18:04which is kind of cute.
18:13The Bulls know how to close.
18:15But last night, the Jazz held their own.
18:17Utah knew it was going to Salt Lake City
18:19after Friday night's Game 5.
18:20The Jazz just didn't know.
18:22Chicago would also be along for the ride.
18:24The Bulls now 5-4 in title-clinching games.
18:27And if they hope to win it this year,
18:28it'll have to be in Utah.
18:30This is it, baby.
18:31The Jazz have forced the Game 6.
18:32Can they stay alive and take it to 7?
18:33Both games here in Salt Lake City.
18:34The crowd is going nuts.
18:35The calm before the storm.
18:36Not a lot of joking today, huh?
18:38Not a lot of joking today, huh?
18:39Not like in those movies when you see the lion just sitting in the shade, just staring.
18:45When I see the kill today.
18:46Some injury news, and it's not good news for Bulls forward Scottie Pippen.
18:48After fet hani...
18:52Keep beating the game during the game 3.
18:54During the game 3
18:57During which he drew numerous charges for teams.
19:00These are injuries almost anyway.
19:02Do it seem Bерш.
19:03They're you, tout thu rébud.
19:04Here's what he got.
19:05Go There.
19:06I s a bull.
19:07Wet.
19:08On the back help.
19:09I'm in the sand.
19:10David wonder who was gonna play around..
19:12We could be on the foul part
19:15For some fine, not things.
19:16During which he drew numerous charges Kippen has been experiencing stiffness in his back earlier
19:38And we welcome you back to Salt Lake City for game six and should the Jazz win tonight and force a game seven
19:44Then it would be worth noting that very few teams have ever won a seventh game on the road in the finals
19:50Utah would have a slight edge it would seem in that scenario
19:54So if the Bulls want to bring the hammer down game six is the time to do it
20:12Guarded by Russell
20:14Zach will open on Pippen
20:16We'll try and post Scotty on him. They go to it right away. Stockton comes over on the double team now back to Scotty
20:21And they couldn't recover and an easy two for Scotty
20:25I started the game and the first play of the game. I went for a dunk
20:31And it jammed my back I
20:35Was done after that like I'm
20:38Telling MJ I can't go no more like dude. I'm done
20:42It looks like Scotty Pippen is laboring as he moves up and down the court
20:48A back injury
20:49Is one of the most crippling of injuries
20:53Malone
20:55Gets his first
20:57The Bulls lead by nine but here's the bad news for them moments ago Scotty Pippen accompanied by trainer Chip Schaefer leaves the bench and heads for the locker room
21:11He was in such pain
21:13He was in such pain
21:15So disabled
21:17He had continued loss of function. He was losing mobility and his pain was increasing. It was just sort of
21:24Kind of spiraling
21:26Scotty's telling the medical staff that he is not able to play so that could be the end of it for Scotty tonight
21:31Malone in traffic
21:33Malone in traffic
21:35Got his own and put it back in
21:37Malone against Wennington
21:39Off balance hit it plus the foul
21:42When Scotty left
21:44We were just kind of holding on
21:47Shotgun violation
21:49Michael gave it up
21:50They weren't even close to hosting a shot before 24 seconds
21:54It's Malone
21:55And it's Utah with the lead
21:56Only moments ago they trailed by nine
21:58This would be a very wearing game for Jordan
22:01To try to tire him down and wear him out
22:03It'd be interesting to see if he'll have enough at the end of the game because of the minimum
22:07He's gonna have to play
22:08During the break I was in the locker room trying to get some heat and steam and stuff put on and try to see if I can, you know, do something
22:15Amad Rashad back at the Delta Center where the Jazz lead the Bulls by four
22:17Now the big story here in the first half has been the condition of Scotty Pippen's back
22:19He has really been hurting
22:20And Scotty Pippen is back out here on the floor
22:21Whether or not
22:22He'll be able to play and play effectively we'll find out
22:23Did you start?
22:24Really?
22:25No
22:26No
22:27No
22:28No
22:29No
22:30No
22:31No
22:32No
22:33No
22:34No
22:35No
22:36No
22:37No
22:38No
22:39No
22:41No
22:42No
22:43No
22:44No
22:45No
22:46No
22:47No
22:48No
22:49No
22:50No
22:51No
22:52No
22:54All right
22:55Utah in possession as we start the third quarter Malone right to work
22:59Rodman battling like crazy, but can't quite hold onto it
23:04And Rodman just trips Malone off, they gotta call a flagrant here. They got to call a flagrant
23:12I tell you what, I love when I'm seeing the battle between these two guys, they're fighting, giving it everything they've got
23:18Rodman...
23:21and drills a 20-footer and gives it that go-figure gesture.
23:26This is Scotty out high, immediately returns it to Harper.
23:29A little jump hook is good.
23:31Is Pippen anything more than a decoy now on offense for Chicago?
23:35I was a decoy that whole game, but they didn't know it.
23:40Michael said, you just stay out here and do what you can do.
23:44You've got to be out here than in the locker room.
23:46So I gutted myself through that game.
23:51Pippen, giving it his best, and that time it was good enough.
23:55Pippen is barely getting up and down the floor.
23:58So I'm taking all the shots, I'm bringing all the energy,
24:02and I got very little left in the team.
24:05As we start the fourth quarter, Michael Jordan has scored 29 points.
24:09He's played 34 of the 36 minutes so far after playing 45 on Friday night.
24:15You have to believe fatigue is an important factor now.
24:19Out to MJ for three.
24:22It's short.
24:22It's Michael.
24:24Short.
24:25The jumpers come up short when fatigue is a factor.
24:29There's Pippen heading back to the locker room again to try to stretch out that ailing back.
24:33We had our massage therapist working with him, using medication and doing everything we could
24:40to try to relieve his pain and his symptoms.
24:44Treat him for five minutes so that he could get maybe five minutes of pain relief and play for five minutes.
24:47They had him in the back.
24:49They were putting ice on his back and electrical stimulation to pain relief,
24:53and they were trying to buy their time up until the 10-minute mark.
24:56They bring him back out and see if he could play the last 10 minutes of the game.
24:59As you can see, he's back.
25:01He's on the floor.
25:02We just had to see Art go.
25:05Anybody that would have a notion that Skyny Pippen was a soft player is patently absurd.
25:10He's as tough a player and intense a competitor.
25:13Anybody that I've worked with, what he did in game six was extraordinary.
25:17I know so many players that would have tapped out without hesitation in that situation,
25:21and he was going to just throw it out there and finish it no matter what.
25:28Alone, three defenders on him, and they take it away.
25:31It's Pippen wincing as he comes up with the loose ball.
25:34Scottie just hobbling around.
25:38Jordan with the jumper.
25:39And with 37 points, as Utah falls behind now for the first time since the second quarter.
25:48Stockton has a little daylight, and Utah has a three-point lead.
25:55Pippen in the lane.
25:57Connects on the turnaround, playing through clenched teeth.
26:01Game six has gone back and forth and back and forth,
26:05and I just didn't see any way this wasn't going seven.
26:08Utah was really mentally tough.
26:13Fifty seconds.
26:15Malone.
26:19Cross-court Stockton.
26:20A three.
26:21It's there!
26:28It was less than a minute to play.
26:30We're down three.
26:33Phil calls timeout.
26:34This is a big 20-second timeout for Chicago because it allows Jordan to get some rest.
26:42Michael Jordan, at this advanced stage of his career, has to carry the team.
26:46He has to play extra minutes in a grueling series.
26:49And that last sequence in the final half-minute plus is one of the greatest sequences you'll ever see in any sport.
26:59Now the Bulls would like to get two-for-one possession here.
27:03Trying to get a quick score against the free-throw line to give them two opportunities to win.
27:09Pippen and the Jordan.
27:12Michael working on Russell.
27:15Brings them to within one.
27:16Michael takes it right to the rim and lays it in.
27:20So now we need to stop.
27:22When they made a layup and we went back down, I knew they were going to run their patented play through Carl Malone.
27:28They ran that play a couple times prior.
27:31And Dennis and Malone have been fighting all game.
27:35And Carl just totally forgot that I was on the weak side.
27:37Malone has doubled.
27:41They swat at it and steal it.
27:45Michael never clears.
27:46So Malone doesn't see him.
27:48He comes from the blind side and strips him.
27:51Now I got the ball and I can see Phil, you know, basically out of the corner of my eyes.
27:55He wasn't going to call a timeout.
27:57If we could do something without them talking about it, working against a set defense,
28:03we'd rather go with a lineball situation.
28:0517 seconds from game 7 or from championship number 6.
28:11What's going through your head when you're coming back up the floor?
28:14Get the hell out the way.
28:17Get the hell out the way on the thing I was thinking.
28:21I didn't even have to do shit.
28:22All I did was plant myself right down there.
28:24I knew I was saying, he's going to shoot this fucker.
28:27He is not going to pass this fucking ball.
28:29I don't give a fuck if it was John Paxton or fucking, you know, Steve Kerr.
28:33Hell no.
28:34This is his turn.
28:36When I scoped over the floor, I felt like I can get a jump shot off or I can get all
28:40the way to the basket.
28:41So it's just a matter of me picking the right time when they're attacking.
28:46Jordan.
28:47Open.
28:48Chicago with the lead.
28:50Timeout, Utah.
28:555.2 seconds left.
28:58Michael Jordan running on fumes with 45 points.
29:04At the end of the game, you've got to get it out of his hands.
29:08He's a killer.
29:14Watch Jordan's left hand here as he gives Russell the push.
29:18Referee can't see that.
29:19Jordan frees himself up for a clean look.
29:22Now everybody say I pushed off.
29:27Bullshit.
29:27The man was, his energy was going that way.
29:29I didn't have to push him that way.
29:31Russell was already stumbling away.
29:34That hand on his backside was the equivalent of a maitre d' showing someone to their table.
29:39When he took that shot, you could just hear the energy just get sucked right out of the building.
29:50That may have been the last shot Michael Jordan will ever take in the NBA.
29:57If that's the last image of Michael Jordan, how magnificent is it?
30:03And those devastated fans were just groaning, this collective groan as the Jazz take timeout.
30:19Tired as hell.
30:20I'm exhausted.
30:22But I have one more stop.
30:24One more stop, man.
30:25One more stop, man.
30:27Great deal, man.
30:28Great deal.
30:28One more stop.
30:33I can't do nothing else.
30:35We'll go faster.
30:36You're ready to go.
30:37I'm sorry, man.
30:38Come on.
30:38Don't get another T.
30:59I'm collecting my thoughts, but I'm tired.
31:01I'm trying to muster up the energy to finish this off.
31:08If they score, there's a game seven.
31:11If they don't, for the second straight year, they go out in six.
31:17Stopped it.
31:18Harper's on it.
31:19Behind the screen.
31:20Harper got a piece of it.
31:21It comes off.
31:22The Chicago Bulls have won their sixth NBA championship.
31:33And it's their second three-peat.
31:35Oh!
31:37Oh!
31:43Oh, God!
31:45Oh, God!
31:47What a pretty firefighter!
31:49Oh, bless you!
31:59The Chicago Bulls, the 1998 NBA champion,
32:03and a team for the agent.
32:13I never gave up.
32:15I never gave up. Every time we were close,
32:17I knew what we were going to do.
32:191998 NBA Finals,
32:21MVP, Michael Jordan.
32:33Oh, yeah!
32:35Oh, yeah!
32:47He's a hero. He's a guy that delivered
32:49every time he was asked to
32:51in these type of situations.
32:53Hey, can you believe it?
32:55Six.
32:57Six.
32:59Six of them!
33:01Six of them!
33:03Yes, sir!
33:05Six of them!
33:07Man, y'all say whatever you want.
33:09They can't win until we quit.
33:11I didn't touch it.
33:12I didn't touch it.
33:13I didn't touch it.
33:14I didn't touch it.
33:15I didn't touch it.
33:20Check that out.
33:21Oh, yeah.
33:22Look at that.
33:23That's waterproof color right there.
33:24That's waterproof.
33:27What was you watching this afternoon?
33:28I was watching Man with the Iron Face with you.
33:30Iron Man.
33:31Iron Man.
33:32Iron Man.
33:33He's here.
33:34You know what I told the guys
33:35when we stuck our hand in?
33:36What?
33:37All for one and one for all.
33:38I did.
33:39I'm not kidding.
33:40Congratulations.
33:41Thank you, man.
33:42Thank you, dude.
33:43I loved it.
33:44Beautiful stuff just now, man.
33:45That was a great wedding.
33:47Thank you very much.
33:48Can you continue this, Jerry,
33:49with this championship prize?
33:50I'm not even going to think about this.
33:51All I'm going to think about is
33:52tonight, have fun.
33:53Tomorrow morning,
33:54we'll worry about anything else.
33:55Kevin, Scotty,
33:56now that you're celebrating,
33:57you're feeling good,
33:58you're coming back next year, right?
33:59I answered in a couple days.
34:01Maybe a grandpa.
34:03All right.
34:04Greatest team that will play this game.
34:06So, they just got to respect it.
34:08If you don't respect that,
34:09hey,
34:10a lot of people doing a lot of illegal drugs.
34:13Thanks, man.
34:14That's what it is.
34:15That's it.
34:16Can you imagine still daylight?
34:18You might be able to get some golf swings in.
34:27This is great.
34:29This one's greatest.
34:30This one's greatest.
34:31Good job.
34:32Good job.
34:33Fellas.
34:34You're welcome.
34:35Great job.
34:36Thank you, man.
34:37Take care, man.
34:38See you guys.
34:40Excuse me.
34:41Educational.
34:52I'm a society.
34:58Upon arrival at the hotel we just had cameras in front of us and
35:03people waiting for autographs.
35:04waiting for autographs.
35:06That was so amazing, you know, just being with the group
35:09and feeling that rush of adrenaline
35:13because of people's adoration for Michael, mainly.
35:34I'm sorry, is this the smoking floor?
35:41Yes, it is now.
35:43We are the champion, my friend.
35:51Kiss the trophy.
35:53Kiss the trophy?
35:54Yeah.
35:55Yeah!
36:05Phil said, can you play 48 minutes?
36:08I said, whatever it takes.
36:10It didn't help much when Scottie went down.
36:12I wouldn't expect him to go down.
36:13That scared the shit out of me.
36:15How good did that jumper feel?
36:16I see you gave the little note.
36:18Oh, I had to. Everything was short.
36:20I had a flick in my wrist.
36:21Everything was short.
36:22I had a great look.
36:23That time I pulled it up.
36:25You all the way.
36:26You know, there's no fundamental shit
36:27throw your two fingers at you.
36:29I'm sorry, man.
36:30Pronate.
36:31Got nothing in you?
36:32Celebrate what we want.
36:33It's the moment, man.
36:34It's the moment.
36:35It's the moment.
36:36That Zen Buddhism shit.
36:37Y'all get in the moment and stay here.
36:38There's a lot of championships gone.
36:39Just stay in the moment.
36:40In the moment.
36:41Till next October.
36:42Then we know where the hell we are.
36:49Champs, world champs, NBA Mac Daddies.
36:52Chicago completing its second free-peat this decade.
36:55Tens of thousands of fans in Chicago's Grand Park.
36:58Chanting one more year.
37:00Chanting one more year!
37:01Chanting one more year!
37:02I want to tell Jerry Reinshorn, he better bring him back.
37:05Because if he doesn't, we're going to ride him out of a town on a reel.
37:07And now, your six-time world champion, Chicago Bulls!
37:22About a year ago, Jerry Reinshorn called me and asked me,
37:27Did I think we could do it again?
37:29I said yes.
37:32Without Scotty coming back, we never would have got it done.
37:36And Michael loaded us up on his shoulders and carried us home.
37:40And I want to thank Jerry Krause for giving us the opportunity to do it.
37:47He had another plan, but he put it aside.
37:53We came knocking.
37:54We got to give him credit.
37:55And he deserves the credit because he was the general manager of those teams.
38:02I've had a lot of great people in my life, and that's why my success happened.
38:07I played with Phil Jackson, the greatest coach in the game.
38:10Michael Jordan, the greatest player in the game.
38:12Jerry Krause, obviously the greatest general manager in the game.
38:16I want to thank all my teammates, the organization.
38:19It's been a great run.
38:21Thank you for our last dance.
38:28I know a lot of people didn't think we'd end up back in Grand Park this year.
38:32Nobody knows if we're going to be in Grand Park next year.
38:36But the one thing I do know is my heart, my soul, and my love has always gone to the city of Chicago.
38:51And I do know that no matter what happens, my heart, my soul, and my love will still be in the city of Chicago.
38:59You have to almost appreciate his celebrity even more because he didn't have those platforms to be known worldwide.
39:10There was no ability to promote yourself through social media, to post videos, no tweets, nothing like that.
39:18He was known for his play and for having this larger-than-life persona.
39:23I'm most proud of the impact that those teams had on the city of Chicago, on the fans.
39:34When we had the celebrations after each of the championships in Grand Park,
39:39and to look out over a crowd of faces as far as you can see, and they're all happy.
39:43You're all happy.
39:44I mean, it makes you feel good that you've played some role in bringing happiness to these people.
39:49In 92, the NBA was in 80 countries, and now the NBA is in 215 countries.
39:58Anyone who understands that phenomenon, that historical arc, will understand that Michael Jordan.
40:04And his era played an incredibly important part in it.
40:07He advanced us tremendously.
40:09There are great players who don't have an impact beyond their sport.
40:19And then there are certain sports figures who become a larger cultural force.
40:25Michael Jordan helped to create a different way in which people thought about the African-American athlete.
40:34A different way in which people saw athletics as part of the entertainment business.
40:42He became an extraordinary ambassador, not just for basketball, but I think for the United States overseas.
40:50And part of American culture, sweeping the globe.
40:54Michael Jordan and the Bulls changed the culture.
40:59That night, Jerry Reinstorf called me up and asked me to come back.
41:16After the sixth championship, I offered him the opportunity to come back.
41:21You've earned the chance, the opportunity to come back, regardless of what was said before now.
41:26I said, well, I think I should just take a break.
41:30I said, I don't think it's fair to Jerry.
41:33And I know it'd be difficult for him to accept that.
41:36Let me play you.
41:38This is Jerry Reinstorf saying why he had to break the team.
41:42Reinstorf?
41:43Yeah.
41:44I can't wait to hear this.
41:46I've never, I've never understood, we've never had any dialogue about why.
41:49I've made my own assumptions why.
41:51Now, after the sixth championship, things were beyond our control, because it would have been suicidal at that point in their careers to bring back Pippen, Steve Kerr, Rodman, Ron Harper.
42:09Their market value individually was going to be too high.
42:12They weren't going to be worth the money they were going to get in the market.
42:15So when we realized that we were going to have to go into a rebuild, I went to Phil and said, offer him the opportunity to come back the next year.
42:24But he said, I don't want to go through a rebuild.
42:27I don't want to coach a bad team.
42:29You know, that was the end.
42:30It just came to an end on its own.
42:32You know, had Michael been healthy and wanted to come back, I don't doubt that Kraus could have rebuilt another championship team in a couple of years.
42:40But, you know, it wasn't going to happen instantly.
42:42In 98, Kraus already said at the beginning of the season, Phil can go 82-0.
42:56And he was never going to be the coach.
42:58So when Phil said it was the last dance, it was the last dance, we knew they weren't going to keep the team.
43:05Now, they could have niched all of it at the beginning of 98.
43:09Why say that statement at the beginning of 98?
43:12If you ask all the guys who won in 98, Steve Kerr, Jeff Bussler, blah, blah, blah.
43:17We give you a one-year contract to try for a separate.
43:20You think they would have signed?
43:22Yes, they would have signed.
43:23Would I sign for one year?
43:24Yes, I would have signed for one year.
43:26I've been signing one-year contracts up to that.
43:28Would Phil have done it?
43:29Yes.
43:30Now, Pip, you would have had to do some convincing.
43:33But if Phil was going to be there, if Dennis was going to be there, if MJ was going to be there,
43:38to win our seventh, Pip is not going to miss out on that.
43:43You know, 91, 92, I was young, full of energy, hungry.
43:50In 98, when you're winning six out of eight.
43:55And yet being just as dominant as you were in 91, that's where the craftsmanship came in.
44:02I think 98 was much better than any other years because of how I was able to use my mind as well as my body.
44:10So was it then satisfying to leave at your peak?
44:14No.
44:15Or is it maddening to leave at your peak?
44:18It's maddening, you know, because I felt like we could have won seven.
44:24I really believe that.
44:26We may not have, but, man, just not to be able to try, that's something that, you know, I just can't accept.
44:34For whatever reason, I just can't accept it.
44:36This is a good time to go.
44:42It's a great run.
44:43We've had a wonderful time.
44:45Good team.
44:46Time to go.
44:48I remember there was this team meeting with Phil, and it was like, this is it.
45:07My wife had gotten her master's in social work, and she was part of a group that went in to help people that were grieving.
45:16One of the things they did was a ritual in which they kind of put things to rest.
45:24He says, you know, this is it. This is the last dance. Last time we're ever going to be together.
45:31He's asked everybody to bring in anything you want to write about what the team means to you.
45:37Write what being on this team has meant to you during this year, and read it, and we'll burn it in a coffee can.
45:45And every guy had emotional words to say.
45:49And I remember Michael actually wrote a poem.
45:53It was a depth of emotion that you never thought he had.
45:57You can spend your time alone.
46:01Phil had this knack, no matter how big you are or how big you think you are, to always draw you in to be a part of the process.
46:11I'm not a poet. I just spoke what I felt at the time.
46:16We're always going to be bonded in the present day.
46:20You say thanks for the past, enjoy the moment, let's make sure we end it right.
46:26We saw him as this bully sometimes.
46:30But that day he showed his compassion and his empathy for all of us.
46:35Then everybody put the paper in the can and at the end of the session, Phil turned out the lights and he lit the paper in the can.
46:44One of the most powerful things I've ever seen.
46:48When I look back, that's very gratifying to come from Wilmington, North Carolina and never been in Chicago.
47:04That became my home and became a part of my history.
47:12My passion on the basketball court should have been infectious because that's how I tried to play.
47:19I played for them.
47:21Started with hope.
47:23Started with hope.
47:25We went from a shitty team to one of the all-time best dynasty.
47:37All you needed was one little match to start that whole fire.
47:43Se Caught with hope.
47:56We did a shot on Elos.
47:57He was the bullpen, the bullpen!
48:00He was the bullpen!
48:06He was the bullpen!
48:09Oh, that's incredible by Michael Jordan.
48:39I just want the franchise and Chicago Bulls to be respected,
48:52like the Lakers or the Philadelphia 76ers or the Boston Celtics.
48:56Hopefully that this team and this organization can build a program like that.
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