Another trophy for MJ: ‘The Last Dance’ wins Emmy for outstanding documentary

ESPN’s 10-part doc on Jordan and the Bulls beat out Netflix’s “Tiger King” and three others for the award.

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Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan makes the winning shot during Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 14, 1998.

Scott Cunningham/AP Photo

Michael Jordan’s winning ways have brushed off on the team behind ESPN documentary “The Last Dance,” which won the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series at this year’s Creative Arts Emmys on Saturday night.

“The Last Dance,” a 10-part deep dive into Jordan and the 1997-98 Bulls’ run to a sixth NBA championship, took the basketball world by storm earlier this year. It put up record-breaking audience numbers for an ESPN documentary and dominated the discourse at a time when most sports were not in action due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another spring hit, Netflix’s “Tiger King,” had been considered a prime contender for the Emmy, but ended up without a win from its six total nominations. The other three nominees were HBO’s “McMillion$,” Hulu’s “Hillary” and PBS’ “American Masters.”

Jordan’s involvement made “The Last Dance,” which was directed by Jason Hehir, must-watch TV for many hoops fans. It was a rare chance to see Jordan discuss some of his greatest moments – and get a better understanding of the cost of being MJ.

“Thank you to Michael Jordan himself for giving us his time, his honesty and his candor and the other 105 people who sat down and gave their time and their honesty to make the story what it was,” Hehir said as part of his acceptance speech.

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