The Last Dance
ESPN’s docuseries “The Last Dance” goes behind the scenes to chronicle the Bulls’ 1997-98 season.
From the archives: Scottie Pippen tried to fight through a migraine in the Bulls’ playoff loss to the Pistons.
Sometimes the past needs to sit before all its different textures can be seen.
What we learned from the third and fourth episodes of ESPN’s documentary on Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Bulls.
Rick Telander and Richard Roeper offer additional insights into the storylines they witnessed as journalists during the Bulls’ six championship runs.
He was the Bulls’ radio voice for five of their six NBA title runs, calling every game. He’ll bow out after this season, ending an NBA career that began with the 76ers in 1976.
Award-winning sports columnist Rick Telander, who’s featured in ESPN’s ‘‘The Last Dance,’’ and Sun-Times entertainment critic Richard Roeper will break down episodes of the docuseries after they air.
Even Bulls fans seemed to have grown oddly sated or, maybe predictably, bored with the sameness that came with being the best.
![“Jerry [Krause] wanted to blow it up,” former Bulls coach Tim Floyd said. “He and Phil [Jackson] weren’t hitting it off. Jerry was convinced that the team had nothing left, and he wanted to get value for those guys.”](https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/340f1ca/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1876x1053+0+175/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FJX0JUEAElXkZ1BP63RpkM8HVZfk%3D%2F0x0%3A1876x1402%2F1876x1402%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28591x672%3A592x673%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F19915775%2FJIM_LITKE.jpg)
“I would have liked to have coached Michael, Scottie and Dennis,” Floyd said.
The episodes rank as the two most-viewed original content broadcasts on ESPN since 2004, when it began producing such shows, surpassing the 2012 film “You Don’t Know Bo” (3.6 million).
To celebrate the release of “The Last Dance,” the Sun-Times pulls open its archives to look back at stories covering Jordan’s greatest challenges and triumphs.
He broke up the Jordan Bulls, and for that, he was rightly consigned to infamy. But there are other candidates.
One of Armstrong’s biggest takeaways were the stories of Jordan’s early years, how the 1-on-1 and often overheated battles with his older brother Larry helped mature him.
The jersey was auctioned the same night as the premiere of “The Last Dance.
What we learned from the first two episodes of ESPN’s documentary on Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Bulls.
Get ready to go in depth on MJ and the ‘97-98 Bulls’ storied run.
Golf used to be Jordan’s hobby. Now it’s much more than that.
Ten-part series stars Michael Jordan but includes backstories of Scottie Pippen, Phil Jackson and others. Episode 1 airs at 8 p.m. Sunday on ESPN and ESPN2 (edited for language).
“We were all trying to enjoy that year knowing it was coming to an end,” Jordan told Good Morning America on Thursday.
Fans will savor all 10 hours of Michael Jordan and teammates in ESPN series — and leave wanting more.
“I wouldn’t call it a challenge,” said “The Last Dance” director Jason Hehir. “I would call it a privilege.”
The sports world isn’t turning to LeBron James or Patrick Mahomes or Mike Trout for comfort. It’s turning to a 57-year-old man in the third or fourth quarter of his life.
The 10-part series titled “The Last Dance,” which follows the team’s 1998 title run, originally was set for June, before the coronavirus pandemic put the sports world on hold.