ESPN’s Last Dance documentary about the final run of the Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls is now the most watched documentary of all-time for ESPN. The most recent two episodes aired tonight and, as your No. 1 source for the internet’s best Side Action, I’m here for a Last Dance recap for episodes 5 and 6 where we dive into the 92-93 Bulls run. Strap in as we learn a whole lot more about M.J., Toni Kukoc, the ’92 Dream Team and the Bulls’ first three-peat.
Full disclosure: I am an unabashed Michael Jordan stan whose first memory of sports, other than Troy Aikman being injured at the hands of Lawrence Taylor during the Cowboys’ pre-Super Bowl 1-15 year, is His Airness’s greatness. This documentary will hopefully key in a whole new generation about what it truly meant to be as great as M.J. was but I have to put that out there before we dive into it. And now, onto our Last Dance recap of episodes five and six where I’ll highlight some of the best moments and discuss everything that you may have missed.
Last Dance Episode 5 recap and review
The opener of the episode must have been edited at some point earlier in 2020 with a heavy Kobe Bryant influence. It’s hard to not feel something when you hear M.J. describe young Kobe’s penchant for one-on-one play as he ultimately seemingly walked away impressed by the upstart after the 1998 All-Star game. While not as historically significant perhaps as their 2003 battle during M.J.’s final stint in the league, it’s worth a quick gander if you don’t remember or were too young:
M.J. finished 10-for-18 with a very fitting 23 points in 32 minutes played while young Kobe Bean was 7-for-16 for 18 points in 22 minutes of action. Kobe would close out the segment as he discussed Michael’s big brother-like influence on his life and career. Jordan taught Kobe moves, was readily available for him, and any move that Kobe could give to someone else comes from Michael’s oversized footsteps. A touching tribute to a man in Kobe Bryant whom we’ll one day see in a documentary not unlike this one.
We quickly segue from this now-exceedingly timely moment to a discussion about Michael Jordan’s influence on shoe culture. It’s been discussed over the years but Michael Jordan’s first preference, after Converse’s roster of athletes was overstuffed as the then-top brand, was Adidas. Perhaps they were too busy all day dreaming about soccer, but they felt like they couldn’t make a shoe to befit Michael. He instead went with Nike and we all know how that turned out.
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Nike’s new air sole technology was a big point of emphasis for them and it became a key point of how they marketed “Air” Jordan. Phil Knight is now one of the richest men in sports for good reason as they claim to have sold 126 MILLION units during his first year.
In case you doubted Knight and Jordan’s business acumen, Nas and Justin Timberlake provide cameos to illustrate the cultural pervasiveness of the Jordans. Michael revealed that a new Jordan shoe resulted in his socks caked in blood as he went off during a 1998 game against the Knicks. A small price to pay for the most ubiquitous basketball shoe of all time.
We transitioned back to the game as B.J. Armstrong perfectly summed up what made Michael great. Armstrong said “He let us play. But he was there to win the game.”
Michael has no issue illustrating that in this episode as we see the Bulls’ second championship victory over the Blazers. M.J. seems to have no ill will towards one of his contemporaries, Clyde Drexler. But he encourages us all to know the pecking order.
“Him being compared to me…I took offense to that,” Jordan coldly says.
Magic Johnson reveals that as Jordan went off for a barrage of 3-pointers in a win against Portland, he continued to look at Magic on the sideline. Even when Jordan has vanquished a foe, as he did with Magic’s Lakers en route to the first Bulls title win, he never forgets.
Similarly, we move onto the famous 1992 Dream Team who stormed to a gold medal in the Barcelona Olympics. While Magic and Jordan’s rivalry was cordial, M.J. had clearly drawn a line with Isiah Thomas as we saw in previous Last Dance episodes. Archival footage shows that Jordan specifically requested “No Isiah Thomas stuff” in an interview in 1992 as the Pistons great was surprisingly omitted from the legendary Team USA squad.
Jordan didn’t view Thomas as a less-than-elite player. In fact, Jordan calls the original IT his No. 2 point guard ever behind Magic. But when it comes down to a team vibe, Jordan felt like Isiah wouldn’t have provided the harmony that the Dream Team had.
“Would Isiah have made a different feeling? Yes,” M.J. explains as we’re reminded of Thomas’s feuds with fellow Dream Teamers in Michael, Scottie Pippen, and the aforementioned Magic Johnson. Michael valued camaraderie for the team and, while it’s unclear of how he exerted his sway, the message is clear: No Isiah Thomases allowed.
We get a glimpse into the Dream Team’s “camaraderie” in the form of one of the most legendary practices in basketball history. An intrasquad scrimmage results in a team with Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley sticking it to Jordan’s side. After some light smack talk, Jordan singlehandedly claws his side back into it. The end result is the team dubbing Michael the “alpha alpha”. Even amongst the greatest of the greatest of both the time and all-time, Jordan ultimately took no prisoners.
That philosophy extended to his own would-be teammates. Croatia was led by a young Toni Kukoc, an acquisition by reviled GM Jerry Krause who was called “a left-handed Magic [Johnson]”. Jordan and Pippen both resented Kukoc, unbeknownst to him, thanks to his status as Krause’s golden boy.
“Jerry paved the way for a lot of hell for Toni Kukoc,” Scottie said. “We were gonna do everything we could to make Jerry look bad.”
Kukoc ended up surprised by their strict defense in the Olympic setting as Croatia would lose by 33 in their first battle as Kukoc has four points. Croatia would rally to the finals only to lose again to the Dream Team by a 117-85 margin.
Though the Kukoc battle was the story of their first matchup, the second victory for Jordan was defined by his war against Reebok. Although Jordan’s famous photo of him draped in the American flag has become part of his lore, it initially started due to Reebok’s instance that all athletes have their logo visible if allowed to the podium for the medal presentation. Jordan proves to be as brand loyal as it gets as that slight indignity won’t stand.
Barack Obama appears, this time credited as “President Barack Obama” rather than just “Chicago resident” Barack Obama so that seems like a step upwards for him. He discusses Jordan’s lack of a public political stance vis a vis Jordan’s famous “Republicans buy sneakers too” line. But Obama understands since he was just trying to figure life, and his place in it, out.
Jordan is less diplomatic. He declares in current day that “it’s never gonna be enough for everybody. If it inspires you, great. If not, maybe I’m not the person you should be following.” Tough but fair.
One of my former USC professors Dr. Todd Boyd also chimes in and I just mostly felt cool by proxy. Great guy.
We then see Jordan at the Georgiadome for a Hawks game with a sold out arena that could have apparently housed 20,000 more if tickers were up for sale. Why don’t we do big NBA games in domes any more? If we ever are allowed to sit near some fellow mouth breathing sports fan in healthier times, I’d like to see that happen.
We get a glimpse at the celebrity presence that Jordan brought. Drew Barrymore, John Cusack, Chris Rock, Spike Lee, all the big names came out. But, in my estimation, none bigger relative to the time than JERRY FREAKING SEINFELD. In 1998, a meeting between Jerry and Jordan is as big as it gets. Jerry cracks some jokes about how the Bulls need to take one particular play off the chalk board and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get goose bumps from this dynamic duo crossing paths. It’s Avengers: End Game all over for me ladies and gentlemen.
And now we are on to….
Last Dance Episode 6 recap and review
I have to say from the jump that I was a little underwhelmed by episode 6. It’s great, as all of these are, but there was a bit less meat on the bone this episode. Either way, we open with M.J. losing to a Chicago Bulls arena security guard in a quarter rolling game. Michael is diplomatic in defeat in the game, which of course has money riding on it, and this dude will forever live on as a result of his shrug M.J.’s way after his upset victory.
We’re into the ’98 season again which features a classic Michael Jordan neg. Jordan greets former teammate Horace Grant, then a part of the Orlando Magic, and says “We used to see him the playoffs” to his teammates as Horace playfully takes it in stride. But we know M.J. by now and that remark was made to cut him down as much as it was good natured ball busting.
A flashback to Sam Smith’s famous Jordan Rules book reveals that many players thought the aforementiooned Grant was a stooge to the media. Grant denies it, and it seems as though he may have been scapegoated by a coach or another player, but it does seem like the relationship and possibly his status as a Bull was damaged as a result.
We get to see some of Michael, Scottie, and ’98 starter Ron Harper enjoying some beers out of Solo cups in the training room after the game. M.J. reveals that players “used to drink a case at halftime…then ask the coach for a cigarette,” implying that early Jordan coach Stan Albeck was in on the lack of in-game self-care.
We get a brief glimpse of ESPNer and also-former Spags USC professor J.A. Adande discussing Jordan. Once again, I bring it up only as a semi-humble brag though Adande is a GOAT much like Dr. Todd Boyd. We’re still Facebook friends and I imagine he’s as perplexed as I am by my life’s career outcome.
We get deep into Bulls-Knicks rivalry which was in full bloom in the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals. Jordan and the Bulls lost the first two games and Jordan made headlines for a trip to Atlantic City to gamble during the Knicks’ home stint. Jordan allegedly played until 2:30AM Eastern time, though Jordan repeatedly refers to “playing until midnight”, and a connection to an indicted criminal in Slim Bouler comes to light.
Bouler is a career golf hustler busted on charged money laundering and drug issues and Jordan provided him with a check over $50,000 that he initially claimed was a loan but later admitted in court was a gambling debt. Jordan admits that he gambled on many golf games and says that all of these men, including a guy who wrote a book about his time playing golf with M.J., would reveal their true character afterwards.
Despite the hubbub, or because of it, Jordan proceeds to dominate the Knicks as they win the next four games to close out the series 4-2.
We fast-forward to 1998 where Michael Jordan just wants to get to his 3:30PM tee time. Scottie Pippen resists so M.J. accosts the team bus and honks the horn at him to indicate his sense of urgency. The fellas, and at one point Dennis Rodman, hit the course before Dennis opts to “go to Hooters” instead. Preach brother Dennis.
We’re back in 1993 and Ahmad Rashad interviews Michael Jordan for one of his first national sitdowns since the gambling controversy. Ahmad is one of Jordan’s best friends now but at the time he was mostly perplexed by M.J.’s approach as he declares “it didn’t help that Michael was wearing sunglasses during the interview.” Jordan’s gambling issues mostly get swept under the rug, conspiracy theorism regarding his upcoming retirement aside, because the money he lost was neglible to him. Jordan’s $10,000 was another man’s $10.
Jordan in 1993 had less of a gamble in front of him as he played the Suns and Charles Barkley in the NBA Finals. While Barkley had likely earned Jordan’s respect, and possibly friendship, during the 1992 Olympic run, the same was not the case for young guard Dan Majerle.
“I knew Jerry Krause loved Dan Majerle,” is all Jordan needed to say to sum up his ensuing dissection of his fellow two-guard. Jordan indicates that he was less mad about Charles Barkley winning MVP in the ’92-’93 season than Dan Majerle’s entire existence. Deserved or not, anything Jerry Krause did fueled Jordan, Pippen, and the Bulls a remarkable amount the opposite way.
Despite some of Charles Barkley’s heroics, the Bulls won the ’93 Finals by a count of 4-2 over the Suns. John Paxson closed out the series with a jumper so wide open that I legitimately said to my girlfriend, “I know he did more to get to that point than I would ever be capable of but I’m pretty sure I could have won the NBA Finals like that if Michael Jordan got me that open.” I stand by it.
Two more episodes are yet to come next week and, honestly, I’m a little surprised we didn’t leave this one off with the tragic death of M.J. ‘s very similar looking father James Jordan as a cliffhanger and instead left it with the ’98 Bulls’ playoff opener against the young then-New Jersey Nets. Either way, we have four episodes left.
It probably goes without saying at this point but the Last Dance is an absolute must-watch as a sports fan. Even if you have a significant other who isn’t, the reality components and moments of M.J. being M.J. are absolutely worth it. I loved episode 5 even though episode 6 left me just a bit underwhelmed as a follow-up. Even then, episode 6 is still a great one. Get in on it now Sunday nights on ESPN or catch up with the full documentary series on the ESPN app.
