Millions of folks tuned in to watch Michael Jordan’s The Last Dance documentary series over the five Sundays that it aired. And there were plenty of memories made by him throughout his career that made this such an enthralling piece of film. And it was June 14, 1998, when the Bulls run atop the league finally ended.
The Shot
Having essentially won five titles in a row in which Jordan had played the whole year and wasn’t retired/away from the team, the Bulls were a single win away from a three-peat. And the Utah Jazz posed a tough threat for them for a second season in a row. With John Stockton and Karl Malone, they were no slouch.
And so, with the team trailing by one point late, Jordan hit the crossover on Bryon Russell and put the series and the NBA season to bed. A shot that we have been seeing over and over, on repeat, for the past 22 years. And the crazy thing about it is that it isn’t even the most iconic shot of his fantastic career.
The Team Itself
The Bulls teams that Jordan played on under Phil Jackson as nothing short of spectacular. He had a fantastic running mate in Scottie Pippen for the majority of his time with the Bulls.
He had three unbelievable, unforgettable years with Dennis Rodman. And every player on that team played a role in helping bring title number six to Chicago.
As seen in the documentary, Jordan was always pushing everybody to try and get to his level. Or something close to it. And so, it made the environment a little tough.
As a result, though, everybody came in and did their job to the best of their ability to avoid confrontation with him.
This is no truer for anybody than Steve Kerr, who was as hard a worker as the team had. He did not start a single game while playing for the Bulls, but he hit clutch shots and put all the time in the gym to get better continually.
The End Of The Reign
After winning the 1997-98 title, everything came crashing down (as expected). Jerry Krause did, in fact, carry out his plan of bringing in his new coach, Tim Floyd.
Pippen got traded to Houston. Rodman ended up with the Lakers. Jordan was back in retirement. And all they would do for the next several years was lose games.
They truly goofed on Elton Brand. He had two stellar years to open his career in Chicago after being the No. 1 overall pick in 1999, but they basically gave him up for pennies on the dollar after that season. Talk about a monumental mistake.
The teams during the Jordan era were always competitive because of No. 23, and so as soon he and the other guys left, everything expectedly crashed.
The gold standard in the NBA that teams try to reach is what the Bulls of the 90s were able to accomplish. We may never see a run as they had with six rings in eight years.
