Chicago Bulls: The best moments of “The Last Dance” so far
#1: MJ repeatedly snitches on his teammates
Okay, while this may not just be one moment, it’s worth highlighting just how brazen Jordan could be when talking to or about his teammates. He was never afraid to speak his mind, even if he was insulting someone to their face.
Before this series aired, Jordan warned in an interview that the footage could make him look like “a tyrant”. It hasn’t been that bad in my opinion, but a couple of these are series lowlights for MJ.
It was a lot of fun to see “The Last Dance” director Jason Hehir ask Jordan about the Bulls of the early 80s and the “Traveling cocaine circus” as one article described the team.
Jordan goes right into a story about his rookie year in 1984 where he walked into a hotel room full of “Practically the whole team”, drugs, and women. While many took it as a lighthearted moment, former teammate Craig Hodges didn’t appreciate the story.
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In some of the unseen footage from the 1998 season, Jordan is ribbing guard Scott Burrell and joking about his hidden debauchery. He tells the camera that Burrell parties all the time and doesn’t sleep, even calling him “Dennis Rodman Jr.”
It’s all in good fun, but Burrell did state that he warned his family about the footage and Jordan’s rough treatment of him in the documentary before it aired. Still, it wasn’t all fun and games when it came to Jordan’s insights.
Several episodes of the series mention Sam Smith’s 1992 book “The Jordan Rules”. There’s a lot of speculation then and now about who was the primary source for the inside scoops in the book. Many thought it was GM Jerry Krause, while some thought it was forward Horace Grant.
Jordan explicitly states that most of the leaks came from Grant as if it’s a fact. In reality, the source has never been revealed. There’s even some speculation that it was coach Phil Jackson. We may never know, but it was eye-opening to see MJ’s take on the situation.