This gonna be good. MJ already warned people that this documentary will make people look at him differently lol.
Also this was Kobe's last interview
Not true the last interview Kobe had was with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on their show on Showtime.
This MJ documentary was filmed two years ago they're just airing it now as opposed to June.
That being said I didn't like MJ before this documentary so...
One of the producers confirmed this week that they shot an interview with Kobe for this documentary a week before he died.
Probably something that was updated they want to add to the documentary but there was a promo for this documentary months ago that had a different clip of Kobe, Obama etc face shots. Most of us knew the past two years this was in production he was going to be in it.
Can’t wait for people to see how horrible MJ is as a person. I need all the parts IMMEDIATELY
I’ll wait for some reviews to come out first before I start watching.
If it turns out it’s the typical ESPN MJ lovefest, then no I won’t watch.
Lol, it’s some lowkey haters in here! Did Mike eliminate your team too?
Lol, it’s some lowkey haters in here! Did Mike eliminate your team too?
How ‘The Last Dance’ Michael Jordan documentary started with an idea in 1997
The year was 1997. Andy Thompson had an idea. Adam Silver liked his plan.
Neither had any clue what they concocted.
The ESPN and Netflix documentary “The Last Dance” — the story based around Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls — premieres Sunday night with the first two episodes of the 10-part series. And the images from that season exist because of the notion that Thompson had and Silver, now the NBA commissioner but then the person in charge of NBA Entertainment, helped arrange.
Thompson, who already had been working at NBA Entertainment for about a decade, suggested embedding a crew with the Bulls. Silver made some phone calls. They were off and running.
“It’s almost hard to understate how famous Michael was and how popular this Bulls team was,” Silver told The Associated Press. “And so, Andy’s view was, ‘We need to find a way to capture this team in its glory.’ And there were no such things as multi-part documentaries on sports on television back then.”
But there had been some examples of the storytelling that Thompson — the brother of former NBA player Mychal Thompson, the uncle of Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson — was pitching to Silver. Specifically, Thompson was moved by the tale of the 1986-87 Edmonton Oilers, a video called “The Boys On The Bus,” which chronicled a season with Wayne Gretzky and the eventual Stanley Cup champions.
“No one in the NBA had ever done this,” Andy Thompson said. “And you’re not just doing this with a run of the mill NBA team. You’re doing this with the greatest player in the history of the game in Michael Jordan, who was very protective of his image and his privacy.”
He got to know Jordan a bit while working at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. He had worked closely with Ahmad Rashad, a Jordan confidant, through “NBA Inside Stuff,” a show Rashad hosted. And Andy Thompson knew Jordan once idolized his brother, so much so that he wore puka shell necklaces and once scribbled his name on a notebook as “Mychal Jordan” until his mother saw it and wasn’t pleased.
“Because of his respect and admiration for my brother, obviously, Michael and I connected,” Andy Thompson said.
Silver approached Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf first, then had to convince then-coach Phil Jackson — who also agreed, albeit with some conditions that if he didn’t want the crew around at certain times they would give him space. And in the end, Jordan had to sign off as well.
Silver also made the financial aspect work, running that part past then-Commissioner David Stern. The project had plenty of other people involved and was costly; high-definition video used today didn’t exist at that time, but Thompson had already made the decision to chronicle the season on very costly, high-quality film.
“I’ll take David’s quote and apply it to Andy,” Silver said. “Andy had an unlimited budget, then he exceeded it.”
Thompson’s crew shot hundreds of hours of film. They knew every trick; if cigar smoke was in the air, it meant Jordan was nearby. The crew captured him one day in the locker room, cigar in his mouth, baseball bat in his hand. Another interview that Thompson won’t forget is one with guard Steve Kerr, who escaped to the shower area and was seated alone before what became the final game of the season.
Having a brother in the NBA had familiarized Thompson with locker-room culture, when to push, when to back off.
“When to shut up, when to be a fly on the wall,” Thompson said. “That gave me a huge advantage in dealing with players. I wasn’t afraid, I wasn’t intimidated. I could speak their language, so I could develop relationships quicker because of that. And that’s what helped me navigate the course of the season because access didn’t just happen overnight. There was a feeling out process for us and the team and the team for us.”
The footage, until it was unearthed for this project, had been locked in a vault at NBA Entertainment. Silver said many people — Spike Lee, Danny DeVito and more — expressed interest in putting together the documentary over the years and that it became a running joke between he and Jordan if it would ever be seen.
Nearly a quarter-century later, the big moment has finally arrived.
“We made it happen, but I would only say in all seriousness, this would not have happened if we had a specific project budget,” Silver said. “We would have had a zero under revenue and a large number under expense. I think it was more a gut feeling we had that it was our obligation to do this and we would spend what was necessary to capture what we knew was one of the greatest athletes and one of the greatest teams of all time.”
I always hate how Kareem is ignored in these conversations I mean he's on the same level if not better than MJ.
He's too militant and doesn't have the marketing push MJ did though. That's the only real difference to me.
Not surprised....lol
But I thought the reason he released the footage was because of GS winning 73 games that year and was being called the best team ever and then lost in the Finals. And he decided let's remind the people what a dynasty is. Jordan's always taken digs at GS.
Lol both the team and LeBron were threatening his legacy. I know he was STRESSED watching the finals. I wonder who is was rooting for
If you actually read the article it had nothing to do with Lebron. That sh!t was click bait.
It had a lot to do with Allen Iverson doc and Adam Silver.
Here a bit of the interview.
Over the next few months, the conversations continued. Tollin sketched out a proposal of what an eight-episode series might look like. Finally, in June 2016, a meeting was set with Jordan, now owner of the Charlotte Hornets
"The first page was a letter that I'd written to him," Tollin said. "Dear Michael, every day kids come into my office wearing your shoes, who've never seen you play.
"It's time."
Tollin could tell Jordan was engaged, because he stopped for a moment to put on his reading glasses.
"I'm thinking to myself, 'Wait, Michael Jordan needs reading glasses?'" Tolin said. "Well, he's 53. That's right. Yeah, OK."
Jordan read every page. He looked at the pictures. He read the quotes. Then he smiled as he looked at the eight episode thumbnail sketches.
The last page of the presentation was a look at the documentaries, movies and shows Tollin and his company, Mandalay Sports Media, had done.
"So there's Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], there's Hank Aaron, there's 'Varsity Blues,' there's 'Coach Carter' and so forth," Tollin said. "He's actually looking at them all, and in the bottom right corner is 'Iverson.' He goes, 'You did that?'"
Tollin didn't answer. Jordan repeated the question.
Tollin wondered if this was going to work for or against him. Like the timing with the Cavaliers' championship parade that morning, it was impossible to know.
Tollin mumbled a cautious, "Yes."
Jordan took his glasses off, looked up and said, "I watched that thing three times. Made me cry. Love that little guy."
Then he walked around the desk, extended his hand and said, "Let's do it."
It def had to do with LeBron and the warriors ascending, even bill Simmons, who is a lebron hater admitted that. Bill admitted they tried to do this doc for yrs and MJ said no and it wasn't until the warriors possibly going down as the greatest team ever then LeBron beating them did MJ finally agree to it. It's no coincidence and tbh, I don't blame MJ. Every super star has a huge ego
It was definitely not confirmed like that article suggests. Which is why I called it click bait.
Bill Simmons isn’t the MJ connect so it’s just gossip otherwise.
Lol, it’s some lowkey haters in here! Did Mike eliminate your team too?
Considering how great he was and revered by the sports world, it’s shocking to see what a petty man he’s become. Sad, really.