The Last Dance

The question of who is the greatest basketball player of all time inhabits the mind of perhaps every fan in the sports community. Currently, the answer seems to be split between either Michael Jordan or Lebron James. As a living basketball fan in today’s era, I’ve followed Lebron and had the privilege to watch him play since 2014. On the other hand, by the time Jordan retired the second time from the Bulls, I was barely one year old. My knowledge of Michael Jordan has only come from Internet searches and debate shows like First Take or Undisputed, shows that never seem to stop comparing Lebron with Jordan. So before watching The Last Dance, Michael Jordan was more of a mythos to me than a lived experience like I am having with Lebron today. This legacy docuseries was the closest thing to a Michael Jordan experience I will ever have. It had a compelling, soap-opera story that showed Jordan’s ascension from someone who was cut from high school basketball to a 6 time NBA champion. It showed the circumstances surrounding the successes and adversities that Jordan faced both as a player and person, which cannot be explained by statistics or list of accolades alone. Lastly, and most importantly, it helped me truly understand why Jordan is thought to be the greatest of all time.

From a film standpoint, the biggest reason why The Last Dance felt so convincing as a story of greatness was because of the beautiful arrangement of multiple perspectives. The docuseries boasts a whopping list of 90 interviewees, from various sports reporters to even Barack Obama. Imagine interviewing 90 people just about one person! I think the documentary could have easily just interviewed no more than 5 people to get all the content down. But bringing in all these witnesses together for an intimate discussion rebuilt the aura that followed throughout Jordan’s mesmerizing career, something that can’t be felt by just rewinding footages of game highlights on YouTube. For example, what was the inside scoop? What did the media say at the time? Why was the flu game or “The Shot” so iconic? The filmmakers did a wonderful job asking the right questions for the right stories, so that audiences like us easily understood what the stakes or circumstances were behind the highs and low, and how rising beyond them was what made the Chicago Bulls an all-time dynasty. The Last Dance is storytelling at its finest, one of the best in sports I’ve ever seen.

The superb selection of soundtracks is an underrated aspect of the docuseries. Though documentaries generally tend to be more hushed and straightforward, The Last Dance felt more like an epic piece of storytelling because it evoked so much emotions through its music. The humanity behind many of the stories told by players felt elevated by the touch of music; sometimes we forget NBA players are humans like us too. By the time I finished the series, I almost teared up. Episode 1 started with a promising rookie named Michael Jordan who hoped to build a winning team in Chicago. Episode 10 ended with his dream coming true, and becoming the icon he is now through crazy determination and commitment. The music, alongside carefully selected snippets of real footage, emotionally captures one of the most magical stories in basketball that I finally got to understand. I am glad that it was told so well for young fans like myself.

What many people seem to praise so much about Jordan was his insanely competitive edge, his knack to “take it personal”. Jordan explaining his mindset during key moments of his career was interesting to say the least. Clearly, this attitude was what made him a legendary figure as far as his successes are concerned. 6 rings, 6 Finals MVPs, and 5 league MVPs is a resume that stands alone at the top, and Jordan is its owner. Michael Jordan was a worldwide phenomenon with a zealous competitive streak. Rightfully, he deserves the praise. However, I think he was successful because he was also part of a really, really good team that was the Chicago Bulls. Case in point, after Jordan first retired, the Bulls without Jordan was only 1 win away from advancing to the conference finals. The Last Dance starts off as a story about the Chicago Bulls dynasty in their final season, hence the title. While it does acknowledge all the players and staff who played a critical role in Jordan’s career, I felt that they were still somewhat pushed aside while the praise was disproportionately shone onto Jordan himself. After all, Jordan greenlit the production of this docuseries, so of course it was going to be more about him. Jordan was the best player in the Chicago Bulls. He may be the GOAT in many people’s eyes. Nevertheless, I don’t believe his resume would be what it is today without Jerry Krause the general manager, Phil Jackson the coach, and Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, his two co-stars. So I wonder if they were lauded enough, especially Scottie Pippen. It wasn’t necessarily fair to others involved.

The Last Dance is an inspiring and carefully crafted piece of production that I hope to see more for other NBA legends in the future. There are a few name that come into my mind: the late Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and the Spurs dynasty, the Lakers duo Magic and Kareem, and finally my favourite player and my GOAT, Lebron James. I don’t care what anybody says. When I first watched Lebron solo the Warriors to 6 games in 2015, I saw greatness in action. Since then, he has always been transcendently great, the best player in the NBA. It was Lebron who introduced me to the NBA as a teenager. And when Lebron retires, I know I will be tearing up like a man. Though he has been battered with an unreasonable amount of hate today, I hope he will be just as appreciated as Michael Jordan in his own way, regardless of who is better or worse. Lebron is on his way to have a legendary career and I am elated to see what his docuseries will look like. When that time comes, however, I would not be watching as an ignorant fan, but as someone who has lived through his greatness. It will surely be a different feeling, one that I look forward to immensely.