‘The Last Dance’ Roundtable: The End
TBW Media decided to take things to Twitter for the culmination of ESPN and NETFLIX’s documentary, The Last Dance. Writers Bob Bajek, myself and Editor in Chief Joel C. Cordes live-tweeted the finale together as a way to do our periodic roundtable a bit differently.
Below you will find a restructured recap of our thoughts on the end of the 1997-1998 Chicago Bulls.
The last two episodes focused on the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers as well as Chicago’s back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz in 1997 and 1998.
The Pacers were a strong team coached by Larry Bird and featuring Reggie Miller, Mark Jackson, Jalen Rose, Chris Mullin, Rik Smits, Antonio Davis, Dale Davis and Derrick McKey. They became only the second team during the Bulls six-title run to force a Game 7.
Utah not only had former Dream Team participants Karl Malone and John Stockton but also the man typically considered the second-best coach of the era (Jerry Sloan) as well as one of the NBA’s most raucous home crowds.
Without further ado, let’s get the tweets rolling!
1998 Eastern Conference Finals: Indiana Pacers vs. Chicago Bulls
Did #Bulls fans see #Pacers #Jazz or #Knicks as the biggest on-paper threat?
— TBW (@TBWmedia) May 18, 2020
@Jefferson_Hoops @TBWmedia I remember being a kid and thinking they were #InvinciBull! #Jazz and #Pacers in reality were tough opponents!
— Bob Bajek (@bobbajek) May 18, 2020
So the interesting question here is whether MJ will give Reggie any respect tonight or will be as dismissive of him as all his other opponents. Reggie's already kissed the ring.
— TBW (@TBWmedia) May 18, 2020
Looks like (thanks to some true behind the scenes footage) that there’s a mutual respect between them but I don’t think it’s in MJ’s character to give any “peer” or younger player their due. His mindset is to just KILL. But the ancillary pieces are talking for sure #TheLastDance
— (Insert KD’s current team HERE) Biggest Fan (@Jefferson_Hoops) May 18, 2020
#Pacers were so close and they got my 10-year-old self's attention. But only a little because the #Bulls were superheroes to me! #TheLastDance #NBATwitter
— Bob Bajek (@bobbajek) May 18, 2020
Rik Smits nearly ended the Bulls dynasty and now he’d be Brook Lopez #TheLastDance
— (Insert KD’s current team HERE) Biggest Fan (@Jefferson_Hoops) May 18, 2020
1998 NBA Finals: Utah Jazz vs. Chicago Bulls:
I would say #Jazz as my mom said #JohnStockton and #KarlMalone we're almost on par with #MJ and #ScottiePippen.
— Bob Bajek (@bobbajek) May 18, 2020
John Stockton sighting! The man never talks to the media. #TheLastDance producers might have had a better chance finding Nessie for an interview. #Jazz #Bulls @Jefferson_Hoops @bobbajek
— TBW (@TBWmedia) May 18, 2020
#MichaelJordan robbed by #TheMailman that year.bproved it in the Finals!
— Bob Bajek (@bobbajek) May 18, 2020
Bryon Russell was a walking chalk outline for MJ — at least that’s what this documentary will have us believe by it’s conclusion #TheLastDance
— (Insert KD’s current team HERE) Biggest Fan (@Jefferson_Hoops) May 18, 2020
Things about to go down with the #Jazz #StocktonandMalone and #Bulls. #MJ accepted and aces challenge with Game 1 winner. @TBWmedia @Jefferson_Hoops
— Bob Bajek (@bobbajek) May 18, 2020
Buckle up guys, it’s FLU GAME time #TheLastDance
— (Insert KD’s current team HERE) Biggest Fan (@Jefferson_Hoops) May 18, 2020
One of the best games ever! Mama Bajek remembers that game in https://t.co/7SrtwythuY
— Bob Bajek (@bobbajek) May 18, 2020
Have we ever heard the "#Jazz fans poisoned me" narrative before for the #FluGame @bobbajek @Jefferson_Hoops? Seem to recall the official story being the flu, not food poisoning but this is interesting…
— TBW (@TBWmedia) May 18, 2020
Not sure if I can pinpoint the source but I feel like I have heard some version of people from Utah did something to his food but that story I think refers to it being food service that brought the food not a local pizza joint #TheLastDance
— (Insert KD’s current team HERE) Biggest Fan (@Jefferson_Hoops) May 18, 2020
They talk about that as a possibility in Roland Lazenby's Michael Jordan: The Life.
— Bob Bajek (@bobbajek) May 18, 2020
Jerry Sloan being an early FLU GAME truther is such a chef’s kiss moment. Glad they put that in there #TheLastDance
— (Insert KD’s current team HERE) Biggest Fan (@Jefferson_Hoops) May 18, 2020
My guy @DanO_Bball sang #JohnStockton's praises with https://t.co/cFsImAXRSb
— Bob Bajek (@bobbajek) May 18, 2020
Can anyone tell me a more a more embarrassing defeat than the #Bulls schooling the #Jazz 96-54 in the #NBAFinals? @Jefferson_Hoops @TBWmedia @MatthewNWells #TheLastDance #NBATwitter
— Bob Bajek (@bobbajek) May 18, 2020
I love that shot. I liked how #KarlMalone was a good sport after losing the 98 #NBAFinals @Jefferson_Hoops @TBWmedia @MatthewNWells #TheLastDance #NBATwitter
— Bob Bajek (@bobbajek) May 18, 2020
Michael Jordan’s Trash Talk:
Would be interesting to have MJ rank his all-time "this slight motivated me" guys/moments since we're to believe they're so critical. Who gets No. 1? Barkley's MVP? Does Byron Russell's "trash talking" mean more to his anger than LaBradford Smith?
— TBW (@TBWmedia) May 18, 2020
In my opinion, George Karl not talking to him might top the list. The ties run deep in the Carolina family #TheLastDance
— (Insert KD’s current team HERE) Biggest Fan (@Jefferson_Hoops) May 18, 2020
Here's the thing about "I got insulted narratives"…Guys make them all the time. And we always act like THAT'S the reason somebody won. But you only hear about them when someone wins. There's lots of motivational narratives we never hear about because they didn't work in a loss.
— TBW (@TBWmedia) May 18, 2020
Dennis Rodman’s Antics:
Have the Dennis Rodman vignettes been the most compelling part of #TheLastDance? Yup. Most definitely. The series suddenly comes ALIVE. @Jefferson_Hoops @bobbajek
— TBW (@TBWmedia) May 18, 2020
Yes! #DennisRodman as I and @TBWjoel believe was ahead of his time as a countercultural presence! He makes my guy @Money23Green look tame!
— Bob Bajek (@bobbajek) May 18, 2020
Is #DennisRodman the only player to get away with missing an #NBAFinals practice for #WWE wrestling with #HulkHogan? @Jefferson_Hoops @TBWmedia #TheLastDance #NBATwitter
— Bob Bajek (@bobbajek) May 18, 2020
@Jefferson_Hoops @TBWmedia @MatthewNWells #DennisRodman sure made Bob Costas eat his words at the free throw line in Game 4 against the #Jazz #TheLastDance #NBATwitter
— Bob Bajek (@bobbajek) May 18, 2020
Jordan’s Second Retirement in 1998:
I think it reveals that walking away in 1993 had more to do with dealing with the passing of his father than a premeditated plan to leave while he still was on top. There was always another challenge another frontier another conquest and it’s that drive that made him #TheGoat ????
— (Insert KD’s current team HERE) Biggest Fan (@Jefferson_Hoops) May 18, 2020
It might be hindsight regret. Or it could be truth. One thing is #PearlJam and #EddieVedder makes his final statements stand out!
— Bob Bajek (@bobbajek) May 18, 2020
I did feel like it’s hindsight regret. In the moment, he was exhausted. Looking back, though, leaving with anything in the tank has to sting.
— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) May 18, 2020
Epilogue/Ending:
.@TBWmedia @bobbajek it looks like things are lining up for a full hour on the 1998 NBA Finals to conclude the doc and that would be….AWESOME #TheLastDance
— (Insert KD’s current team HERE) Biggest Fan (@Jefferson_Hoops) May 18, 2020
That's been my 1 complaint. In a 10-part series, you expect to get really granular, but this has generally stayed on a history class timeline surface level. It's still REALLY good, but one could make the case they either could have made 20 parts or zoomed in a little further.
— TBW (@TBWmedia) May 18, 2020
RELEASE THE #SNYDERCUT
JK, It definitely has been undeniably great as is but I’m sure that MJ personally scrapped more than 75% of the true behind the scenes footage #TheLastDance
— (Insert KD’s current team HERE) Biggest Fan (@Jefferson_Hoops) May 18, 2020
There’s so few people that got a chance to truly be close to MJ and it’s always great to hear the stories of how and why they were introduced and included in the inner circle #TheLastDance
— (Insert KD’s current team HERE) Biggest Fan (@Jefferson_Hoops) May 18, 2020
Mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn don’t jinx it! (But you’re probably 100% correct) #TheLastDance
— (Insert KD’s current team HERE) Biggest Fan (@Jefferson_Hoops) May 18, 2020
Or that gets left out entirely…
— Bob Bajek (@bobbajek) May 18, 2020
Narrator: “It did.”
That has #WojBomb written all over it #TheLastDance
— (Insert KD’s current team HERE) Biggest Fan (@Jefferson_Hoops) May 18, 2020
Narrator: “They didn’t.”
I would watch that anytime, anywhere!
— Bob Bajek (@bobbajek) May 18, 2020
In the end, The Last Dance was a nice stroll down memory lane that we wish had dug a little more into the day-to-day, opponent insights, and commentary on the impact from key ancillary pieces. It turned into “the Michael Jordan documentary” more than “the Bulls documentary” but kept our attention all the way through and left us wanting more in a good way.
Not a bad way to spend five Sunday evenings, though the series will likely be dogged with questions about whether it was rushed in production due to the COVID-19-induced release date that moved publication up by a few months.
If the final episodes are any indication, this seems to be an accurate slight even as Jordan fans surely got everything they wanted out of the experience.
Brandon Jefferson is a staff writer at TBW. He covers the Atlanta Hawks for The BBall Index and is a contributing writer at Fansided. Brandon is the founding and only member of the Kevin Durant Stan Club.
