Quotes from The Last Dance Episode 5:
“Man, I must be the old guy. I remember I used to be way in the back.” – Michael Jordan
“He don’t let the game come to him. He just go out there and take it. I’m going to make this shit happen. I’m gonna make this a one-on-one game.” – Michael Jordan talking about 19 year old Kobe Bryant
“Hey, Michael! Would you like to have some of his ass today?” – Larry Bird, East All-Star Head Coach referring to Magic Johnson
“I got Mike, I got Mike.” – Kobe Bryant
“He hauling ass.” – Michael Jordan
“It was a rough couple of years for me, coming to the league. ‘Cause at the time, the league was much older. It’s not as young as it is today. So, nobody was really thinking much of me. I was the kid that … shot a bunch of air balls, you know what I mean? And at that point, Michael provided a lot of guidance for me. I had a question about shooting his turnaround shot, so I asked him about it. And he gave me a great, detailed answer, but on top of that, he said, ‘If you ever need anything, give me a call’. He’s like my big brother. I truly hate having discussions about who would win one-on-one, and fans saying, ‘Kobe, you’d beat Michael one-on-one’. And I feel like, ‘Yo! What you get from me is from him’. I don’t get five championships here without him, ‘cause he guided me so much and he gave me so much great advice.” – Kobe Bryant
“Knowing this is the last dance, unless something actually changes, I went into Madison Square Garden, ‘This is the last time I’m gonna be playing here’. And that was my favorite place to play. Went back and grabbed an old pair of Jordan 1s. It’s the first show I wore in the Garden, so this was gonna be the last shoe, being that this was the last time I’d play in the Garden.” – Michael Jordan
“My mother said, ‘You’re gonna go listen. You may not like it, but you’re gonna go listen’. She made me go on that plane and go listen. I go into that meeting not wanting to be there. Nike make this big pitch. My father said, ‘You gotta be a fool for not taking this deal. This is the best deal’.” – Michael Jordan about his Nike deal
““Air Jordan”? That got a pretty good ring to it.” – Howard White, Nike Executive
“For a kid, it was almost like … holding a lightsaber from Star Wars. You needed that shoe to be like him. It was more than a status symbol. You knew this guy was the guy. They came in different styles. The other brands didn’t change too much. Jordans changed with the times.” – Nas
“My game was my biggest endorsement. What I did on the basketball court, my dedication to the game, led to all this other stuff. Believe me, if I was averaging two points, three rebounds, I wouldn’t have signed anything with anybody. So, my game did all my talking.” – Michael Jordan
“You’re only a success at the moment you perform a successful act. You have to do it again.” – Phil Jackson
“Starting with that season, I felt Michael Jordan never played basketball anymore. He just figured out how to win the game.” – B.J. Armstrong, Bulls Guard (1989 – 1995)
“He was just playing a different game than the rest of us. He’d let us play. But he was there to win the game. And he knew that. And once he figured that out, you couldn’t beat him.” – B.J. Armstrong
“Clyde was a threat. I’m not saying he wasn’t a threat. But me being compared to him, I took offense to that.” – Michael Jordan
“I’m working for NBC. I’m covering the Finals. So, the night before game one, we’re at Michael’s house, playing cards, and he said, ‘You know what’s gonna happen tomorrow. I’m gonna give it to this dude. So he hit that first three. And then here comes the second. The third one. Michael didn’t; want anybody to have nothing over him. And every time he his a three, he glanced over at me, at the NBC table. And he was like, ‘I’m killing this dude’.” – Magic Johnson, NBC Sports (1992 – 1993) talking about game one of the 1992 NBA Finals between Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers
“One is great, two is almost impossible. Congratulations, Chicago.” – David Stern, NBA Commissioner (1984 – 2014)
“I respect Isiah Thomas’ talent. To me, the best point guard of all time is Magic Johnson and right behind him is Isiah Thomas. No matter how much I hate him, I respect his game. Now, it was insinuated that I was asking about him, but I never threw his name in there.” – Michael Jordan about Isiah Thomas’ exclusion from the Dream Team
“You can’t get too close to Michael. It’s a foul.” – Magic Johnson
“I’m the young guy with the elder statesmen.” – Michael Jordan
“Any African-American in this society that sees significant success has an added burden. And a lot of times, America’s very quick to embrace a Michael Jordan or an Oprah Winfrey or a Barack Obama, so long as it’s understood that you don’t get too controversial around broader issues of social justice.” – President Barack Obama
“I do commend Muhammad Ali for standing up for what he believed in, but I never thought of myself as an activist. I thought of myself as a basketball player. I wasn’t a politician when I was playing my sport. I was focused on my craft. Was that selfish? Probably. But that was my energy, that’s where my energy was.” – Michael Jordan
“I’ll be honest that when it was reported that Michael said, ‘Republicans buy sneakers, too….’ For somebody who at that time preparing for a career in civil rights law and in public life and knowing what Jesse Helms stood for, you would’ve wanted to see Michael push harder on that. On the other hand, he was still trying to figure out, ‘How am I … managing this image that has been created around me, and how do I live up to it?’” – President Barack Obama
“It’s never gonna be enough for everybody. I know that, I realize that, ‘cause everybody has a preconceived idea in terms of what they think I should do or what I shouldn’t do. The way that I go about my life is I set examples. And if it inspires you, great. You know, I will continue to do that. If it doesn’t, then maybe I’m not the person that you should be following.” – Michael Jordan
“When you get to the top, it’s great to be admired and respected. I’m not saying that wasn’t fun. But every time I would get by myself, I’d think about the end of the season and the ultimate goal, holding up that championship trophy and being recognized as the best team in the world. It’s something at the end of this rainbow that I’m fighting for and I’m going to give every little bit to get to it.” – Michael Jordan
Quotes from The Last Dance Episode 6:
“It’s funny, a lot of people say they’d like to be Michael Jordan for a day or for a week, but let them try to be Michael Jordan for a year, see if they like it.” – Michael Jordan
“It’s funny, a lot of people say they’d like to be Michael Jordan for a day or for a week, but I don’t think you can see the true Michael Jordan for just a day.” – Michael Jordan
“It’s funny, a lot of people say they’d like to be Michael Jordan for a day or for a week, but I don’t think they quite understand that it’s no fun.” – Michael Jordan
“Michael was competitive at everything, whether it was on the golf course or playing cards, whatever it was. I mean, his life was just one big competition.” – Will Perdue, Bulls Center (1988 – 1995)
“We have a star for five or six years, and then pretty soon, people start chipping away at the pedestal of that star or that hero and try to knock him off the block.” – Phil Jackson
“If I’m going to be knocked off this pedestal, I’m going to make sure I do something to be knocked off. I’m not going to let someone else knock me off for no apparent reason or comments that I didn’t say.” – Michael Jordan
“The Jordan Rules took a big toll on him off the court. But on the court, he was still the most dominant figure in the game on the most dominant team.” – Sam Smith, Author of The Jordan Rules
“A lot of the people in that era that you would consider Michael’s peers had won two in a row. Isiah won two straight. Magic had won two straight. But none of them won three in a row. A third championship was the separator. You win three, you’re on Mount Rushmore.” – David Aldridge, ESPN Reporter (1996 – 2004)
“When I was coaching the Knicks, I told the team, ‘you can’t let him dunk on you!’ You got knock him down. If we don’t meet him at the rim, he’s gonna embarrass you.” – Pat Riley, Knicks Head Coach (1991 – 1995)
“I never bet on games, I only bet on myself and that was golf.” – Michael Jordan
“What would they consider my good name? The purest of all pure? The person that doesn’t make mistakes?” – Michael Jordan
“No. Because I can stop gambling. I have a competition problem. A competitive problem.” – Michael Jordan
“He has given the best of him. He has sacrificed to try to satisfy everybody. And after doing all of that, people still find a way of knocking him. And he’s saying, ‘Damn, how much is enough’?” – James Jordan, Michael’s Father
“People build you up to tear you down. And it happens in sports all the time. If a team wins too much, you want ‘em to lose.” – Ahmad Rashad, NBC Sports (1983 – 2002)
“I’m going to Hooters. Watch some tits and ass. The shit!” – Dennis Rodman
“That’s good about Phil. Phil knows we need a break. Young coaches, it would probably be a practice day today. And you would have some mean guys.” – Michael Jordan, one week before the 1998 playoff starts
“No, I enjoy it (gambling). It’s a hobby. If I had a problem, I’d be starving. I’d be hocking this watch, my championship rings. I would sell my house, I would do this. My wife would’ve left me or she’d be starving or my kids would be … I do not have a problem. I enjoy gambling.” – Michael Jordan
“The media has taken it far greater than what it (gambling) is. Soon, whenever I walk away from this game, I think that’s the only thing that people are gonna say was a bad thing about Michael Jordan.” – Michael Jordan
“I felt very confident going into that series. We were very determined because if there’s anybody you wanna beat, it’s Michael Jordan.” – Charles Barkley, Suns Forward (1992 – 1996)
“I was a little bit upset that I didn’t get the MVP that year. They gave it to Charles Barkley. But with that said, ‘Okay, fine. You can have that. I’m gonna get this.’” – Michael Jordan
“We lost game 1 because we were so nervous. But in game two, I played as well as I could play. And Michael just outplayed me. That was probably the first time in my life that I felt there was a better basketball player in the world than me, to be honest with you.” – Charles Barkley
“Take that shit off the windows. You don’t need it tonight.” – Charles Barkley
“I’m only packing one suit. We’re going back to win one game. I’m not going there to play two games.” – Michael Jordan
“Michael had that ability where he was not going to let them lose.” – Charles Barkley
“The ball was not supposed to come to me. But as a player, you’re always ready. And for me, personally, it was pretty special.” – John Paxson, Bulls Guard (1985 – 1994)
“I have no problem losing to Michael. Losing to Michael, there’s no shame in that. Sports are like a gunfight. And we lost to the fastest gun.” – Charles Barkley
“Physically, I was getting exhausted, but, mentally, I was way past exhausted. When you try to do something repetitively, you lose some of the hunger and some of the edge.” – Michael Jordan
“Here’s the thing. I think, when we won the third championship, being around him, there was more relief than true joy. Like, it’s over, you know? He was tired.” – John Paxson
“The aftermath, you kind of feel like whooo. ‘What are we gonna do?’ This has been a very hard and trying time. This has been a tough year.” – Phil Jackson
“My fame is … it was good at the beginning. Any time people talk about you in a positive way, yeah, it’s great to hear those comments, but now that you are … on a pedestal, it’s not just the positive talking that you hear. You hear some points and some people taking shots at you, and that really changes the whole idea of being out there for people to see you. You wanna get behind closed doors so people don’t know you as much. So, I’m at that stage in my career and my life that I’d rather get behind closed doors than to be out there in the spotlight to be taking shots from everyone that really don’t know you as a person.” – Michael Jordan
“If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would never wanna be considered a role model. It’s like a game that’s stacked against me. There’s no way I can win.” – Michael Jordan
“No one wants me to walk out, knowing that I can still play the game. But I wanna leave two years before my skills say that I can’t play this game. I don’t wanna miss my time to go. There’s a lot of players say that, ‘I’m gonna play until I can’t play ever again.’ I think Patrick said that one time. That they’ll have to carry him off the court. You know. That’s a … Ain’t never … Nobody gonna carry me off the court. I wanna walk off the court.” – Michael Jordan
“I don’t think I’m gonna miss it.” – Michael Jordan