ESPN and Netflix’s The Last Dance Episode III focuses on Dennis “The Worm” Rodman, his journey from a 27-point-14-rebound player in college to one of the best defensive players in NBA history and his transformation from being an “innocent” and “naïve” person to the one who changed his hair colors at will, wore wedding gowns and heels, and partied in Vegas while in the middle of a basketball season. And I love every minute of it. We all need a Rodman in our lives. And we have to be a Rodman at least once in our lives, as long as we have a Phil and a Jordan to watch over us.
The Last Dance Episode IV is mainly about Chicago Bulls’ ascension to the top, starting from Phil Jackson’s story, the use of Tex Winter’s genius triangle offense system, their going over the hump in the Eastern Conference and defeating their bitter archnemesis, the Bad Boys of Detroit Pistons in their third year of playoff encounter, and culminating in the Bulls winning their first ever NBA Championship over Magic Johnson and the Showtime Lakers.
I was not surprised that Michael Jordan had to pull Rodman by his nose ring after the latter’s Vegas vacation turned into AWOL. I was not surprised either when Jordan mentioned that Rodman was one of the smartest basketball players he played with. It made me tear up knowing that Rodman had father figures in Chuck Daly and Phil Jackson and an older brother in Jordan. Awww. I have a soft spot for Rodman.
My favorite parts are a) Jordan’s show of vulnerability before winning the Championship that he might not be in the same level as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, and admitting that it affected him b) Jordan’s emotional side after winning the first championship (I would feel the same if I went through fire and water for something), and c) Jordan and Johnson’s emotional moment after the former defeated the latter in the finals and Magic’s respect for the younger Bull.
Important question: Is Isiah Thomas going to survive after episode 4 is shown?
For related entries, please read The Last Dance (Episodes 1 and 2).
Quotes from The Last Dance Episode 3:
“I could have been a bomb, I could have been in jail, I could have been dead. But I worked my ass off to get here.” – Dennis Rodman
“You hear a lot of negative things about Dennis Rodman. Well, people don’t actually know Dennis Rodman. They just see what they see on the court and read in the papers, and they say, ‘God, he’s a bad person’.” – Dennis Rodman
“But nobody could say anything bad about me as a teammate. You got the great Michal Michael Jordan, the great Scottie Pippen, the great Phil Jackson, but you take me away from this team, do they still win a championship? I don’t think so. I love Michael Jordan to death. I love Scottie Pippen, all these guys, but they really don’t do the things that I do. I’m the only guy who do the dirty work, taking abuse from other players.” – Dennis Rodman
“I wanna go out there and get my nose broke, I wanna go out to get cut. Something that’s gonna really just bring out the hurt, the pain. I wanna feel that.” – Dennis Rodman
“When Scottie left, I think Mike had a lot of confidence in me to know that I’m gonna be there for him. I’m not going to let him down, I’m not going to let the team down, let the city down. No.” – Dennis Rodman
“Dennis is what held us together when Scottie was out. He had to really focus to make us as competitive as we were. We adapt and we adapt quickly, and we’re off and running.” – Phil Jackson
“I went balls-out every time. I don’t know. I just know how to go full speed.” – Dennis Rodman
“When he first came to Detroit, he was just an innocent, beautiful person, but a little naïve about, like, the world.” – Isiah Thomas, Pistons Guard (1981 – 1994) describing Rodman
“I think the second or third year in the league, I actually figured out what I can do best: rebound and play defense. I just started learning how to perfect that.” – Dennis Rodman
“Dennis rodman was the fuck-up person. He just fucks everything up. He’s a pest. Shutting down whoever he wanted to. It was always a challenge. He was one of them players that had changed the game just by his presence.” – Gary Payton, 9-time NBA All-Star
“I tell you, you talk about coach’s dreams, there aren’t many players like him. Couldn’t be a player I’m more proud of and proud to be associated with.” – Chuck Daly, Pistons Head Coach
“At that time, in the NBA, basically you could do anything you want. Compared to today, 30 years ago, shit. Back then, you could just sit there and just literally beat people up and still get away with it without a technical or anything.” – Dennis Rodman
“Get the fuck out of here, go fucking anywhere, but you out of here. Whoever is not with us, all you fuckers, go to hell.” – Michael Jordan
“Detroit had “Jordan Rules” just for Michael. I don’t know how he came out of it alive.” – James Worthy, 7-time NBA All-Star
“This is what the “Jordan Rules” were: on the wings, we’re going to push him to the elbow, and we’re not gonna let him drive to the baseline. Number two: when he’s on top, we’re going to influence him to his left. When he got the ball in the low post, we were going to trap him from the top. That’s the “Jordan Rules”, and it was that simple.” – Brendan Malone, Pistons Assistant Coach (1988 – 1995)
“I could compare Michael Jordan to nobody because for him to survive that and still maintain that greatness, I mean, it’s very unparalleled.” – Dennis Rodman
“People that write the things in the paper don’t really know Dennis Rodman. They don’t even talk to me so they have to write something that’s crazy and stupid to make me look like an asshole. I just wanna do something that makes me feel like I’m free, that I can go do anything I want to do.” – Dennis Rodman
“Dennis was one of the smartest guys I played with. He understood defensive strategy, with all the rotations. He had no limits in terms of what he does.” – Michael Jordan
“Dennis knows how to play his role well. He has a great understanding of what it takes to win. He’s a huge reason for our success.” – Scottie Pippen
“When Scottie came back, we’ve got the Three Amigos again, and I’m pretty much the third wheel of the family.” – Dennis Rodman
“People don’t understand, it’s not just basketball that we have to deal with on this team. It’s the pressure of the bullshit, you know. I’ll play the game for free, but you get paid for the bullshit after you leave the floor. The public pressure, the media pressure.” – Dennis Rodman
“Basketball is simple, it’s a simple game. But when you leave this confined zone, it’s hard, it’s hard.” – Dennis Rodman
“While Scottie was out, Dennis was a model citizen, to a point where it was driving him fucking insane. So, when Scottie came back, Dennis wanted to take a vacation. I come to practice. Phil calls me, says, ‘Dennis wants to tell you something.’ When Dennis wants to tell me something, I knew it’s not something I fucking wanna hear. So, Dennis says, ‘I need a vacation.’ And I look at Phil, ‘Phil, what do you mean, a vacation?’ He says, ‘He needs a vacation, he needs a time off to let loose.’ I said, ‘Look, Phil, let me tell you something, man. If anybody needs a fucking vacation, I need a vacation.’ He says … We look at Dennis, ‘Dennis, what are you gonna do?’ He says, ‘Well, I need to go to Vegas.’ ‘Phil, you let this dude go to vacation, we’re not going to see him. You let him go to Vegas, we definitely not gonna see him.’ So, he looks at Dennis, he says, ‘Dennis, well, can your vacation be, like, 48 hours?’ And Dennis is like, ‘I got no other choice, I take whatever you can give me, I’ll take the 48 hours.’ ‘Forty-eight hours. You got 48 hours, Dennis.’ I’m looking at Phil, ‘You aint’ gonna get that dude back in 48 hours. I don’t care what you say. He’s done. Okay 48 hours. If he leaves that room, go straight to the airport … boom! They don’t hear or see Dennis for 48 hours.” – Michael Jordan
“I went to the fucking Vegas.” – Dennis Rodman
“Dennis was bizarre, but I think what made it work was Phil and Michael understanding that to get the most out of him on the court, you had to give him some rope. And they gave him a lot of rope.” – Steve Kerr, Bulls Guard (1993 – 1998)
Quotes from The Last Dance Episode 4:
“It was definitely an occupational hazard to be Dennis’ girlfriend.” – Carmen Electra
“He didn’t come back on time. We had to go get his ass out of bed. And I’m gonna say what’s in his bed and where he was and blah, blah, blah.” – Michael Jordan
“Michael and Scottie accepted me for who I am. They say, ‘You know what? He does what he does, but he cares a lot.’ I go party hard, but I work hard. I think that we got along so well because we wanna win. We wanna win a championship.” – Michael Jordan
“Dennis is always a rebel, at some point. He wants to join the group, but the other part of him wants to be autonomous. So we appreciate the fact that he’s maverick. But yet, when it comes time for him to perform, he’s always on the court for us, always playing hard for us.” – Phil Jackson
“He don’t look at me as a basketball player. He look at me as a great friend. He realized that I probably needed him for inspiration. He wants to see me persevere.” – Dennis Rodman
“I had never met a coach who was that different and genuine when it came to bringing the group together. He had this real interest in Native American history, and he would weave that into our own culture.” – Steve Kerr, Bulls Guard (1993 – 1998)
“He brought in Zen Buddhism and Native American Indian philosophies. Everything was about being focused, playing as one.” – Bill Wennington, Bulls Center (1993 – 1999)
“I wasn’t a Phil Jackson fan, you know, when he first came in, because he was coming in to take the ball out of my hands. Doug put the ball in my hands.” – Michael Jordan
“Everybody has an opportunity to touch the ball but I didn’t want Bill Cartwright to have the ball with five seconds left. That’s not equal-opportunity offense. That’s fucking bullshit.” – Michael Jordan
“He says, ‘No ‘I’ in team.’ I said, ‘There’s an ‘I’ in win.’” – Michael Jordan
“I’m not gonna be the type of person who’s very hungry to lead the league in scoring once again, or to chase individual accolades. Right now, I’m more or less geared towards team success.” – Michael Jordan
“That’s a special thing to have happen, when the largest icon that the NBA’s ever had understands that, ‘I don’t have to have the ball in my hands all the time.’” – Phil Jackson
“We had a chance to beat ‘em. We just didn’t respond. We got to that hill, we almost looked over the hill. I was devastated. I was absolutely devastated. I cried on the bus. My father came on and said, ‘Look, it’s just one game. Bounce back, come back next year.’’ – Michael Jordan
“Man, I see a screaming devil. You make a mistake, he’s gonna scream at you, he’s gonna belittle you. He demands almost perfection. Man, when you see your leader working extremely hard in practice, you feel like, ‘Oh, man, if I didn’t give it my all, I shouldn’t be here.’” – Horace Grant, Bulls Forward (1987 – 1994)
“Horace used to get beaten up. And he would come back whining. And I’d say, ‘Don’t fucking whine. Don’t let them see you whine. That’s when they know they got you.’” – Michael Jordan
“Just be strong. You know, we gonna beat these bullies.” – Michael Jordan
“Everybody in Chicago hated the Pistons. This was personal. Anybody says it wasn’t personal, it was personal. I didn’t wanna deal with my relatives in Detroit during that period. I didn’t wanna stay with them.” – Michael Wilbon, The Washington Post (1980 – 2010)
“I thought we were a good enough team to at least make the series a little bit more competitive. And we didn’t.” – Isiah Thomas, Pistons Guard (1981 – 1994)
“Pippen was unshakable, didn’t even want a Band-Aid. When we saw that, it was over.” – John Salley, Pistons Forward (1986 – 1992)
“That was the only time I think I’d ever been swept in a series. I was normally the one doing the sweeping. Their time had arrived and ours was over.” – Isiah Thomas
“Straight up bitches. That’s what they walked off like.” – Horace Grant
“I know it’s all bullshit! Whatever he (Isiah Thomas) says now, you know it wasn’t his true actions then. You know, there’s time enough to think about it, or the reaction of the public that’s kinda changed his perspective. You can show me anything you want. There’s no way you can convince me he wasn’t an asshole.” – Michael Jordan talking about Isiah Thomas and the Pistons’ walk out.
“We knew we whooped their ass already. We’d gotten past them and that was the most … that to me, that was better than, in some ways, winning a championship.” – Michael Jordan
“When you’re a competitor, you want to play against the best. I played against Larry, and I’ve always wanted to play against Michael.” – Magic Johnson, 5-time NBA Champion
“Up until that point, there was a stigma that Michael Jordan only wins scoring titles, never championships. That was my chance to get in the category of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.” – Michael Jordan
“When you get to that finish line and you know that you won all those emotions that you wrapped up into, you can just let go.” – Michael Jordan
“Everybody knows has the picture in their mind of when we beat Cleveland on that last shot and he’s punching the air, he’s all excited. That’s who we knew, the competitive Michael Jordan. The win-at-all-costs Michael Jordan. Sometimes we’d question whether he was human, whether he had feelings. A guy that was totally focused on one thing and one thing only. The only emotion we had ever seen out of him was anger or frustration. We were literally stunned to see those emotions.” – Will Perdue, Bulls Center (1988 – 1995)
“Seven-year struggle. Seven-year struggle.” – Michael Jordan after winning his first championship
“And when they beat us, well, we met in between both locker rooms, and he just put his arms and just started crying. He was so happy that he had won, that he busted through. That was a special moment for him and myself.” – Magic Johnson
“It’s a beautiful feeling. If you’re gonna lose, you lose to them, you know. I’m going to lose to Michael. And that … that’s how it should be.” – Magic Johnson
“At last, I fit somewhere in the category of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.” – Michael Jordan
“If Phil’s not back, then certainly I’m not back.” – Michael Jordan