They say that good things never last, and the same can be said about ESPN and Netflix’s The Last Dance. As much as I want it to last forever, it has to end. And it ends in big way.
The Last Dance’s Episode IX focuses on the duel between trash talker vs. trash talker and clutch player vs. clutch player in Indiana Pacers’ Reggie Miller and Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan, “The Flu Game” and that Jordan-Pippen hug at the end of that game, and Steve Kerr and his family (especially the death of his father). One of the highlights for me is Gus, one of Jordan’s security details, getting the game ball. It shows that Jordan is human after all.
The Last Dance’s Episode X is mostly about Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz and Jordan’s reflection on his journey – from being a rookie in a sluggish team to bringing glory to the city of Chicago and being a six-time NBA Champion.
The Last Dance is an emotional series. Watching it brought me back to my teenage years and the feelings of pure and unadulterated elation of being a basketball fan came back with such force that made me realize that I have not felt that same fervor for any sport since then. Tennis, golf, and even football and Juan Mata did not come close to my young love for Jordan and the Bulls (and Rey Evangelista and Purefoods, locally). I guess it is time to find something that will spark joy and make me scream like a maniac again.
For more The Last Dance episodes, please read The Last Dance – Part 1, The Last Dance – Part 2, The Last Dance – Part 3, and The Last Dance – Part 4.
Quotes from The Last Dance Episode 9:
“He and I had somewhat of a unique relationship. Most people feared Michael Jordan and rightfully so. But I didn’t fear him like the rest of the league did, and we had to lock horns quite a bit. I respected him so much, but he probably thought I was some mouthy, skinny kid and he was one of the best trash talkers in our game.” – Reggie Miller, Pacers Guard (1987 – 2005)
“Yeah, you’re Michael Jordan, the guy who walks on water? He looks at me. … And I remember him walking off the court. He was like, ‘Don’t ever talk trash to Black Jesus’. And that’s when I stopped referring to him as Michael Jordan, and I always refer to him either as ‘Jordan’, ‘Black Jesus’, or ‘that Black Cat’. I never called him Michael Jordan again after that.” – Reggie Miller
“If I had to pick a team that gave us the toughest time in the East, Indiana was probably the toughest, outside of Detroit. They were tough. Every time I’d go in that fucking game and come out, I got a new scratch. It became personal with me.” – Michael Jordan
“Let’s give them something to boo about.” – Michael Jordan
“They still gotta come through Chicago.” – Michael Jordan
“Karl Malone getting MVP.” – Michael Jordan’s biggest motivating factor going into the series against Utah Jazz in 1996 – 1997 NBA Finals.
“I’m not saying he wasn’t deserving it. All I’m saying is that that fueled the fire in me. I said, ‘Okay. You think he’s MVP. Okay, fine. No problem’.” – Michael Jordan
“He had an IV hooked up to him, and he was chalky white. Didn’t look good. And I was like, ‘Oh, boy, we’re in trouble’.” – Bill Wennington, Bulls Center (1993 – 1999)
“He was in pretty bad shape, but, you know, a lot of times when you’re sick you’re able to find something deep down inside that you didn’t know was there. And I think it was just one of those games where he wanted to win so badly that, you know, he stayed with it.” – Scottie Pippen
“He had shown that no matter how sick he was he’s still the best player in the world.’ – Scottie Pippen
“My innate personality is to win at all costs. If I have to do it myself, I’m gonna do it. But over the period of getting to the Finals, there have been moments that other guys really expanded their games.” – Michael Jordan
“I think Michael recognized that there were guys who were sort of overachievers. Guys who maybe don’t have the star power, but came in and did what we could. Which I’m sure he looked at me as an overachiever.” – Steve Kerr, Bulls Guard (1993 – 1998)
“John [Paxson) was my guy. I kept thinking, ‘That’s the spot I need to be.’ By the time I got there, John was entering the final year of his career. And he kina took me under his wing.” – Steve Kerr
“I learned early in my career that I was gonna be a role player. What I did well complemented Michael. So, I tried to tell Steve about how Michael had to really trust who you were out there. If he was gonna go to battle with you, he had to know you were in it and you weren’t gonna back down.” – John Paxson, Bulls Guard (1985 – 1994)
“I had to fight and scrap and claw for everything I got in the NBA. And that was just enough to make it.” – Steve Kerr
“Michael lived a different life that the rest of us, out of necessity. He couldn’t live that normal life. It was very difficult to reach him emotionally. We never discussed that [their fathers]. I think it was probably too painful for each of us.” – Steve Kerr
“The ultimate trust from Michael comes in the playoffs if you come through. I think he respected me because he knew I fought, and I was competitive, and I worked, and I got the most out of myself, but I hadn’t performed very well in the Finals. I was struggling, and you know, I was so hard on myself. As a role player, I’d get five shots a game. And so every shot took on way too much importance.” – Steve Kerr
“I know if they’re gonna double-team me, Steve’s gonna be open.” – Michael Jordan
“Tonight, Steve Kerr earned his wings, and I’m very happy for Steve.” – Michael Jordan
“A lot of people have been asking me about the shot the other night, and there’ve been some misconceptions about what actually happened. I wanted to clear it up. When we called timeout with 25 seconds to go, we went into the huddle, and Phil told Michael, he said, ‘Michael, I want you to take the last shot.’ And Michael said, ‘Phil, I don’t feel real comfortable in these situations. So, maybe we oughta go in another direction. Why don’t we go to Steve?’ So I thought to myself, ‘Well, I guess I gotta bail Michael out again.’ Anyway, the shot went in, and that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.” – Steve Kerr
“I told them today that you can lose. You have to face the possibility you can lose a game like this.” – Phil Jackson
“We’re gonna win game seven. We will win game seven.” – Michael Jordan
“In a game seve, anything is possible. You rip up game plans, because in a game seven, it doesn’t matter. It’s all whoever wants it more.” – Reggie Miller
“We had the better team, I really do believe that, but championship DNA and championship experience really rose to the forefront in game seven for Chicago.” – Reggie Miller
Quotes from The Last Dance Episode 10:
“Remember what we talked about your breathing, and your centering, and getting yourself focused on that court. You guys know that you gotta support yourselves and your teammates. Here in this building, it’s like sheep to the wolves.” – Phil Jackson before game one of 1997 – 1998 NBA Finals between Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz
“Guys, this is a scary fucking situation. This game should be dead fucking meat. Now, goddamnit, get yourselves serious on this.” – Phil Jackson
“Knowing that this is the last dance, I’m trying to muster up the energy to finish this off. We were mentally, physically exhausted, but we didn’t lose focus on what we were trying to achieve.” – Michael Jordan
“This is actually the score? This is the final?” – Jerry Sloan, Jazz Head Coach (1988 – 2011)
“I wasn’t trying anything. I was just trying to play basketball, party, fuck all the girls. And so that just happened to be me, Dennis shit, you know.” – Dennis Rodman
“I just think that Phil realized that I need to always do me, just go do what I do. You know, like the playoff game, I went to go wrestle. If I did this, I go over here, if I do that, I got to go do this. They’re gonna get 100% when I’m on the court.” – Dennis Rodman
“I would have loved to have won it here at home but it didn’t happen. Everyone thought I could make the shot and that’s the beauty of the game. For 1.1 seconds, everybody was holding their breath, which is kinda cute.” – Michael Jordan
“I was a decoy that whole game, but they didn’t know it. Michael said, ‘You just stay out here, do what you can do. You better being out here than in the locker room.’ So I gutted myself through that game.” – Scottie Pippen
“Pippen is barely getting up and down the floor. So, I’m taking all the shots, I’m bringing all the energy, and I got very little left in the tank.” – Michael Jordan
“Michael Jordan, at his advanced stage of his career, has to carry the team. He has to play extra minutes in a grueling series. And that last sequence in the final half-minute-plus is one of the greatest sequences you’ll ever see in any sport.” – Bob Costas
“Get the hell out the way.” – Scottie Pippen
“I ain’t had to do shit. All I did was plant myself right down there. I knew it, I said, ‘He’s gonna shoot this fucker. He is not gonna pass this fucking ball. I don’t give a fuck if it’s John Paxson or fucking Steve Kerr. Hell no, this is his turn’.” – Dennis Rodman
“Everybody say I pushed off him. Bullshit. His energy was going that way. I didn’t have to push him that way.” – Michael Jordan
“When he took that shot, you could just hear the energy get sucked right out of the building.” – Steve Kerr
“That may have been the last shot Michael Jordan will ever take in the NBA. If that’s the last image of Michael Jordan, how magnificent is it?” – Bob Costas
“I’m tired as hell. I’m exhausted. But I have one more stop.” – Michael Jordan
“I’m collecting my thoughts, but I’m tired. I’m trying to muster up the energy to finish this off.” – Michael Jordan
“I never gave up. I never gave up. Every time we were close, I knew we were gonna do it. I knew it.” – Michael Jordan
“He’s a hero. He’s the guy that delivered every time he was asked during these types of situations.” – Phil Jackson
“This is great. This was the greatest.” – Phil Jackson
“I want to thank all my teammates, the organization. It’s been a great run. Thank you for our last dance.” – Scottie Pippen
“I know a lot of people didn’t think we’d end up back in Grant Park this year. Nobody knows if we’re gonna be in Grant Park next year. But the one thing I do know is my heart, my soul, my love, has always gone to the city of Chicago. And I do know that, no matter what happens, my heart and my soul and my love will still be in the city of Chicago.” – Michael Jordan
“In ’92, the NBA was in 80 countries. And now the NBA is in 215 countries. Anyone who understands that phenomenon of that historical arc will understand that Michael Jordan and his era played an incredibly important part in it. He advanced us tremendously.” – David Stern, NBA Commissioner (1984 – 2014)
“There are great players who don’t have an impact beyond their sport. And then there are certain sports figures who become a larger cultural force. Michael Jordan helped to create a different way in which people thought about the African-American athlete, a different way in which people saw athletics as part of the entertainment business. He became an extraordinary ambassador not just for basketball, but I think for the United States overseas, and part of American culture sweeping the globe. Michael Jordan and the Bulls changed the culture.” – President Barack Obama
“You know, in ’91 - ’92, I was young, full of energy, hungry. In ’98, when you’re winning six out of eight, and yet being just as dominant as you were in ’91, that’s where the craftsmanship came in. I think ’98 was much better than any of the other years because of how I was able to use my mind as well as my body.” – Michael Jordan
“It’s maddening [leaving at his peak], yeah, because I felt like we could have won seven. I really believe that. We may not have, but, man, just not be able to try, that’s something that I just can’t accept. For whatever reason, I just can’t accept it.” – Michael Jordan
“This is a good time to go. It’s a great run, we’d had a wonderful time. Good team. Time to go.” – Phil Jackson
“Phil had this knack, no matter how big you are or how big you think you are, to always draw you in to be a part of the process. I’m not a poet. I just spoke what I felt at the time. We’re always gonna be bonded. You say thanks for the past, enjoy the moment. Let’s make sure we end it right.” – Michael Jordan
“When I look back, it’s very gratifying to come from Wilmington, North Carolina, and never been in Chicago but that became my home and became a part of my history. My passion on the basketball court should have been infectious because that’s how I tried to play. I played for them. Start with hope. Start with hope.” – Michael Jordan
“We went from a shitty team to one of the all-time best dynasties. All you needed was one little match to start that whole fire.” – Michael Jordan
“I just want the franchise and Chicago Bulls to be respected. Like the Lakers or the Philadelphia 76ers or the Boston Celtics. Hopefully I can…. That this team and this organization can build a program like that.” – Michael Jordan