ESPN’s 10-part documentary “The Last Dance,” which chronicles Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls, premiered on Sunday with Episodes 1 and 2.
Jordan and the Bulls allowed NBA Entertainment to follow them throughout the season and document their final championship together. The series features never-before-seen footage, as well as interviews with more than 100 people close to the team.
Here’s what you need to know from the first two episodes, which covered the rise of the dynasty along with the disintegrating relationship between the team and the front office.
ESPN’s NBA experts on ‘The Last Dance’
Our team weighs in with their biggest takeaways from the first two episodes of the series. This will continue to update throughout the night.
• Ramona Shelburne: Michael Jordan publicly says the team should get to defend its title until it loses. That he won’t play for any other coach than Phil Jackson. And the Bulls didn’t listen! Are you kidding me? That would never happen today.
Stars are so much more powerful and valuable now than I suppose they were back then. The idea of an owner letting the team’s general manager break apart a dynasty against the wishes of its superstar would be unthinkable in the modern era.
• Tim Bontemps: In the opening minutes, Jordan reflects on the rumblings about the Bulls considering a rebuild.
“I just kept hearing this over and over again,” Jordan said, waiving his right hand for punctuation. “And I was just getting irritated. Like, we were winning.”
It struck me just how much the idea of rebuilding still gnaws at Jordan. It makes you wonder: Had the Bulls decided to go for as long as Jordan could carry them, would he have still retired in 1998? Would MJ, Phil Jackson and Scottie Pippen have stuck together until the bitter end? We will never know. But hearing Jordan talk makes me wonder if that alternate universe might have been more plausible than we imagined at the time.
• Mike Schmitz: The Portland Trail Blazers selecting center Sam Bowie over Jordan with the No. 2 pick in 1984 should be the everlasting example for why you never draft for need over talent at the top. The idea that Jordan couldn’t play with Clyde Drexler because they were both shooting guards speaks to the more rigid way the game was played and viewed at that time.
• Jesse Rogers: Seeing the team in Paris reminded me how Michael Jordan became synonymous with Chicago.
If, say, you were in Las Vegas before Jordan became a Bull and you told people you were from Chicago, they would ask about Al Capone. That’s right. A mobster from the 1920s was the most famous Chicagoan for people outside of the city. After Jordan arrived, it’s all anyone would ask about, especially foreigners. Everyone everywhere knew of MJ.
• Andrew Lopez: There are not many times when the average fans can see themselves in something MJ has done. But as anyone who has been to college knows, you need your mama. His writing a letter to Deloris Jordan asking for money while at UNC — well, that’s just something a lot of folks can relate to. It’s a simple reminder that before he was a worldwide phenomenon, Jordan was just like everyone else at one point.
Just not for long.
More on ‘The Last Dance’
Everything to know about Michael Jordan’s Bulls
Here’s a guide to the 1990s Chicago Bulls dynasty for those who didn’t experience it as it happened — and for those who need a refresher on the six-time NBA champions.
The Michael Jordan I knew is about to be revealed to the world
“The Last Dance” is a rare look inside Jordan’s world. It unfurls some revealing details and telling anecdotes of an emotion-charged final season in which history repeated itself, with the drama, the jealousy and the infighting leading to the disintegration of the Bulls all over again.
Why Michael Jordan’s scoring prowess still can’t be touched
Jordan thrived in ways and in places that few players before him could match and that even fewer players today can emulate.
Full schedule
Sunday, April 26
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7 p.m. ET | Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 1
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8 p.m. ET | Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 2
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9 p.m. ET | Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 3
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10 p.m. ET | Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 4
Sunday, May 3
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7 p.m. ET | Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 3
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8 p.m. ET | Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 4
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9 p.m. ET | Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 5
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10 p.m. ET | Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 6
Sunday, May 10
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7 p.m. ET | Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 5
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8 p.m. ET | Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 6
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9 p.m. ET | Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 7
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10 p.m. ET | Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 8
Sunday, May 17
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7 p.m. ET | Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 7
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8 p.m. ET | Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 8
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9 p.m. ET | Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 9
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10 p.m. ET | Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 10
Netflix (outside of the U.S.)
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Monday, April 20 | 12:01 a.m. PT | “The Last Dance” Episodes 1 and 2
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Monday, April 27 | 12:01 a.m. PT | “The Last Dance” Episodes 3 and 4
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Monday, May 4 | 12:01 a.m. PT | “The Last Dance” Episodes 5 and 6
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Monday, May 11 | 12:01 a.m. PT | “The Last Dance” Episodes 7 and 8
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Monday, May 18 | 12:01 a.m. PT | “The Last Dance” Episodes 9 and 10