Prior to this documentary’s release, Jordan was worried about how fans might react.
Even after the finale last night, I still find myself thinking about this clip more than anything in #TheLastDancepic.twitter.com/bpoYbJRbCS
— Ryan Olthoff (@Ma1zeandB1ue) May 19, 2020
That's Da Real Michael Jordan We Just Seen On Episode 7. Someone Who Loved His Teammates‼ MJ Wanted To Take His Team To New Heights With Him. So He Had To Give Them Tough Love. THE RESULT WAS 6 BULLS CHAMPIONSHIP RINGS‼ AND 2 THREE PEATS TO GO WITH THEM. 🐐 AIR #23 pic.twitter.com/IJ6GyaN2Ja
— JOEY 9357🐻⬇️ (@jmna9357) May 11, 2020
Director Jason Hehir explained to The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch:
“I said to him, ‘Why do you want to do this?’ And he said, ‘I don’t.’ And I said, ‘Why not?’ And he said, ‘When people see this footage, I’m not sure they’re going to be able to understand why I was so intense, why I did the things I did, why I acted the way I acted, and why I said the things I said.’
“He said there was a guy named Scotty Burrell who he rode for the entire season and, ‘When you see the footage of it, you’re going to think that I’m a horrible guy. But you have to realize that the reason why I was treating him like that is because I needed him to be tough in the playoffs and we’re facing the Indiana’s and Miami’s and New York’s in the Eastern Conference. He needed to be tough, and I needed to know that I could count on him. And those are the kind of things where people see me acting the way I acted in practice, they’re not going to understand it.’
“I said to him, ‘That’s great because this is an opportunity. We have 10 hours here to peel back the onion and have you articulate all the things you just articulated to me.'”
That intensity came through, but so did Jordan’s explanation for it. He articulated his motivations well. And, in the end, everything was geared toward accentuating his greatness.
Even the time spent on Jordan’s gambling or his intense interactions with teammates couldn’t derail the overall thrust of the documentary.
This was about Jordan’s greatness in each and every episode. Everything else was an appendage to that. Gambling problem? No, that was a competition problem. Brash and sometimes downright mean treatment of teammates? No, that was the game’s greatest leader preparing his soldiers for playoff battles.
And the brilliance of the documentary may shine even brighter knowing that it was, as Stockton said, a puff piece. Because, even with that understanding, it worked.
Read more from Original article on Bleacher Report.
Below are just few comments from people who watched the Last Dance docu- series.. Michael Jordan fear of thinking fans would think he was a jerk was wrong. They LOVED him and the series.
https://twitter.com/d_kouts/status/1259691123271970816
The last dance. The best sports documentary iv ever seen. A complete winner. #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/QMs4VQornL
— james mcT (@mct89) May 19, 2020
https://twitter.com/ritvikr7/status/1262714694994780160
Putting my 6-year-old daughter to bed, she looked at me and, with feeling in her eyes, said: “Daddy, I’m sorry your documentary is over.”
— Matt Smethurst (@MattSmethurst) May 19, 2020
https://twitter.com/isaac12311/status/1262545606385569797
Finished the final episode last night and it’s fair to say this was how Jordan sized up anyone he ever met, on and off the court, for the entirety of his career. #NoSpoilerSummary of #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/7hdKPebP5e
— Stern – uɹǝʇS (@nickjohn) May 19, 2020
An amazing journey of repeat the three-peat in #TheLastDance which took us back to a time when and you had to tune-in or pick up the paper to get the scoop and everyone wanted to 'Be Like Mike' (two decades later, everyone still wants to). pic.twitter.com/TzBSo5BwIs
— Sean Stillmaker (@SeanStillmaker) May 19, 2020
Just finished #TheLastDance on Netflix. Best documentary I have ever watched.
Fascinating to see Michael Jordan's win-at-all-costs mentality. He would invent vendettas and imagine personal slights against him to motivate himself to beat particular opponents. An absolute mad man! pic.twitter.com/8pUVF1UVoT— James Connor (@JamesConnor18) May 19, 2020
Finished #TheLastDance and what a bloody great viewing it has been over the last month.
Best sports doco series ever?
Also Jordan would have to be the most ruthless, driven and determined athlete of all time wouldn't he? Unbelievable— Shane (@_Willo_) May 19, 2020
https://twitter.com/DMorris1961/status/1262712087295545346
https://twitter.com/M_1tch/status/1262711288771174400
Got to say it #TheLastDance is the best sports documentary I’ve ever seen. Michael Jordan isn’t human. The Bulls of the 90s were unreal. I now want to be a professional basketball player.
— Callum Scott Howells (@callumshowells) May 19, 2020
MJ has made basketball exciting again and he hasn't played it professionally since 2003! #TheLastDance
— 👀 Pâ NgWi² (@nabwela) May 19, 2020
The Last Dance is the greatest documentary ever made. Simply breathtaking from start to finish. Perfect… #TheLastDance https://t.co/jG3It5T23d pic.twitter.com/CgxkCYdFLa
— BJ Metta (@bj_metta) May 19, 2020
#TheLastDance made me realize how under rated Scottie Pippen is/was. He’s a large reason why MJ is as great as he is.
— Ryan Eveland (@RyanEveland) May 19, 2020
#TheLastDance is class 👏🏻
— Shirley (@AlexSherwin_) May 19, 2020
https://twitter.com/TriviaOfRivia/status/1262706002027216900
So #TheLastDance is one of the most honest and well put together documentaries I have ever seen! Incredible! More please!!! 🏀 pic.twitter.com/y602pYyYir
— Mike Beckingham 💙 (@Becksmeister) May 19, 2020
Never been interested in NBA before but #TheLastDance fully changed my perspective on the game, n big up MJ true inspiration and cool as ice 🐐
— JB (@JackBoyle_) May 19, 2020
Don't remember watching a better sports documentary. Don't even watch basketball but what an insight into the man he was and the team they were. Different gravy. #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/bpXmshMhQi
— billy (@billy_churchill) May 19, 2020
https://twitter.com/Srj1511/status/1262723510302056451
No doubt in my mind that #TheLastDance is the 🐐 of sports docs. Takes me back to my childhood, watching the MJ and the Bulls literally take the piss out of everyone else. So sad how it ended. 💪🏼 🏀🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZLbJDiL2C9
— Nikesh Rughani (@NikeshRughani) May 19, 2020
Finished watching #TheLastDance and the mantra for my new life is "why would I think about missing a shot I havent taken yet". pic.twitter.com/S8n76a6cjn
— kiki (@kiki_downey) May 19, 2020
Just finished #TheLastDance LOVED it
— Daniel Windle (@Windle22radio) May 19, 2020
#TheLastDance is on repeat in this house.! #MJ23 #basketballhouse 🏀🏆👌🏽💪🏽
— Tricia Drewry (@lil_mama1315) May 19, 2020
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23thelastdance&src=recent_search_click&f=live
'Michael Jordan and the Bulls changed the culture' @BarackObama #TheLastDance
— Novice (@mizerwesi) May 19, 2020
https://twitter.com/KingCane7/status/1262718384359301120
#TheLastDance the best tv series ive watched in years.. MJ is on a different planet ability, performance, talent and character!!!
— ®ichie Mckee™ (@richiemckee22) May 19, 2020
https://twitter.com/JackHammett/status/1262716294291390464
https://twitter.com/cellustosa/status/1262715801427079168
#DennisRodman is truly a legend out here in these streets, we need to hear more stories from that man 😂🤣 #TheLastDance
— Kwame O 🇹🇿🇬🇭 (@PrinceKOTzGh) May 19, 2020
https://twitter.com/TheImprint_/status/1262716351908589569
Crazy to think MJ wanted to go another year but the front office wanted to break it all up because they didn’t want to shell out the salaries to keep Pippen, Rodman and Kerr. Has to be one of the greatest sporting travesty’s of all time #TheLastDance
— Troy Ratcliffe (@TroyRatcliffe17) May 19, 2020
https://twitter.com/tlnoel/status/1262724865771134978
#TheLastDance is a beautiful masterpiece.
— Kelly S (@punkykells) May 19, 2020
https://twitter.com/GeorgeRelf/status/1262714730755559424
Rodman was a guy 👏🏾 pippen- is there a better robin ever??? Phil Jackson genius. MJ 🐐 #winnerswin #TheLastDance
— Simon Peddie (@Peds_4) May 19, 2020
watching the last episode of #TheLastDance but I just really don’t want it to end
— the samm chapter (@sammalvero) May 19, 2020
Finished the last dance! What a sports 🏀 doccy 👏🏻👏🏻. Best I’ve seen. Loved the throwback to the 90s. Can’t imagine how big the would be today with the social media platforms. #unrealteam #unrealcoach #unrealgoat🐐 #MJ23 #TheLastDance
— Adam Costello (@cossy11) May 19, 2020
Good luck for other documentaries after this #TheLastDance
— adm 🥑 (@adamode_) May 19, 2020
#TheLastDance such an insane watch, MJ was a different level of boss.
— Jordan Eynon (@JordanEynon22) May 19, 2020
Done with The Last Dance. 🙌 for the best team of that decade! #TheLastDance
— Claudette 🌷 (@claudetterd93) May 19, 2020
Jerry Krause really destroyed the Bulls #TheLastDance
— Soshangane (@RafaKhoza) May 19, 2020
Finally finished #TheLastDance. 3 thoughts overall, as a big sports fan, but casual basketball fan:
– Steve Kerr just seems like such a great guy & a clutch player
– I have a much higher opinion of Pippen than I did before
– Phil Jackson is even more of a GOAT than I suspected— Christina Saull (@christinasaull) May 19, 2020
What. An. Epic. Doco 😭👏
MJ will always be 🐐(fight me 🤣)
I mean so many things: work ethic, fame, mentality > fatigue, not to mention shit loads of skill and tact. You always wonder what actually goes on in someone’s head at that calibre… 🤯#TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/bfm1ebcPMs
— Bree Lee (@justbree04) May 19, 2020
#TheLastDance 🏀 LOVE ❤️ pic.twitter.com/SWhaTpt2Jk
— Jessie Cave (@jessiecave) May 19, 2020
#TheLastDance was one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long long time. Michael Jordan’s mentality was special. Incredible
— Gavin Nolan (@GavinNolan20) May 19, 2020
Only if @kobebryant was alive to see the documentary #TheLastDance with @Jumpman23 … I wonder what black mamba would have thought… any thoughts guys?
— David Marin (@Cholo_Da_Vinci) May 19, 2020
Here is the Bob Costas sign-off at the conclusion of the 1998 Finals. He knew it was probably over. #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/AwSpRbYdU5
— Derek Jones (@DerekJones79) May 18, 2020
Well, that was fun 👏
RT if you ❤️ #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/qQW3EMwEf5
— ESPN (@espn) May 18, 2020
