Jordan’s ‘last dance’
Saturday, April 18, 2020 | 16:27
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FOOT
In this June 14, 1992 photo, Michael Jordan celebrates his Chicago Bulls’ victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA Final Series. On April 16, 2020 Jordan assured that interview with Good Morning America that that last year of the title with the Bulls was a difficult year because they knew before the start of the season that it would be the last. On Sunday the documentary series “The Last Dance” about that year premieres.
The American basketball player Michael Jordan wrote one of the most important chapters of his career during the 1997-1998 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and from tonight you will be able to know every detail.
The documentary series ‘The Last Dance’, which begins today on ESPN and will run for the next five Sundays, chronicles the final campaign that Jordan played in Chicago and culminating in the league’s third consecutive title for the Bulls. and the sixth in eight seasons.
With no sport to broadcast live due to the coronavirus pandemic, the network brought forward the premiere, the original plan was to launch it in the last days of May, to coincide with the end of this year.
Produced in conjunction with Netflix, ‘The Last Dance’ took almost a quarter of a century to take shape, 10 episodes telling a story that was recorded between the fall of 1997 and the summer of 1998, when Jordan, the owner of the Bulls Jerry Reinsdorf and coach Phil Jackson granted full access to NBA Entertainment cameras throughout the season.
The episodes will be two hours each on Netflix, subscribers will be able to see two new installments every Monday, from April 20 to May 18.
More than a job, a privilege
Interviewed by the Associated Press, director Jason Hehir (43 years old) said that making Jordan’s documentary was a privilege, since he has been his follower since childhood.
Hehir’s job was to take over 10,000 hours of filming for the 97-98 season, interview more than 100 people, and turn everything into an eight-and-a-half hour television show.
In the past Hehir directed for ESPN the film ‘The Fab Five’, as well as the documentary ‘André The Giant’, about the life of the French fighter André René Roussimoff, and a concert by the Canadian singer Michael Bublé in Madison Square Garden in New York.
“For almost three years we investigated to present the history of a dynasty that defined an era, and to present these sporting heroes as humans,” he said.
“Sports are an indelible part of our culture and not having them leaves a significant gap in the happiness that people feel; it is the escape that sport provides every day, “said Hehir
Goes further
‘The Last Dance’ shows a little beyond the 1997-98 season, although the centerpiece of the story is that.
Some episodes also serve as a retrospective of Jordan’s life and his basketball career, from his college years to his rise as the NBA’s top star.
“Until then, nobody knew who I was,” admits Jordan on one segment of the show. “Outside of college, they knew me as ‘Mike Jordan,’ when I got that shot my full name became Michael Jordan,” says the athlete, when he hit the winning shot in the college national title game for the NCAA, which played in North Carolina against Patrick Ewing and Georgetown in 1982.
ESPN said the series includes profiles of Jordan’s top teammates, such as Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Steve Kerr, in addition to Jackson.
“Michael Jordan and the ’90s Bulls were not only superstars of the sport, they were also a global phenomenon,” said Jason Hehir.
Determination and perseverance
In an interview broadcast on the morning television show “Good Morning America,” Jordan confessed that it was the example of his parents that was the ingredient in his success.
“The determination and perseverance that I always showed during my professional career came from the example that my parents gave me. Both of them worked very hard to support our family and set an example for all my brothers, sisters and me, ”said the athlete.
‘The Last Dance’
Docuserie
From today
By: ESPN
Starting tomorrow (one weekly episode)
Netflix (two episodes per week)
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