Six episodes into The Last Dance documentary about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, and it looks like the producers are getting into the nitty-gritty.
A preview for episodes seven and eight that was tweeted out by SportsCenter on Sunday night shows that Jordan’s fight with Steve Kerr at a practice will take center stage this coming weekend.
At this training camp in 1995, Kerr, now the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, was defending Jordan.
“We were on opposite sides in a scrimmage, and he’s talking all kinds of trash, and I’m pissed because we’re getting our ass kicked,” Kerr said in the teaser video.
"I just haul off and hit him right in the f—ing eye. And Phil just throws me out of practice."
Episodes 7 & 8 air next Sunday at 9 PM ET on ESPN 📺 #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/ONZAnjlcbc
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 4, 2020
“Phil sensed my aggression, but he was trying to tone me down, and he starts calling these ticky-tack fouls,” Jordan said. “Now I’m getting mad, because for you to be protecting this guy, that’s not going to help us when we play New York. That’s not going to help us when we play these teams that are very physical.”
Coming out of retirement, Jordan saw Kerr as a new teammate, one who hadn’t earned respect. If Kerr was unable to play him well in practice, how was he supposed to help them beat a team like the Knicks in the playoffs?
“The next time he did it, I just haul off … When I foul Steve Kerr, I said, ‘Now, that’s a (expletive) foul.'”
As the coach of the Warriors, Kerr seems to be laid back. He acknowledged he’s not prone to fighting, but if someone irritates him enough he wouldn’t have been afraid.
“I have a lot of patience as a human being, but I tend to snap at some point because I’m extremely competitive, too,” Kerr said. “I’m just not really good enough to back it up, usually. But I’m going, I’m going, I’m gonna fight.”
So he did.
Jordan: “He hauls off and hits me in the chest. And I just haul off and hit him right in the (expletive) eye.”
Bulls head coach Phil Jackson wasn’t pleased.
“And Phil just throws me out of practice,” Jordan said.
In recent years, Kerr has talked about this fight. In a 2012 interview with the Dan Patrick Show, he said Jordan gained respect for him because of it.
“I needed to stand up and go back at him, I think I earned some respect. But we have a great relationship ever since… you gotta prove it and then once you prove it, you’re fine.”
Episodes seven and eight of The Last Dance air at 6 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday. The final two episodes will air May 17 at the same time.
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