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Last night was Sunday night, which meant we got two more episodes of the great “The Last Dance” and once again this docuseries on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls did not disappoint.
At all.
On so many different levels.
Episode 5 began with some great memories of Jordan talking trash about Kobe Bryant before the 1998 NBA All-Star Game and then delivered an interview with Kobe Bryant that had all of us feeling emotional about Kobe no longer being with us.
Things from there were unpredictable and fantastic. I mean, Jordan is unlike any star athlete ever and the footage and stories this show has are so good.
So lets looks back at the best moments from another memorable night of sports television.
1. The Kobe Bryant interview.
It’s still so hard to comprehend that Kobe Bryant is no longer with us but it was really special to see him talking about what Michael Jordan meant to him and how Jordan helped him through many parts of his career, including early struggles on the big stage. We miss you, Kobe.
2. The gambling security guard with a mullet.
We all know Jordan likes gambling but I had no idea that included throwing quarters with security guards in a back room at the United Center before games. One security guard with an incredible mullet stole the show by beating Jordan and then hitting him the shrug. It was some incredible TV and this guy instantly became a hit on Twitter.
3. Jordan retelling the story of hiding the Reebok logo at the Olympics.
This is an old story but it’s still a great one – Jordan was told after winning a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics that he couldn’t cover up the Reebok logo on the USA jackets during the medal ceremony. So he came up with a brilliant idea on how to do just that – he draped an American flag over his shoulder, which did the trick. He even teased it out on the documentary, telling the cameraman that nobody would be able to guess what he’s going to do. Jordan was always in control.
4. Jordan passing on Adidas.
Sunday was a rough night for Adidas as Jordan told the world that he wanted to be Team Adidas but ended up going with Nike instead. That was quite a move for both companies, of course, as Air Jordans became an iconic hit and Adidas missed out on the biggest shoe signing ever.
5. Toni Kukoc sighting!
My pal Nate Scott wondered last week when we would finally see Kukoc. Well, that finally happened Sunday and it was… awkward. I forgot how much Jordan and Pippen wanted to embarrass Kukoc at the 1992 Olympics and then Pippen saying after a blowout win over Croatia that Kukoc probably wouldn’t be tough enough to play 82 games in the NBA. OUCH. Kukoc would later join the Bulls and win three titles with Pippen and Jordan but man, this was a tough moment.
6. Jordan handing out tickets to teammates.
There was a scene that had Jordan in a back room at the United Center dishing out tons of game tickets to teammates, back when tickets were hard to come by. Bulls guard Randy Brown walked in and asked Jordan for two tickets, Jordan asked him where he wanted the tickets to be and then handed him a few from a drawer like he was in charge of everything, which he was. Brown was very happy and thanked him a few times, which was just so funny to see.
7. The Bulls and the Hawks played at the Georgia Dome in front of 62,000 people.
I had no recollection of this happening in Jordan’s final season with the Bulls, but the Hawks moved a game to the Georgia Dome so they could fit in a record crowd to see MJ play. They did just that as some fans sat so far away from the action that they must not have been able to see anything. One guy in the nosebleeds had a portable radio to listen to the game. A portable radio!
8. Jordan meeting with Jerry Seinfeld before a game in LA.
Jordan and Seinfeld met in the locker room and had a somewhat boring conversation in which Jordan pointed at some trainers and said “they watch Seinfeld all the time.” It was fun to see Seinfeld be as socially awkward as I would have been in that situation.
9. Slim Bouler.
We were introduced to the guy who won $57,000 off Jordan in golf and Twitter instantly was amazed by this man. We need more on Slim Bouler.
Sunday’s biggest winner: The security guard.
Seriously, we need an episode on just this guy and this guy only. What he did to Michael Jordan was so gosh darn awesome. He was harder to beat than the Knicks or Pistons!
Quick hits: Giambi rips Astros… Brady’s former teammate speaks out… YouTuber gets stung by a ‘Murder Hornet’… And more!
– Jason Giambi compared the Astros’ cheating scandal to PEDs… and he’s not wrong.
– One of Tom Brady’s former teammates thinks the QB left New England because of Bill Belichick.
– YouTuber Coyote Peterson willingly got stung by a ‘Murder Hornet’ and it didn’t look like fun at all. Why are people like this?
– Dez Bryant ripped the Cowboys for their signing of Andy Dalton.