Sunday’s new episode of the ESPN documentary series The Last Dance — which has largely examined Michael’s final season with the Chicago Bulls in 1997-’98 — went back several years to examine a formative aspect of his life, and the celebrated athlete got emotional while reflecting in his relationship with his late father. “He was my rock. You know, we were very close. He constantly gave me advice,” Michael recalled for the documentary cameras. “I remember, in ninth grade, I got suspended three times in one year, and my father pulled me aside that summer and said, ‘Look, you don’t look like you’re heading in the right direction. You know, if you want to go about doing all this mischievous stuff, you can forget sports.’ And that’s all I needed to hear.” “From that point on, it was like tunnel vision,” Michael said, “and I never got in trouble from that point on.”