Tag: The Last Dance

Warriors players tune in for the premiere episodes of ‘The Last Dance’ documentary

Eric Paschall and Draymond Green tuned in for the first two episodes of “The Last Dance” documentary.

After an overwhelming amount of hype, ESPN premiered the first two episodes of “The Last Dance.” The 10-part documentary follows the Michael Jordan era Chicago Bulls teams. The first two episodes chronicle Jordan’s rise from a prospect at North Carolina to becoming the NBA Rookie of The Year in 1985.

The Bulls divide with general manager Jerry Krause, and Scottie Pippin’s Chicago contract were both featured in the opening episodes. Former Bulls guard turned Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr also made an appearance in the debut episodes of the documentary.

Like many in the basketball world, a pair of Warriors players checked in on social media to show they were tuned in for “The Last Dance.”

Before the documentary kicked off, Draymond Green shared a clip on his Instagram story of him watching the film.

Via @money23green on Instagram:

Eric Paschall fired off a bevy of Tweets during the airing of the “30 for 30” documentary. Golden State’s second-round draft pick started by thanking ESPN for releasing the feature. Paschall commented on multiple topics from the Last Dance, including the spacing of the 1990s era of NBA basketball and Jordan’s scoring numbers as a rookie.

Via @EPaschall7 on Twitter:

 

After the first two chapters, Paschall wasn’t done, calling for ESPN to release the entire documentary.

The Villanova product will have to hold until next Sunday when episodes two and three are slated to air on ESPN.

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The Last Dance: Viewers loved Barack Obama being introduced as ‘former Chicago resident’

One of his many titles.

The long-awaited Chicago Bulls documentary series “The Last Dance” premiered on Sunday night, and one of the first things you’ll notice about the 10-part epic is that ESPN landed interviews with everyone. Seemingly everyone close to the Bulls during their dominance in the 1990s made themselves available to take part of the documentary, and the first two episodes even feature appearances by two former Presidents of the United States – Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

Obama, a longtime Chicago resident and Bulls superfan, recalled not being able to afford Bulls tickets once Jordan mania had taken over the city. Viewers also enjoyed the filmmakers having a bit of fun by introducing the 44th President of the U.S. as a “former Chicago resident.”

There is a storytelling purpose to the chyron, though. Director Jason Hehir explained to The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch that the contributors are introduced according to their connection to the events at the time, which is why Bill Clinton was labeled a former governor of Arkansas when discussing former Central Arkansas star Scottie Pippen.

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The timing of Michael Jordan’s approval of ‘The Last Dance’ has an interesting connection to LeBron James

Michael Jordan gave the go-ahead on the documentary series on the day of the Cavaliers’ 2016 championship parade.

22 years after a camera crew was granted unprecedented access to one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history, ESPN will debut a 10-part documentary series on the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls called “The Last Dance.”

Current NBA commissioner Adam Silver played a key role in laying the groundwork for what is sure to be an epic series, as explained in a must-read story over at ESPN. Silver, who led NBA Entertainment during Jordan’s second three-peat, convinced Jordan and coach Phil Jackson to allow cameras to follow them throughout the season. To get Jordan to agree, however, Silver gave the five-time NBA champion full control over the footage, meaning that a move or documentary would never be made and the footage would never be released without Jordan’s consent.

Nearly two decades later, Jordan finally agreed to unseal the footage – and the timing of his decision is very interesting, particularly for the legions of fans who believe LeBron James is the true GOAT.

After many people had tried and failed to convince Jordan to allow a project to move forward, eventual producer of “The Last Dance,” Mike Tollin, landed a meeting with Jordan to pitch him on an extensive multi-part documentary. That meeting just so happened to occur on the very day LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers were celebrating their 3-1 comeback over the Warriors in the streets of Cleveland with a championship parade.

Via ESPN:

“The universe has such a funny sense of humor. Because when I woke up, I put on ESPN while I’m getting dressed, and there’s LeBron [James] and the Cavaliers parading through the streets of Cleveland with the trophy that they’d just won.”

Tollin’s pitch worked, and the wheels were in motion on “The Last Dance.” On the very day LeBron James was celebrating what many have called the greatest NBA Finals performance in history, Michael Jordan finally said yes to a series that will likely convince a large swath of new generation that he’s the greatest player to ever live. That may just be a coincidence, but it also may not be.

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People are planning their All-Jordan outfits to watch ‘The Last Dance’

This is the best day ever for Jordan fans.

ESPN’s 10-part documentary season on Michael Jordan’s final championship season with the Chicago Bulls debuts on Sunday night, and basketball fans could not be more excited.

The series was originally planned to release in June, but following a collective outcry from bored fans stuck at home during the coronavirus crisis, the release window was thankfully moved up to April, and Jordan superfans are now preparing like it’s Game 7 of the 1998 NBA Finals.

Many fans are sharing their “gameday” outfits on Twitter ahead of the premiere of episode 1 at 9:00 p.m. ET (ESPN), which is a great opportunity for sneakerheads to show off their collection of Air Jordans.

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Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James: Tale of the tape

The debut of “The Last Dance” has reignited the greatest sports debate of our time.

After LeBron James failed to make the playoffs in his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers last year, basketball fans enjoyed a brief respite from the annual resurgence of the greatest sports debate of our time: Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James. Daytime talk shows have been going to the MJ vs. LeBron well for years, but the arguments always reached a peak whenever James would advance to the NBA Finals, which he did for eight consecutive years.

The coronavirus crisis may have forced a halt to the 2020 NBA season, but the Jordan vs. LeBron debate is set to take over Twitter once again with the release of “The Last Dance,” a 10-part documentary series on Jordan’s final championship season with the Bulls. A new generation of NBA fans will be exposed to Jordan’s achievements, and LeBron fans are already getting defensive on basketball Twitter.

If you’re looking for a rundown of achievements to reference in your next social media dispute, we’re here to help. Here’s the tale of the tape for Jordan vs. LeBron.

Michael Jordan

Titles and awards:

6-time NBA champion (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)

6-time NBA Finals MVP (6-0 record in NBA Finals)

5-time NBA MVP (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998)

1-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1988)

10-time All-NBA First Team

9-time All-NBA Defensive First Team

10-time NBA scoring champion

14-time NBA All-Star (3-time MVP)

1985 NBA Rookie of the Year

Career averages:

Points: 30.1

Rebounds: 6.2

Assists: 5.3

Steals: 2.3

Blocks: 0.8

FG %: .497

3P %: .327

Turnovers: 2.7

PER: 27.9

Win shares: 214.0

Value over replacement player: 116.1

All-time rankings:

28th in minutes (41,010)

5th in points (32,292 points)

45th in assists (5,633)

3rd in steals (2,514)

LeBron James

Titles and awards:

3-time NBA champion (2012, 2013, 2016)

3-time NBA Finals MVP (3-6 record in NBA Finals)

4-time NBA MVP (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013)

12-time All-NBA First Team

5-time All-NBA Defensive First Team

1-time NBA scoring champion

16-time NBA All-Star (3-time MVP)

2004 NBA Rookie of the Year

Career averages:

Points: 27.1

Rebounds: 7.4

Assists: 7.4

Steals: 1.6

Blocks: 0.8

FG %: .504

3P %: .344

Turnovers: 3.5

PER: 27.5

Win shares: 236.1

Value over replacement player: 133.2

All-time rankings:

8th in minutes (48,328)

3rd in points (34,087)

8th in assists (9,298)

49th in rebounds (9,353)

13th in steals (2,011)

2nd in turnovers (4,402)

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Sports fans are desperately excited for the premiere of ESPN’s ‘The Last Dance’ doc

It feels like sports fans have been waiting a lifetime for The Last Dance to premiere.

Sports fans everywhere are pumped for the premiere of ESPN’s documentary series The Last Dance about the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty in the 1990s. And in a world without sports while people everywhere are staying at home as much as they can because of the global coronavirus pandemic, we need this.

The 10-part docuseries will premiere Sunday with the first two hour-long episodes airing back-to-back, starting at 9 p.m. ET. Two episodes each Sunday will air through May 17, giving fans a chance to relive history and a taste of sports, which everyone is so desperately craving. (It will also be available on Netflix two episodes at a time at midnight PT the following Mondays.)

The Last Dance was originally scheduled to debut in June, but ESPN announced late last month that it’s bumping that date up. And since then, the network and its personalities have been teasing trailers and extra scenes, as if people need another reason to get excited.

Just recently, ESPN even shared some extended scenes on YouTube, and we cannot wait. Neither can people on the internet, and several fans — from Stephen A. Smith to Russell Wilson to average fans (and even the Chicago White Sox) — shared their unbridled enthusiasm for the doc, which looks incredible.

They tweeted iconic video clips of Michael Jordan, showed off some vintage Bulls swag and shared old photos of their best Jordan impressions. And we’re here for all of it.

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LeBron, RJ might’ve helped convince ESPN to release ‘The Last Dance’ early

ESPN is releasing “The Last Dance” early after many fans, LeBron James and Richard Jefferson called for an early showing of the documentary.

It may feel like weeks ago, but it was just Thursday that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James appeared on Richard Jefferson’s and Channing Frye’s Road Trippin’ and suggested ESPN move up the release date of the Michael Jordan “The Last Dance” documentary.

“I’m telling you, if they released that thing right now, the views?” James said. “Listen, if I’m Michael Jordan, I’m going in there and I’m making a conference call and I’m like, ‘OK, what’s the reason we gonna hold onto it until June now? Compared to now, when everybody is at home.'”

When the King speaks, the networks listen.

There may be no NBA this April, but fans will get to relive the Chicago Bulls dynasty and the 1997-98 season.

ESPN announced Tuesday it is moving up the release date of “The Last Dance” documentary from June to April.

“As society navigates this time without live sports, viewers are still looking to the sports world to escape and enjoy a collective experience,” ESPN said in a statement.

“We’ve heard the calls from fans asking us to move up the release date for this series, and we’re happy to announce that we’ve been able to accelerate the production schedule to do just that. This project celebrates one of the greatest players and dynasties ever, and we hope it can serve as a unifying entertainment experience to fill the role that sports often play in our lives, telling a story that will captivate everyone, not just sports fans.”

On Twitter, SportsCenter posted a video with fans calling for an early release — and it opened with an edited version of the Road Trippin’ clip with James and Jefferson talking about the idea.

In the Road Trippin’ segment, Jefferson questioned why they were holding off the release when the documentary was complete.

“It’s done, it’s been done,” Jefferson said. “ESPN — I know I don’t want to get fired — but release that (expletive)”

In part due to the result of James, Jefferson and many, many fans over social media calling for it, ESPN is.

The 10-part series is scheduled to begin April 19.

4 questions we have about ESPN’s Michael Jordan documentary ‘The Last Dance’

ESPN is moving the premiere of their Michael Jordan Documentary ‘The Last Dance’ to April 19th. Here are 4 questions we have on the documentary.

ESPN is moving the premiere of their Michael Jordan Documentary ‘The Last Dance’ to April 19th. Here are 4 questions we have on the documentary.