WHEN I first heard of the “Last Dance” documentary, about how it was based on footage taken during Michael Jordan’s final year with the Chicago Bulls, the first question in my mind was how was that possible?
Sure, in this time where reality films are a dime a dozen, it would be perfectly understandable to assume one star has a dedicated film crew following his or her daily movements, but from the late ‘90s?
It turns out we have Adam Silver, now the NBA commissioner, and one Andy Thompson, famously known as the uncle of NBA star Klay Thompson, to thank. Andy, who will now be known as the guy behind the “Last Dance” instead of being someone’s uncle, had a brilliant idea more than two decades ago. With the greatest basketball player rumored to retire after that season, he wanted a crew embedded with the Chicago Bulls for the whole season.
“No one in the NBA had ever done this. And you’re not just doing this with a run of the mill NBA team. You’re doing this with the greatest player in the history of the game in Michael Jordan, who was very protective of his image and his privacy,” Andy told the Associated Press.
So he got his crew, thanks to Silver’s backing and got access to the Bulls that no one ever had.
But why did it take more than two decades to finally get the documentary completed?
To cut the long story short, “Iverson” helped make it happen. No, not the former draft pick known as The Answer, but the documentary about the former NBA star.
According to ESPN, Connor Schell, the one behind the documentary, saw the footage and wanted to do the documentary. Unlike the other directors who wanted to, Schell got a meeting with Jordan at the time when LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers were having their parade celebrating their championships.
And when Jordan learned that Schell did the “Iverson” documentary, the Goat reportedly told him, “I watched that thing three times. Made me cry. Love that little guy.” (If you haven’t seen it, you can watch the documentary on Netflix.)
Thanks to that, we have the “Last Dance” at the perfect time possible, and no I’m not talking about this time when Covid-19 has everyone stuck at home; these days documentaries come in four, five or six one-hour episodes and surely that great 1998 team’s story can’t be abridged in under two hours.
So, let’s enjoy the “Last Dance.”