Thanks to "The Last Dance," Michael Jordan's rivalry with Isiah Thomas has been well-documented. Thomas played for the Bad Boy Pistons who always seemed to get in Jordan's way whenever he went for a championship. Thomas was able to win two titles before Jordan went on his infamous first three-peat although to this day, there still seems to be quite a bit of tension between the two.
During an appearance on FS1's Speak For Yourself, Thomas spoke about his rivalries and made the bizarre claim that he never felt like MJ was his real competition. As he explains, he was more concerned about the Celtics and Lakers than he ever was about the Bulls.
“When we were all young and healthy – from 84 to 90 – the numbers speak for themselves. He wasn’t really my competition. My competition was Bird and Magic, trying to catch the Celtics, trying to catch the Lakers. Chicago at that time, and Jordan at that time, from 84 to 90, before my wrist surgery, he just – that wasn’t my competition,” Thomas said.
These comments seem pretty bizarre when you consider just how much his team used to bully Jordan on the court. It's clear the Pistons saw MJ as a threat but all these years later, he refuses to admit it.
If there is one thing for certain from "The Last Dance," it's that MJ and Thomas will never reconcile.
Michael Jordan Allegedly Lied About Wanting To Return To Bulls
Michael Jordan claimed that he wanted to return to Chicago for one more year.
Michael Jordan‘s exploits in the NBA were on full display during all 10 episodes of “The Last Dance.” Of course, Jordan was one of those players who stopped at nothing when it came to wanting to be great and he always knew how to motivate the people around him to make them better, even if his methods were downright cruel.
One of the biggest narratives from the documentary was how he decided to retire in 1998. In the doc, Jordan claims that had Jerry Krause kept the team together, he would have come back for one more year. According to Sam Smith who wrote the book “Jordan Rules,” this is complete BS, as he noted in a radio interview.
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“That was a complete and blatant lie by Michael,” Smith said. “There were several things in the documentary that I saw, I would know, that he made up or he lied about. They weren’t major things, but it was like when a TV movie comes on and they say, ‘this is based on a true story.’ That’s what that was. It was based on a true story.”
There was a lot of controversy surrounding the “Jordan Rules” book and Jordan wasn’t a fan of his teammates “snitching” on him. Regardless, Smith is a reputable journalist so his comments seem to be a direct counter to what Jordan is saying in the documentary.
Perhaps we will never know the whole truth.
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Dennis Rodman Breaks Silence On Teammates’ Portrayal In MJ Doc
Dennis Rodman doesn’t think his teammates had the mental strength to be criticized.
There has been a massive fallout since the final episode of “The Last Dance” and many of Michael Jordan‘s Chicago Bulls teammates are upset with how they were portrayed. Perhaps the two biggest losers of the entire documentary were Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen. Grant was portrayed as some sort of snitch while Pippen was made to seem like a bad teammate, even though he helped MJ get all of his rings.
Recently, Dennis Rodman was asked about how his teammates have been feeling and he gave a pretty interesting answer. As he explains, they simply weren’t ready to be criticized in that way and that considering it’s Jordan, they should be used to it by now.
“The players were a little upset because they felt Michael was throwing them under the bus. ‘You guys wasn’t doing what I want you to do, I’m the greatest, I’m determined to win no matter what,’ Rodman told “Good Morning Britain.” “The next thing you know Michael starts to talking about the whole team… the team-mates I played with. Mentally I don’t think they were strong enough to handle that, because Phil Jackson is a laid back coach. Michael is more like, ‘I’m going to do it watch me be famous’. I didn’t care because I was already famous.”
Over the next few months, Jordan will have a lot to answer for over this doc and we’re interested to see where it all goes from here on out.
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Scottie Pippen Is "Beyond Livid" At Michael Jordan Over "The Last Dance"
Scottie Pippen was Michael Jordan’s right-hand man but he didn’t get much respect in “The Last Dance.”
Scottie Pippen is one of the best basketball players in NBA history although his accomplishments were very much overshadowed by those of Michael Jordan. Pippen is seen as the best Robin player ever, which is certainly nothing to laugh at. He was a phenomenal partner to Michael Jordan and his accomplishments should be celebrated. Unfortunately, during the ultra-popular documentary “The Last Dance,” Pippen was slandered at every turn.
At numerous points, Pippen was made out to look like a selfish player who is always getting injured and never doing what was best for the team. In fact, it seemed like Pippen was being put down so that Jordan could look better. Now, it appears as though Pippen is very angry with his portrayal and he’s mostly mad at MJ.
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According to ESPN Radio host David Kaplan, Pippen felt as though there was a very clear agenda to the documentary and that it was all about bashing him up until the very end. Of course, it’s pretty sad to see Pippen treated this way especially since Jordan’s success was contingent upon Pippen’s arrival in Chicago.
It will be interesting to see if the two end up speaking to each other about this development and whether or not it will ever be resolved. They are both legends and it would be a shame for their relationship to take a turn over a documentary.
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Michael Jordan’s Game Worn Air Jordan 1’s Sell For $560K
Michael Jordan’s shoes just went for an insane amount of money at auction.
Michael Jordan is one of the biggest legends in the history of basketball and over the years, he has helped Nike release an insane amount of sneakers. Jordan Brand has become an institution within sneaker culture and the Jordan 1 has a legacy like none other.
In light of “The Last Dance,” numerous auction houses have been selling off some significant memorabilia, including Sotheby’s who recently listed a pair of Air Jordan 1’s from 1985. This pair was worn in an actual game and even features Jordan’s signature. At first, starting bids were at around $100K and it was believed that the pair would sell for $150K max. Instead, the shoe broke a record and sold for $560K.
“Produced between February to April 1985, Jordan wore the present pair of Air Jordan 1s during an early, pivotal point of his career and thus catapulted the sneaker’s popularity,” Sotheby’s said. “Wearing mismatched shoes most of his career, the pair is in a size 13 (left shoe) and a 13.5 (right shoe).”
Many of these collectors have a lot of money but over half a million on some shoes is still pretty insane. Regardless, these are extremely rare and a once in a lifetime cop. Hopefully, the fan takes good care of them.
Image Sotheby’s
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Reggie Miller Wasn’t Thrilled About Doing "The Last Dance"
Reggie Miller had a lot of history with Michael Jordan.
Michael Jordan has been a huge topic of conversation as of late thanks to the ESPN documentary "The Last Dance." Every Sunday, two new episodes have aired and they have all been quite good. New information continues to be divulged and unfortunately, last night, the final two episodes made it to air. Now, our Sundays will be reduced to boredom, once again.
During Episode 9, one of the biggest stories was Reggie Miller and how the Indiana Pacers brought the Bulls to seven games in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals. In the end, the Bulls came out on top, and Miller had to relive it all. As teammate Jalen Rose described during a podcast with director Jason Hehir, Miller originally didn't want to be a part of "The Last Dance" and needed to be convinced to do it. Eventually, he gave in knowing it would be a big moment.
“Interviewing Reggie, as somebody who played with him, I was trying to initially get him to interview for this doc. He didn’t want to do it. It was too much pain,” Rose said.
If you're a Pacers fan, last night wasn't easy but it was even harder for Jazz fans who had to watch MJ beat them in the Finals two years in a row.
Dennis Rodman Hilariously Left Bulls During Finals To Join NWO
Dennis Rodman was easily one of the wildest characters in NBA history.
Dennis Rodman has been one of the key figures in ESPN's Michael Jordan docuseries, "The Last Dance." Of course, Rodman is one of the greatest rebounders in NBA history and he was known for being a physical player on the court, and an absolute wild card off of it. In Episode 9 of the series, which aired last night, we got some insight into one story that truly had fans on Twitter rolling in collective laughter.
Let's set the scene. It's 1998 and the Chicago Bulls have just won Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz, by a score of 96-54. Instead of going back home and resting before practice the next day, Rodman gets on a flight and shows up at a WWE event where he is wrestling as a member of the NWO. Yes, you read that correctly. Rodman actually left the Bulls in the middle of the Finals just so he could hang out with Hulk Hogan.
While Twitter found this to be very funny, his teammates and coach sure didn't. Regardless, Rodman eventually found his way back to Chicago and helped the team close out the series, en-route to MJ's sixth championship in just eight years.
Rodman certainly helped add some layers to this documentary and we thank him immensely for it.
Michael Jordan’s Trainer Gives Real Story Behind The "Flu Game"
Michael Jordan infamously played a phenomenal NBA Finals game while suffering flu-like symptoms.
If you’re a basketball fan, by now you’ve probably heard about Michael Jordan and his infamous “Flu Game” from Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz. Despite looking as if he was going to faint, Jordan put up a whopping 38 points en-route to a 90-88 win that had the whole basketball world in shock. At the end of the game, Jordan had to be helped off the court by Scottie Pippen as the fans in Utah couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed.
During an appearance on “Pardon My Take,” Jordan’s trainer Tim Grover spoke about the “Flu Game” and explained that it wasn’t actually the flu. Instead, Jordan had eaten some bad pizza the night before and it was wreaking havoc on his stomach.
“Then, about 3 o’ clock in the morning, I get a call to my room that just says, ‘Hey, man, come to MJ’s room’ and he’s literally curled up in the fetal position,” Grover said. “I’ve not known any flu that can hit you that fast, but I know how quick food poisoning can hit you.”
Grover noted that he was apprehensive about MJ eating the pizza because five delivery men had come to the door. Clearly, Grover seems to think there may have been some sabotage at play and that MJ was falling into a really elaborate trap.
Either way, everything worked out for the Bulls legend.
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Steve Kerr Reveals Who’s Better Between 72-Win Bulls & 73-Win Warriors
Steve Kerr finally put an end to the debate many basketball fans have been having.
During the 1995-96 season, the Chicago Bulls went on an insane run in which they went 72-10 and won the NBA championship. It was a massive accomplishment as they picked up the best record in NBA history while also picking up a fourth title. Twenty years later, the Golden State Warriors broke the Bulls regular-season record by going 73-9. Things didn't work out so well for the Warriors in the end as they ended up losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
The one parallel between both of those teams was Steve Kerr. Kerr was a point guard on the Bulls and was the coach of the Warriors. During the most recent episode of "The Last Dance," Kerr explained that the better of the two teams was, indeed, the 72-10 Bulls.
These comments provide closure to a debate fans have been having since 2016. While 73 is better than 72, the true barometer of a successful team is whether or not you can win the championship, and the Warriors weren't able to do that. By default, you would have to give the edge to the 72-10 Bulls.
All you Warriors fans are probably in shambles right now but that's okay. You won three championships in four seasons and that's all that matters.
Reggie Miller Thought He Would Force Michael Jordan Into Retirement
Reggie Miller was convinced he could spell the end for the infamous Chicago Bulls.
Reggie Miller was always one of the more formidable foes in NBA history thanks to his brand of trash talk and three-point shooting. Unfortunately, he was never able to get over the hump and win an NBA championship, even though he made it to the Finals back in the year 2000. In 1998, Miller went up against Jordan in the Eastern Conference Finals, which as we all know by now, Jordan won en-route to his sixth championship.
In “The Last Dance,” Miller spoke about going up against MJ and what he was hoping to accomplish at the time. As he explains, Miller had the mentality that he was going to force Jordan into retirement.
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“We all looked at the Bulls as the standard model of success,” Miller said, Brad Botkin of CBS Sports. “They were considered the best at that time. But we felt, and I feel to this day, we were the better team. The whole thing is, there was whispers that this was going to be Mike’s last year. So I think a perfect storm was brewing. In my mind, I was thinking … ‘this is it. You’re going to retire Michael Jordan.’”
Jordan eventually did retire after that season although it had absolutely nothing to do with Miller and the Pacers. Jordan always seemed to have Miller’s number and that never changed up until the very end.