The Last Dance: “A beautiful documentary” about Jordan and the Bulls, for George Eddy

Text by: David Kalfa Follow

The last two of ten episodes of The Last Dance, a Chicago Bulls end-of-career series with Michael Jordan (1997-1998), were released on May 18, 2020. George Eddy, iconic NBA basketball commentator on Canal Plus, gives its opinion on this extraordinary documentary. Interview.

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RFI: George Eddy, what did you think of The Last Dance , this series devoted to the saga of the Chicago Bulls by Michael Jordan?

George Eddy  : It's a beautiful documentary, very professional, with big means. They took years to put this in place. So the result is magnificent. We see unusual images, shot during the last season of the Bulls with Jordan. Each week, I looked forward to the next two episodes.

What makes this series different from other documentaries, books or films devoted to the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan?

We always see the same things a bit, because his career is very well known. It is mainly the fact that there was a film crew dedicated only to the Bulls, throughout the last season. They had access to the locker rooms, filmed intimate images of Jordan with his close entourage. Small smiles, small jokes or sometimes big anger. We know the whole story of Jordan and the Bulls. But here, we are perhaps a little more intimate than in other past documentaries.

Some believe that The Last Dance is too scripted, too much to the glory of the Bulls and Jordan. In short, not critical enough towards this team and its star player. What do you think ?

Yes, there is a lot of praise. But we also see a negative side regarding Jordan's behavior and personality. A Jordan so obsessed with victory that he puts pressure on himself and puts pressure on his teammates at an almost unbearable level. We also see his problems with gambling, betting on golf courses or Las Vegas.

We see that Michael Jordan is very human and that he is not only a hero. He experienced divorce, the assassination of his father ... He also did not have an easy life. He has always been under pressure from the press and the public to live up to his image and reputation. He lived an extraordinary life, but it didn't always have to be easy ...

One thing that strikes your mind when you watch the first episodes of The Last Dance , devoted to the 1980s and early 1990s, is that basketball, through fairly low scores and sometimes violent matches , was then a sport very different from that which is practiced today…

Yes, the modern playing style is totally different. In the 1990s, the six titles of the Bulls allowed basketball to become truly global, notably through the image of Jordan. But it was sometimes a little too defensive, too violent basketball, like the “Bad Boys” (the Detroit Pistons) or the New York Knicks coached by Pat Riley.

Changes to the rules, incorporated by the NBA in 2005, were rather welcome. It relaunched the attack game and it especially gave much more importance to the small players, as well as to the shooting at 3 points. It is clear that the matches we see today, where half of the attempts are at 3 points, has nothing to do with the 1990s when everyone went to the circle and wanted to play back to the basket with a large pivot. In short, it is the classic game of the past.

The broadcast of The Last Dance has also revived the age-old debate on the " GOAT ", the Greatest Of All Time (best player of all time, in English). What do you think of all these endless discussions?

For me, it's a bit sterile. Jordan says it: you can't compare great players from different eras. We can't imagine Jordan in the 1960s. We also can't imagine Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell today. Each star who dominated his time deserves to be at the top of the mountain as much as Jordan. Bill Russell, with 11 titles in 13 seasons, is far ahead of Jordan in the number of crowns. Jordan, who won 6 titles by being elected six times best player in the final, still seems slightly stronger than LeBron James who won only three titles and nine finals. Ultimately, you compare what you want.

Jordan's aura, charisma and international impact have been second to none. So there are plenty of reasons to believe that Jordan is the strongest of all time. But I think all these stars are equal.

The Last Dance: an extraordinary documentary

The broadcast of The Last Dance on ESPN and Netflix therefore ended on May 18, 2020 with episodes 9 and 10. Centered on the last two seasons (1996-1997 and 1997-1998) of Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls, they complete an extraordinary mini-series , devoted to one of the greatest dynasties in the history of team sports.

The “casting” of The Last Dance , already, is exceptional, with the testimonies of the actors of the time, Jordan at the head, but also that of other basketball glories (Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, etc.) Chicago played against. Not to mention the interventions of two former presidents of the United States (Bill Clinton, Barack Obama) and personalities in sport and culture.

What also makes this documentary invaluable is the use of rare, even unpublished archive footage of Jordan's famous "last dance" with the Bulls.

On the other hand, we can criticize the Jason Hehir saga for being very scripted. Besides the hero, there is indeed a villain (Jerry Krause, the former sports director of the Bulls, obsessed with the idea of ​​dissolving the team to rebuild it), a sage (coach Phil Jackson), an arm right (Scottie Pippen), antiheroes (Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr).

The whole thing ends obviously on a "Happy End", with a sixth NBA coronation in eight seasons, even if an aged Michael Jordan lets appear a hint of regret, about this second retirement retirement in full glory: "  C is frustrating, yes, because we could have won a seventh. I really think so. Maybe not, but not being able to try, that I cannot accept.  "

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