Is The Last Dance a definitive sports history or a carefully curated myth?
In short: The Last Dance captivated millions during the 2020 pandemic, offering a rare, all-access look at Michael Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls. While critics hailed its editing and storytelling, many of Jordan’s former teammates argue the series is less a documentary and more a self-serving, inaccurate piece of propaganda.
Released in 2020, The Last Dance was a joint production between ESPN Films and Netflix, centered on the 1997–98 Chicago Bulls. The project relied on over 500 hours of exclusive footage filmed during that final season, which Jordan had kept under lock and key for years. He finally granted permission to filmmaker Mike Tollin in 2016. The series arrived during the initial COVID-19 quarantine, filling a void left by the cancellation of live sports and becoming ESPN's most-watched documentary ever.
Despite universal critical acclaim and a Primetime Emmy win, the series faced intense backlash from those who lived through the era. Former teammates like Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen accused the production of favoring Jordan’s perspective at the expense of others. Grant famously claimed that 90% of the series was inaccurate, while Pippen felt the project was designed to uplift Jordan while unfairly portraying his colleagues. Others, including Bill Cartwright and Craig Hodges, criticized the series for omitting key figures like Luc Longley and Ron Harper, or for focusing on minor players like Steve Kerr to suit modern narratives.
The controversy extends to the ethics of the production itself. Filmmaker Ken Burns argued that Jordan’s involvement—specifically his company, Jump 23, being a partner—compromised the project's journalistic integrity. Critics also noted that the series was released after the death of former general manager Jerry Krause, preventing him from defending his own legacy. While director Jason Hehir maintains that he faced no editorial interference, the series remains a lightning rod for debate, illustrating the tension between the power of a compelling narrative and the messy, often contradictory nature of historical truth.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Last Dance (miniseries)
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