The Last Dance - Leadership has a price. Winning has a price.

By Unknown author - El Gráfico, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86281370

What do Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, John Stockton, and Larry Nance have in common? Yes - they were all great hall of fame players. They were one of the best of their generation. But there was always one thing that was elusive to them - an NBA championship ring. Do we know why? - The answer is plain and simple - Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

Ever since the lockdown kicked in, sports fans around the world have craved for something to cling on to. Something to cheer for. Something to cry for. Or perhaps something to get inspired from.

Michael Jordan and the team at ESPN have come together and presented us with never before seen footage from the Chicago Bulls historic season of 97-98 where they were on the verge of winning their 6th NBA championship (and complete their second hat trick of wins).

The series has rightly been named “The Last Dance” because it was going to be the last season together for this iconic team before they went on with their separate ways and left behind an incredible legacy.

For most of it, the 10-part series does a great job of showing never been seen before footage of Jordan and his teammates - Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, Toni Kukoc, Ron Harper, and many more. It talks about his growth from his school and college days. We also get to witness iconic footage from the famous “Dream Team” performance at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

By Steve Lipofsky at basketballphoto.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1718870

There are several episodes that are dedicated to the on and off-court drama accompanying the team as they faced adversity from other great franchises like the Knicks, Pacers, Pistons, and the Jazz.

The biggest takeaway for us has been the mindset of Michael Jordan. His will to win was simply unmatched. He always wanted to push himself and his teammates towards winning at all costs. Jordan had this incredible urge to always strive for the best. When down and out, he always dug deep and channeled an incredible form of will power to perform in the biggest of games.

There were many run-ins with so many of his teammates, most notably with the current coach of the Golden State Warriors - Steve Kerr. Jordan actually punched Steve and was rightly punished by his coach Phil Jackson. Both Kerr and Jordan made up, and later on, it was Jordan’s pass to Kerr that helped Bull win their 5th Championship a year before.

When there was no motivation left, Jordan found new ways to motivate himself. It could be anything from an opposition coach not shaking his hand the night before the game at a restaurant to not forgetting how an ex-teammate celebrated in front of Jordan’s teammates after throwing down a game-winning shot. Jordan remembered it all. He knew that was all the motivation he needed to perform.

By Steve Lipofsky www.Basketballphoto.com - http://www.basketballphoto.com/NBA_Basketball_Photographs.htm, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15164048

He pushed himself, his teammates, and found new ways to reignite the fire to win and was still questioned repeatedly by his critics. They called him a “tyrant”.

Jordan being Jordan, responds back in Episode 7 of the “Last Dance” - “Winning has a price. Leadership has a price. So I pulled people along when they didn’t want to be pulled. I challenged people when they didn’t want to be challenged, and I earned that right because my teammates who came after me didn’t endure all the things that I endured.

Once you joined the team, you lived at a certain standard that I played the game, and I wasn’t gonna take anything less. Now, if that meant I had to go in there and get in your ass a little bit, then I did that.

You ask all my teammates, ‘The one thing about Michael Jordan was he never asked me to do something that he didn’t f**king do.’ When people see this, they’re gonna say, ‘Well, he wasn’t really a nice guy, he may have been a tyrant.’ Well, that’s you. Because you never won anything. I wanted to win, but I wanted them to win and be a part of that as well.

Look, I don’t have to do this. I’m only doing it because it is who I am. That’s how I played the game. That was my mentality. If you don’t wanna play that way, don’t play that way.”

All things aside, this quote captures the essence of Michael Jeffrey Jordan. This mindset is what made him the GOAT, a jerk of a teammate, and one of the greatest NBA winners ever. Thank you for the memories, MJ!