Jake's Take: Reactions to Episodes 5 and 6 of 'The Last Dance'
Jake Furr
So far, Episodes 5 and 6 of "The Last Dance" have been my favorites.
Maybe it was because the night kicked off with Kobe Bryant, my all-time favorite player. Maybe it was the first 3-peat that will be highlighted in this series or maybe because it had some basketball and some behind the scenes stuff, too.
Let's touch on all that with this week's reactions.
Let's start with him since Episode 5 stated with him. I found it absolutely crazy how every veteran in the Eastern Conference All-Star locker room knew Kobe was going to be the next big thing. Yes, he was a 19-year-old All-Star already, but there were plenty of All-Stars over the years who didn't turn out to be on Kobe's level. "That Laker Boy" was already on the radar of some of the greatest to play the game at that time and that was impressive to see. It was interesting to see how a lot of those players seemed intimidated by him before the game and then, during Kobe's interview, he had so much respect for Michael Jordan and the rest of those that came before him.
"I don't get five championships here without him." That line right there when Kobe was talking about MJ shows how much respect Kobe has for the game and for the players who came before him. It was the perfect way to begin Sunday night.
MJ's agent: David Falk
Who would have thought an agent who represented mainly tennis players and golfers would be the one who was the main instrument in building a billion-dollar enterprise? The inventor of Air Jordan, Falk took MJ's popularity and turned it into a frenzy. He negotiated the contract with Nike and made sure Jordan had a signature shoe and the rest is history.
Could you imagine if MJ had gone to Adidas? Falk had to think outside the box when marketing a basketball player who was part of a team by marketing him as an individual as he did with his tennis and golf clients. Yes, MJ had to be the one who performed on the court and make sure he lived up to the expectation and the hype that allowed him to have his own signature shoe, but this is MJ we are talking about. Was there really any doubt? Without Falk, I am not so sure Jumpman would be the cultural icon it is today.
Deloris Jordan
The No. 1 person responsible for the icon of MJ is MJ himself. No. 2 is Falk, who took marketing MJ to a new level never seen before. No. 3 is Momma Jordan. I swear, I think she may be my favorite person in this entire documentary. She and MJ's dad was basically the one who guided MJ to Nike instead of a disaster with Adidas. But what I loved about her comes from one of the first episodes in the series when MJ was cut from his high school team. She said they both cried because she knew how much he wanted to be on the team, but then she told him to work harder. Could you imagine what would happen today if a player got cut from a high school team? That player's mom would be ripping the coach, athletic director, athletic trainer and whoever else was around before she told her son or daughter to work harder and get better.
Deloris, you are the greatest. Without her, there would be no Nike, no Air Jordan, no billion-dollar business or no NBA. She may be more responsible for MJ than MJ because if she would have let him quit after getting cut or made excuses, he wouldn't have turned out the way he did.
Now on to the man of the (two) hour. These two episodes were all about how to be like Mike. Everything from how he made himself into a billion-dollar brand to silencing his critics with his play and even speaking out to why he didn't dip his toe into the political world, and I loved every second of it.
It started with him playing his final game at Madison Square Garden in his original MJ 1s and telling the story of his bloody toes. He had so much respect for how it all started, and it helped he was having a good game, that he didn't take them off. What a neat story.
Then the famous Gatorade commercial where you just wanted to 'Be Like Mike' which is a commercial and song I remember still when I heard it for the first time as a very young kid. I loved that MJ took his endorsement deals so seriously. Sure, people bash him to this day for covering up the Reebok logo on his chest during the gold medal presentation with the American flag, but I saw it as a sign of respect to Nike who believed in him enough to give him the best deal and let him have control over his image. I see nothing wrong with that.
But all of that fame and notoriety had a price and we saw that. There was a line in the show that said, "I wouldn't want to be like Mike" and I have to admit, I wouldn't want to either. Sure, he is worth 2.1 billion dollars, who wouldn't want that? But who would want a life where you literally couldn't step outside of your hotel room until it was time to go to the arena because mobs of people wanted a piece of you? I'll pass.
All that fame and notoriety has a price much bigger than just what happens on the basketball court. We saw that when he wouldn't dabble in endorsing a politician back in his home state of North Carolina. I loved the line he used saying, in a nutshell, that he wasn't educated on politics and the only thing he really worried about was his craft in his sport. Why would you want someone who isn't well versed in politics to give an endorsement to a candidate he knows nothing about? I see nothing wrong with him keeping quiet during that time. As MJ said, "If I inspire you, great. If not, you might want to follow someone else. I am never going to be enough for everyone."
Aside from all that, what really stuck out was the good and bad of MJ's competitiveness. It was fun to watch him turn up his defensive effort in 1992 so he could lead his team to a repeat title. Seeing that, I believe that is what really sets MJ apart from LeBron James. Sure, LeBron has a ton of chase-down blocks, perhaps the most important one in Cleveland sports history, but MJ was an elite defender all over the court.
I loved how he took offense to being compared to Clyde Drexler when Magic Johnson put them in the same conversation. He lit up Clyde in the NBA Finals with a then playoff record for most 3-pointers in a game while dropping 35 points in a half. The shrug at Magic basically said, never mention us in the same sentence again.
The same thing happened to Dan Majerle of the Phoenix Suns. Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause liked Majerle as a player and MJ took it upon himself to embarrass Majerle and Krause by completely dominating with 55 points in one of the NBA Finals games. He treated Majerle like Toni Kukoč, who we will talk about later.
This week's episodes showed the darkside to MJ's competitiveness. Seeing him lose money to that creepy security guard to a game of tossing quarters close to the wall was kind of cringeworthy.
Then hearing the story of him going to Atlantic City to gamble the night before the Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks was off-putting and all the talk of his gambling on the golf course was tough to hear.
But then I started thinking. If this guy like to gamble, so freaking what? It is his money, his life, let him do what he wants to do. If you want to go gamble away all your money, go for it. Who cares? Why should you care what he does on or off the court? Want to go to Atlantic City to the casino? Go for it. Have fun. This is America. Want to lose money to a funny looking security guard tossing quarters? Knock yourself out. Want to play golf and wager money on every hole? Go be like a lot of other recreational golfers out there and do it.
I didn't understand why the media made such a huge deal about it other than to write something controversial and that is the only part I hate about this profession. If it is negative and shines a bad light, people will read it. If it is positive and promotes a person's accomplishments, readers look right past it. Sad.
Last thing about MJ. I saw a tweet where someone questioned his mental toughness saying he supposedly quit because the media picked on him. What a crock. To be scrutinized in the media with all your personal decisions on blast and still go out and win your third straight NBA title with dominating performances night after night, come on now.
Toni Kukoč
I feel so bad for Kukoč, but he only has one person to blame and that is Jerry Krause. If Krause wouldn't have come out and said Kukoč was the future of the Bulls and been so high on the guy, Jordan and Scottie Pippen wouldn't have made it their mission to completely embarrass Kukoč in the Olympics. Why would you say this guy is the future of the Bulls when you are in the middle of a 3-peat? That makes no sense. To give Kukoč credit though, after he was held to four points in the first game against the USA, he came back in the gold medal game and responded well. But Krause put a bullseye on Kukoč and when two of the best players in the world are the arrows, you know that isn't going to end well for the target.
Isaiah Thomas and John Starks
Every time Isaiah Thomas comes on the screen I have to just laugh. I sat up in my bed last night when he came on talking about how he wasn't selected to the Dream Team and yelled at the TV, "You weren't selected because you were a jerk. You would have ruined the Dream Team." I believe that to be true because everyone hated him. The USA would have still won the gold because there was just so much talent, but I don't know if the legacy would still be the same with Thomas on the team.
And John Starks AKA a poor man's Isaiah Thomas. I can't stand to watch any more of his highlights. He tried to spear his way through a Pippen pick and then smile about it. I just have no respect for players like that. Jordan got the last smile with 54 points in Game 4.
I mentioned Magic earlier when he compared MJ to Drexler and paid for it, but I liked what Magic did for MJ during the Dream Team days. That practice was legendary and all the trash-talking Magic did was for, what I believe, a bigger purpose. He knew MJ could be the GOAT and wanted to get that out of him. He saw MJ could become a global icon by being the face of the Dream Team and wanted that for MJ. He got what he asked for just like he did during that practice.
Jake Furr is the sports reporter for the Mansfield News Journal. He can be reached by phone at 740-244-9934, by email at jfurr@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JakeFurr11.