Published 17:01 IST, May 20th 2020
Michael Jordan's The Last Dance saw light of day due to LeBron James' success: NBA analyst
Brian Windhorst revealed that Jordan apparently agreed to start working on The Last Dance after LeBron James won the 2016 NBA Championship with Cleveland.
- SportFit
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The release of Michael Jordan's The Last Dance has once again sparked the debate about who is the greatest NBA player of all time. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who was once called 'the next Michael Jordan', is also considered one of the best basketball players in the world. According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Jordan was apparently threatened by James when he won the 2016 NBA Championship for the Cleveland Cavaliers, which caused the NBA legend to agree for The Last Dance.
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Michael Jordan The Last Dance: Did Jordan say yes for the documentary because he was threatened by LeBron James' success?
Is Michael Jordan The Last Dance a result of LeBron James' 2016 Championship win?
Michael Jordan's documentary started as a simple idea in 1997 when the Chicago Bulls granted exclusive access to a film crew during Jordan's last year with the team. Though there was footage available, Jordan reportedly said no to many producers who pitched the idea of The Last Dance to him. As per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, no producer even made it to a face-to-face meeting with Jordan.
Recently, Brian Windhorst revealed that Jordan apparently agreed to start working on The Last Dance after LeBron James won the 2016 NBA Championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jordan, as per Windhorst, was reportedly threatened by someone for the first time. James had led the Cavaliers to the 2015-16 title after coming back from a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors, who were having their best NBA season with a 73-9 win-loss record. James averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.9 assists during the Finals. People reportedly started talking about James being one step closer to become the NBA's GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), which apparently threatened Jordan.
A few days before the ten-part docu-series aired its final two episodes, CBS Sports wrote about why Jordan finally agreed to do the documentary. Along with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Allen Iverson, they listed James as a reason for Jordan to start his documentary. As per The Last Dance producer Mike Tollin, the Bulls legend agreed to use the footage the same day James and Cavaliers were celebrating their win with a championship parade in Cleveland.
In an interview, Tollin revealed that when he woke up, he was watching ESPN as he got dressed. He saw James and the Cavaliers on TV with the trophy they just won. While Tollin did not state that Jordan signed due to his win, he pointed out the coincidence, saying that 'the universe has such a funny sense of humour'.
Updated 17:01 IST, May 20th 2020