“If Michael was involved, you were competing, and competing at 100%, and he expected that,” said Bill Wennington, the former Bulls center, ahead of the next installment of “The Last Dance” documentary.
When Michael Jordan played, it was must-see TV, and even now, 20 years removed from his glory days with the Chicago Bulls, we are still watching.
The Netflix docuseries “The Last Dance” that has aired the last three Sunday nights on ESPN takes us on a journey through Jordan’s final season with the Bulls in 1998. Jordan retired for the second time after that season before later returning to the NBA in 2000, first as president of the Washington Wizards, and then from 2001-2003 as a player for the Wizards.
“The Last Dance” has been a smash success in the ratings, captivating millions of viewers. In addition, “The Last Dance” has also triggered lots of discussion and social media activity, and been the number one trending topic on Twitter during its time slot.
It was Bulls head coach Phil Jackson who called the Bulls 97-98 season, ‘the last dance.” With Jordan back from his brief first retirement, the Bulls had won the last two NBA titles. Before the season, Jackson was told it would be his last, regardless of how the team performed.
Facing salary cap issues on a team that included Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman, the Bulls front office believed it was time to move on. Center Bill Wennington, who now serves as the color analyst on radio with the Bulls, was an important role player on that team, and he remembers the melancholy feeling at the start of the season, but understood why Jackson called it the “the last dance”
“Phil was very cerebral and knew how to keep everyone on the same page,” Wennington said. “It was a perfect scenario to come up with, [calling the season ‘the last dance’], because he was able to gather us and get us to focus on the task at hand.
