The Last Dance comes to a close on Sunday night with the ninth and tenth episodes of ESPN’s 10-hour documentary on Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls. It has been a highly entertaining watch and a welcome escape for sports fans each week, even with the warranted questions about Jordan’s involvement in the production and the impact that’s had on what has (and has not) been presented in the documentary.
As we come to the end of The Last Dance, we wanted to explore some followups we’d want to see from all the footage that didn’t make it into this cut of the doc, as we know there are hundreds more hours of footage and interviews that got left on the cutting room floor. Given that they went with the route of not just looking at the 97-98 season and instead dove into the history of Jordan and the Bulls, there’s a ton that didn’t make it in. Here are five followups we want to see to The Last Dance, starting with one I think everyone hoped would be more prevalent in the documentary.
1. “The Practice Tapes”
I would love for them to cut together hours of Bulls practice footage, because the few snippets they’ve given us have been some of the most interesting — and really the only new information — parts of the whole documentary. I want more Jordan trash talking Scott Burrell and other teammates. I want more Phil Jackson leading yoga and teaching the triangle. Just generally, I want to see more of these practices that have so long been discussed as legendary, when we only got a few minutes of that footage in the documentary.
2. “Jordan’s Wide World Of Golf”
I want all the Michael Jordan golf footage. They teased us with that round in Florida (that was for some reason cut after a practice in Indiana, but whatever). Whether it’s just playing that whole round in its entirety or if they have more Jordan golfing footage we can watch, I’d very much appreciate that. Jordan is a good golfer but not a great one, and there’s something comforting about seeing one of the greatest athletes ever dealing with the same frustrations the rest of us do in trying to master a different sport. Also, I really would like to see more Jordan betting on the golf course, because I’d wager that can escalate things quickly.
3. “Jordan Watches Interviews”
Maybe the most entertaining part of the entire series has been every time they hand Michael Jordan a tablet and have him watch someone else they’ve interviewed talking about him. It’s given us a look at the pure disdain and hate he still has for Isiah Thomas, an extremely condescending “The Glove!” after Gary Payton insists he gave Mike trouble in the 96 Finals, and a rather adorable moment as he watched his mom read a letter he wrote her in college. It’s all been gold and I demand they give us more. They did 106 interviews for this documentary and there’s no reason they can’t just film Jordan working a cigar and glass of tequila, reacting to whatever they have to say about him.
4. “Storytime With Ahmad Rashad”
First, I want a separate documentary about Ahmad Rashad, because his life is absolutely fascinating. Second, I would really just enjoy watching Ahmad Rashad tell stories about Michael Jordan, as there’s probably not many people that know Jordan better or were around him more often than Rashad — I mean, he’s literally riding in Jordan’s car to a playoff game at one point. I highly doubt Rashad would be willing to dive too deep into untold stories, but a fella can dream and if he wanted, Ahmad could definitely give the world some gold.
5. “The World Series Of Poker: Bulls Plane Edition”
Show us the card games, cowards. I know you have the goods, and I want it. Really, I’ll take all the ridiculous Jordan gambling footage you’ve got — plane card games, pitching quarters, and whatever else he would put $1-$100,000 on.