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Michael Jordan's secrets with the Bulls 0:43
(CNN) - They say that "mom always knows what is best."
But when faced with two of the most important decisions of his life, Michael Jordan listened to his mother only once. Heeding his advice would end up enriching the basketball icon beyond his wildest dreams; rejecting it could damage your legacy.
Both events were addressed in the latest episode of the hit 10-part documentary series, 'The Last Dance,' broadcast on ESPN in the United States, while Netflix has international rights. The show chronicles Jordan's epic final season with the Chicago Bulls.
While his sublime talent has never been in doubt, and his six NBA titles in the 1990s remain an almost mythical achievement, some questions remain about the man behind the myth.
Air Jordan
(Jeff Siner / Charlotte Observer / MCT)
Now it seems unthinkable that the superstar who sold millions of basketball shoes with Nike wasn't even interested in meeting with the company in the first place. In the early 1980s, Nike was a startup in Portland, Oregon, a brand more synonymous with sports shoe manufacturing.
His agent, David Falk, asked Jordan's parents to persuade him to get on the plane. "My mother said, 'You are going to listen. You may not like it, but you're going to listen, '”Jordan recalled in episode five of the hit TV series.
The rest is history. Air Jordan was born and both Jordan and Nike immediately won the jackpot.
As Falk said: “At the end of the fourth year, Nike expected to earn $ 3 million in sales. But by the end of the first year, they had earned $ 126 million. " The shoe was iconic and so was he, a team player marketed more as a tennis player or boxer. A talented and handsome athlete who quickly emerged as a global pop culture sensation.
"Michael came just at a time when satellite television and cable television were proliferating," The Last Dance director Jason Hehir told CNN Sport. “He had the appearance, he had the charisma. It was well spoken. He was smart and was probably the most captivating performer in NBA history. It was a perfect storm. "
Almost everything Jordan has touched turned to gold. Her narrative is inspiring, her dedication almost unrivaled, and her enthusiasm infectious. Watching him smile from ear to ear on the sidelines in the 1998 All Star game, you can almost feel the joy floating in your veins.
Jordan helped establish Chicago as a major team on the world sports map. Prior to their arrival in the summer of '84, the Bulls were known as the "traveling cocaine circus" and not only did they clean up the equipment, but they possibly helped clean up the city.
"Chicago's reputation was a kind of gang and corrupt politicians," Hehir reflected. “It was the home of Al Capone, the gangster of the mafia. That city was fiercely divided into colored lines, one of the hotbeds of prejudice in the country and Michael brought people together. ”
Jordan, seen here with Phil Jackson, holds up his NBA Finals MVP trophy.
Politics
Sports presenter Dan Roan had a front-row seat from his prime position on Chicago's WGN television station.
"They were all Bulls fans, regardless of their political preference," Roan told CNN Sport. "It didn't matter where you lived, it was a matter of galvanizing for the city."
If Jordan had transcended Chicago, not everyone was happy that he was just a basketball player.
In 1990, a Senate contest in North Carolina presented a dilemma for the NBA star. Charlotte's first black mayor, Harvey Gantt, a Democrat, was trying to beat Republican Jesse Helms to become the state's first black senator.
Helms had campaigned stubbornly to try to prevent the Senate from passing a federal holiday to honor civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King.
"My mother asked me to make a public service announcement about Harvey Gantt," recalls Jordan in "The Last Dance." "I said, 'Look mom, I'm not going to talk about something I don't know, but I'm going to send a contribution to support it.'"
Gantt lost the election, but it was a comment from Jordan on the team bus - "Republicans also buy sneakers" - that defined his position in the eyes of his critics. Jordan admits he said it "as a joke," but those words have haunted him for decades.
Although former President Barack Obama, originally from Chicago, would have preferred Jordan to enter the political career, he feels a certain sympathy for his position and says in the film: “The United States rushes to hug a Michael Jordan, an Oprah Winfrey or a Barack Obama, as long as it is understood that you don't become too controversial around broader social justice issues. ”
However, if you have ever wondered why Jordan is not spoken of as Muhammad Ali, this could be said to be the reason.
"I commend Muhammad Ali for standing up for what he believed in, but I never considered myself an activist," says Jordan. "I considered myself a basketball player. Was it selfish? Probably".
Jordan and Muhammad Ali together in 1999.
And Jordan doesn't apologize. “I give examples and if it inspires you, great. And if he doesn't, then maybe I'm not the person you should follow. ”
Roan is reluctant to join those who criticize Jordan's unwillingness to get involved in issues beyond basketball, noting that the superstar rarely made any kind of public appearance. But he was also quick to add that "if I could have done some more social things, I think it would have been very impressive."
Then there is the question of whether or not Michael Jordan is the type of guy you would like to date. There's a well-known phrase in sports: "The good guys finish last," so what does that say about Jordan?
"Everything you think I could say about him," laughs Roan, who arrived in Chicago a few months before Jordan in 1984.
"It was great for me, but when someone tried to play basketball against him or when he had a problem with someone at the front desk like (general manager) Jerry Krause, Michael could be a pretty bad customer."
Intense rivalry
Roan vividly remembers the moment he saw Jordan urge his teammate Scottie Pippen, who had a very unpleasant relationship with Krause, to take the wheel of the bus and run him over, exclaiming, "Now is your big chance!"
Jordan talks to teammate Scottie Pippen during a game against the Philadelphia 76ers in 1992.
His former Bulls teammate Horace Grant described Jordan as a demon in the documentary, saying, "If you're wrong, he's going to yell at you, he's going to belittle you."
And time has certainly not cured the intensity of Jordan's rivalry with opponents like the Detroit Pistons, "I hated them then and that hatred continues to this day."
But during the production of 'The Last Dance', director Hehir discovered that Jordan was nothing but kind and considerate.
“I think of Michael a lot as a guy, he was just respectful to me and my camera crew and all the production staff. Our makeup artist was pregnant and he scolded someone who wanted to light a cigarette. He says' ma'am and lord. I mean, deep down he's a village boy. "
For Hehir, Jordan's personality is one of the most fascinating things he has.
“I was interested in capturing his perspective on how it feels to be a 'good guy' or not to be perceived as such. I was interested if he had any ambivalence about it. "
'The Last Dance' is a captivating waltz for memory; The main drama unfolded 22 years ago, at a more innocent moment, before we were all obsessed with our mobile phones and social media.
It's hard to imagine that the golden fishbowl Jordan, Pippen and Dennis Rodman were swimming in could have been even more intense than it actually was at the time.
"I think the Bulls' coverage today would be very different than it was then," Roan speculated.
All the haters out there trying to pile up. It could be different enough to affect how they won their games. I think if he were playing today, he would really shut down, care about his business interests, and play basketball. I think that could be it. ”
Although 'The Last Dance' covers many aspects of Jordan's intriguing personality, it is ultimately about the sport, highlighting the determination, the competitive spirit that still burns fiercely in the eyes of this new 57-year-old grandfather.
Despite all the marketing away from the rim, Jordan himself knew it was just about basketball.
“My game was my biggest endorsement. Believe me, if I were averaging two points and three rebounds, I wouldn't have signed anything with anyone, ”he says.
Director Hehir says that beyond any of Jordan's perceived character flaws, our enduring impression of the show will be that of an incredible athlete who wants his team to be extraordinarily successful.
"He came into the league and was the team's only hope," says Hehir. “At the end of that '98 series, Michael had to lead the team again. If you were to write the end of that series in a script, a Hollywood office would make fun of you because it's so cheesy, but it actually came true. ”
Michael Jordan