Andrew Bogut as pumped as every other hoops fan for premiere of Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance
Andrew Bogut grew up idolising Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls and he can’t wait to watch ‘The Last Dance’, a 10-part behind-the-scenes miniseries on the Chicago Bulls’ sixth NBA championship, which premieres in Australia on Monday.
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The hype surrounding the most anticipated sports documentary of 2020 based on a team from 22 years ago doesn’t surprise Andrew Bogut.
Decades have passed since Michael Jordan steered the star-studded Chicago Bulls to the franchise’s sixth NBA title in 1997-1998, but the memories remain clear.
Bogut idolised the Bulls as a starry-eyed 13-year-old donning his team singlet while bouncing a ball against a wall at his father’s carburettor business in southern Melbourne.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE LAST DANCE
The first two episodes of the ten-part series The Last Dance will air on Netflix Australia on April 20 with two episodes to be released every following week.
The first episode is expected to be released on Netflix just after 5pm on Monday.
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It’s why the veteran Boomers big man can’t wait to watch The Last Dance, a 10-part behind-the-scenes miniseries on the Bulls’ last championship season, which premieres in Australia tomorrow night.
“The Jordan era at Chicago is what we all remember as part of our childhood,” Bogut told The Sunday Telegraph.
“I was just starting high school and we used to collect basketball cards and the Jordan card was the one to get.
“In fact, anything Bulls related was huge. I had a Luc Longley as the Aussie, Toni Kukoc and a Michael Jordan Bulls singlet, but the Kukoc was my No.1, followed by Longley.
“People that didn’t even follow basketball still knew about the Bulls. My dad didn’t follow it, but he knew Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and the Bulls.
“That goes to show you the power of what they did.”
Bogut’s ears pricked up during the week when Jordan admitted that the documentary may show him as a “tyrant”.
In order to become the best player of all-time, the Bulls legend was willing to be perceived as the worst teammate to keep winning.
“But that just makes we want to watch it even more,” he said.
“I’m not sure if it is just a marketing ploy.
“It could just be a hype thing, but I’ll give Jordan the benefit of the doubt just because he doesn’t get involved in that marketing stuff and he isn’t a social media guy.
“He has kind of stayed out of the limelight since he retired, which I really respect, so it is pretty cool to hear him come out and say something like that.”
The Bulls became a bandwagon team in the ’90s with their record of six championships and six conference titles.
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“But it wasn’t just about Jordan, it was that whole squad,” Bogut said.
“I was a huge Kukoc fan as a guy from Croatia. I loved the role that he played for that team on the bench as a scorer.
“I also think the documentary is nostalgic for a lot of people and it brings back a lot of memories.
“I don’t think we realised how big the Bulls were at the time because social media wasn’t around, and it was hard to get a lot of NBA games live in Australia at that point.
“You were kind of distant from it to a certain extent, but it was still an awesome thing to watch.
“I guess the Bulls Jordan doco also brings back memories of the twilight of our lives as children running around with no commitments and hassles.
“It puts you in a happy place mentally.”
Episodes 1 and 2 of The Last Dance premiere on Netflix on Monday at 6.01pm (AEST)
Originally published as Andrew Bogut as pumped as every other hoops fan for premiere of Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance