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The Last Dance: America reacts to Michael Jordan documentary

Social media went into meltdown as the Chicago Bulls documentary hit screens across America, with Michael Jordan front and centre.

James McKernJames McKern
@jLmcKern
2 min read
April 20, 2020 - 9:38PM
Fans lost it watching The Last Dance.
Fans lost it watching The Last Dance.

American basketball fans collectively lost their minds at 11am (AEST) when the first two episodes of the long-awaited documentary The Last Dance went live.

The 10-part series follows the Chicago Bulls in their 1997/98 season when they captured their sixth NBA championship as Michael Jordan takes centre stage.

READ: How to watch The Last Dance in Australia

Australian fans eager to get among the action did their best to avoid social media as tweets flew in at a million miles an hour while Americans lapped up the trip down memory lane.

From Jordan spilling the beans on Chicago’s “cocaine circus”, to Scottie Pippen being slapped by a teammate and even two former Presidents being put in their place by producers, fans loved every second of the two-hour viewing experience.

Here’s the best reaction from Stateside to the opening two episodes.

BULLS GENERAL MANAGER COPS HAMMERING

The Bulls were on top of the NBA entering the 1997/98 campaign, having won five championships in seven seasons, but General Manager Jerry Krause wanted to blow things up and start looking towards the future.

At the time his decisions irked the players and coach Phil Jackson, and viewers couldn’t believe Krause wanted to break up one of the greatest teams of all time.

READ: Villain behind break-up of Jordan’s Bulls

OBAMA COPS CHEEKY LITTLE CLIP

Former American Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton make appearances during the first two episodes, but something unusual stood out to those watching and fans couldn’t contain their laughter.

Instead of listing both men as former leaders of their country, the producers clearly had a bit of fun as they listed Obama as a “former Chicago resident”, while putting Clinton down as the “former Arkansas Governor”.

CHARLES OAKLEY BULLIES ROOKIE PIPPEN

If there was one player you didn’t want to mess with on the Chicago Bulls’ roster it was Charles Oakley.

A beast of a man who came to the aid of Michael Jordan every time he was knocked to the floor, Oakley wasn’t shy about throwing his weight around.

A young Scottie Pippen found out the hard way you shouldn’t try and get ahead of your more experienced teammates and one clip showed Oakley putting the rookie in his place.

Holding him by the scruff of his shirt and up against a wall, Oakley calls out Pippen in front of their teammates before slapping him in the face.

NBA PLAYERS REACT

A large portion of the current crop of NBA stars were raised on Jordan highlights and spent their youths trying to emulate the stunning array of moves His Airness pulled off night after night in his prime.

Just like everyone else, they were throughly enjoying the behind-the-curtain look at the man many consider to be basketball’s greatest ever player.

The first two episodes of The Last Dance will air on Netflix Australia on April 20, after 5pm (AEST) with two episodes to be released every following week.

Originally published as The Last Dance: America reacts to Michael Jordan documentary

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/us-sports/nba/the-last-dance-america-reacts-to-michael-jordan-documentary/news-story/f713e401c9ef25914c31f92dcf09b898