he was upset about being called a snitch, had issues with how Pip was portrayed, opined on the editorial nature of the program, and weighed in on Jordan's treatment of some players.
Quote:
The interview concluded with Grant being asked why he repeatedly referred to "The Last Dance" as a "so-called documentary." Some have pointed to the fact that two of Jordan's closest confidantes, Estee Portnoy and Curtis Polk, were executive producers on the docuseries as an indication that Jordan had final say and creative control over the project. Director Jason Hehir has pushed back against that criticism, but Grant didn't hesitate to discuss what he believes to be a biased point of view in favor of Jordan.
"When that so-called documentary is about one person, basically, and he has the last word on what's going to be put out there ... it's not a documentary," Grant said. "It's his narrative of what happens in the last, quote-unquote, dance. That's not a documentary, because a whole bunch of things was cut out, edited out. So that's why I call it a so-called documentary."
and probably not the easiest person to be around in a team environment. And all of that harsh criticism that we all already knew seemed to be missing or refuted or excused in the documentary.
Puff piece. It's okay to admit it. He's still the GOAT. But totally a puff piece.
RE: I don't doubt that Jordan was hard on a lot of teammates
and probably not the easiest person to be around in a team environment. And all of that harsh criticism that we all already knew seemed to be missing or refuted or excused in the documentary.
Puff piece. It's okay to admit it. He's still the GOAT. But totally a puff piece.
I personally disagree a bit. I felt like they gave a voice to every criticism that he's been known for over the years. Including the whole bit about him not voicing his opinion about that segregationist politician, but I know the other main criticism is just that he was unnecessarily an asshole to a lot of people including fans, opponents, and even teammates. (Regarding fans: remember they showed him turning down that French guy asking for an autograph? At first it's like "wow dick move" but IMO the documentary made you really understand how claustrophobic it can feel to constantly be followed by everyone everywhere you go and asked for autographs constantly.)
But let's talk about him being an asshole to his teammates: yes, he was hard on a lot of teammates, that's true, but I think they covered that with plenty of material, and if any past teammate wanted to sit down for an interview and criticize him for this or that, I guarantee they would have included it in this doc just to spark some controversy. But it's clear that after all these years have passed, no one has the balls to come out and say he was a real terrible asshole, because they all seem to look back and be grateful for the fact that he was the reason they won a championship or multiple championships. It's hard for anyone after-the-fact to come out now and say "Jordan was an asshole" or "Jordan was too hard on us" etc. because they realize they'll look weak and ungrateful of the fact that Jordan running a tight ship had a lot to do with them winning so much.
I honestly think that's why the end of Episode 7 was the most pivotal moment in the whole thing... he basically said (paraphrasing) "yeah I realize a lot of people didn't view me as a nice guy... but winning has a price, and that's the way I play the game. If you don't want to play that way, then don't play that way." And you can see he's tearing up as he's saying this. He also said at other points he was purposely being hard on them so as to test them and test their character and prepare them for playing very tough, physical (and trash-talking) teams like Detroit and NY who were their biggest threats in the East.
Let's take a couple examples...
He was particularly hard on Scott Burrell and I think the documentary did a good job of showing that. He was continuously calling him "ho" and "bitch", and Jordan said later (as I mentioned above) he was doing that to try to toughen Scott up. Was it necessary? Maybe not. But then again who are we to question MJ considering he came away with 6 titles in 8 years (while taking 1.5 years off from the game mind you).
Other example: the fact he was very hard on Steve Kerr and even punched him in the face in the middle of a practice. All these years later Kerr feels zero resentment about that... he said he felt like MJ was testing him and he withstood the test and it was a huge part of their relationship being as strong as it was for the 3 championships they won after that.
I'll admit-- I thought MJ was a bit hypocritical at times. He was sitting there clearly irritated by the fact he felt Steve Kerr and Luc Longley weren't "taking things serious enough" when they first joined the team just because they'd come in laughing or joking at the beginning of practice, even though MJ himself does a lot of laughing and joking at practice and later on when playing golf with the team says "Phil knows we need rest, a lot of other coaches would be too mean-spirited to allow at day off like this." It's like he wanted people to rest, laugh, joke around when he wanted to, but also be 110% serious and working overtime when he wanted to. But again-- who am I to question his method(s) when he not only was the GOAT in terms of individual performance, but those 90s Bulls IMO were the pinnacle of greatness achieved by a *team* in all NBA history (I know the 60s Celtics are also in the conversation but I give the 90s Bulls more credit for the competition they had to face).
One last thing-- on him being an asshole to opponents... I think Isaiah not shaking their hands after the loss was plenty reason for MJ to hold a grudge against him, and I also do believe that MJ wasn't the only one who wanted Isaiah off the Dream Team-- Isaiah was generally an unlikable guy with a lot of the other players as well.
And what about that story about him making up the whole "Nice game, Mike" story and using that to completely embarrass that one young player? I thought that was pretty weird and didn't portray him in a good light, but at the same time you just kind of laugh and say "This guy was flat out insanely competitive-- he didn't want to just win, he wanted to beat everybody into the ground. And it's that mentality that led him to having the career he had."
I thought it was also crazy how he got right up in Larry Bird's hear after beating the Pacers and said "You bitch, fuck you"... I know he was joking, but clearly he was a bit of a sore winner and was loved kicking people while they were down.
So, again-- I think they did plenty to show MJ's asshole side, and it's up to us to take the good with the bad and decide what we think of his character. I disagree that they kept it 100% a puff piece and all positive.
If I missed any criticism or awful story of MJ that they purposely left out, I'd love to know it... maybe there are things I'm missing or haven't heard that really portray him as a terrible awful dude. Really I'd love to hear anything and everything I might be missing.
Perhaps I went in thinking he was going to be worse, but I didn't think MJ was THAT big of a dick to his teammates. Yes, he rode Burrell pretty hard, but it's pretty apparent how he joked with him that he actually liked him. You don't ride someone that hard who you can't stand or don't think they're worth the time. As Purdue said, yeah he could be an asshole, but he was also a great teammate. Kerr even said his bond with MJ was tighter after their fight.
I had read Halberstam's 'Playing for Keeps' so I knew a lot of the stories, but I found it was a good doc. And I don't buy for a second Grant wasn't the one dishing that info to Sam Smith. Grant was incredibly jealous of the attention MJ & Pippen got.
That’s a load of crap. Just wasn’t his persona during his playing days. Just because he gambled between games 1 and 2 against the knicks (and claims he got back to nyc at a reasonable hour the night before - who knows) doesn’t mean he’s excessively drinking before finals games now. Makes no sense.
But he definitely reached on things to be ‘mad’ about Throughout his career - the george Karl dinner slight, the Russell slight, a supposed Bj Armstrong slight, this notion that he lit up the knicks in 93 because of the gambling questions .... please. He probably convinced himself it was food poisoning to be mad at all of Utah or something.
Anyway, if Charles Smith wasn’t such a pussy that series ends differently.
/still not over it
Fuck Charles Smith and fck the refs for not blowing the whistle once on what was like 4 or 5 fouls. But, I still could see him only hitting 1 of 2 if he got the call anyway.
But speaking of Burrell at one point Jordan said he did that because he knew they’d need him at some point - I don’t recall in the documentary them giving Burrell a defining moment?
My hazy memory is that SB had a few good games but I don’t recall that thread in the series at least leading anywhere other than hazing embarrassment for him?
"When that so-called documentary is about one person, basically, and he has the last word on what's going to be put out there ... it's not a documentary," Grant said. "It's his narrative of what happens in the last, quote-unquote, dance. That's not a documentary, because a whole bunch of things was cut out, edited out. So that's why I call it a so-called documentary."
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29195428/horace-grant-says-michael-jordan-lied-last-dance-calls-snitch - ( New Window )
Don't forget the Magic carried Grant off the court after they beat the Bulls in 6 in the '95 semifinals.
Not a lot of lost love between the two.
Puff piece. It's okay to admit it. He's still the GOAT. But totally a puff piece.
Puff piece. It's okay to admit it. He's still the GOAT. But totally a puff piece.
I personally disagree a bit. I felt like they gave a voice to every criticism that he's been known for over the years. Including the whole bit about him not voicing his opinion about that segregationist politician, but I know the other main criticism is just that he was unnecessarily an asshole to a lot of people including fans, opponents, and even teammates. (Regarding fans: remember they showed him turning down that French guy asking for an autograph? At first it's like "wow dick move" but IMO the documentary made you really understand how claustrophobic it can feel to constantly be followed by everyone everywhere you go and asked for autographs constantly.)
But let's talk about him being an asshole to his teammates: yes, he was hard on a lot of teammates, that's true, but I think they covered that with plenty of material, and if any past teammate wanted to sit down for an interview and criticize him for this or that, I guarantee they would have included it in this doc just to spark some controversy. But it's clear that after all these years have passed, no one has the balls to come out and say he was a real terrible asshole, because they all seem to look back and be grateful for the fact that he was the reason they won a championship or multiple championships. It's hard for anyone after-the-fact to come out now and say "Jordan was an asshole" or "Jordan was too hard on us" etc. because they realize they'll look weak and ungrateful of the fact that Jordan running a tight ship had a lot to do with them winning so much.
I honestly think that's why the end of Episode 7 was the most pivotal moment in the whole thing... he basically said (paraphrasing) "yeah I realize a lot of people didn't view me as a nice guy... but winning has a price, and that's the way I play the game. If you don't want to play that way, then don't play that way." And you can see he's tearing up as he's saying this. He also said at other points he was purposely being hard on them so as to test them and test their character and prepare them for playing very tough, physical (and trash-talking) teams like Detroit and NY who were their biggest threats in the East.
Let's take a couple examples...
He was particularly hard on Scott Burrell and I think the documentary did a good job of showing that. He was continuously calling him "ho" and "bitch", and Jordan said later (as I mentioned above) he was doing that to try to toughen Scott up. Was it necessary? Maybe not. But then again who are we to question MJ considering he came away with 6 titles in 8 years (while taking 1.5 years off from the game mind you).
Other example: the fact he was very hard on Steve Kerr and even punched him in the face in the middle of a practice. All these years later Kerr feels zero resentment about that... he said he felt like MJ was testing him and he withstood the test and it was a huge part of their relationship being as strong as it was for the 3 championships they won after that.
I'll admit-- I thought MJ was a bit hypocritical at times. He was sitting there clearly irritated by the fact he felt Steve Kerr and Luc Longley weren't "taking things serious enough" when they first joined the team just because they'd come in laughing or joking at the beginning of practice, even though MJ himself does a lot of laughing and joking at practice and later on when playing golf with the team says "Phil knows we need rest, a lot of other coaches would be too mean-spirited to allow at day off like this." It's like he wanted people to rest, laugh, joke around when he wanted to, but also be 110% serious and working overtime when he wanted to. But again-- who am I to question his method(s) when he not only was the GOAT in terms of individual performance, but those 90s Bulls IMO were the pinnacle of greatness achieved by a *team* in all NBA history (I know the 60s Celtics are also in the conversation but I give the 90s Bulls more credit for the competition they had to face).
One last thing-- on him being an asshole to opponents... I think Isaiah not shaking their hands after the loss was plenty reason for MJ to hold a grudge against him, and I also do believe that MJ wasn't the only one who wanted Isaiah off the Dream Team-- Isaiah was generally an unlikable guy with a lot of the other players as well.
And what about that story about him making up the whole "Nice game, Mike" story and using that to completely embarrass that one young player? I thought that was pretty weird and didn't portray him in a good light, but at the same time you just kind of laugh and say "This guy was flat out insanely competitive-- he didn't want to just win, he wanted to beat everybody into the ground. And it's that mentality that led him to having the career he had."
I thought it was also crazy how he got right up in Larry Bird's hear after beating the Pacers and said "You bitch, fuck you"... I know he was joking, but clearly he was a bit of a sore winner and was loved kicking people while they were down.
So, again-- I think they did plenty to show MJ's asshole side, and it's up to us to take the good with the bad and decide what we think of his character. I disagree that they kept it 100% a puff piece and all positive.
If I missed any criticism or awful story of MJ that they purposely left out, I'd love to know it... maybe there are things I'm missing or haven't heard that really portray him as a terrible awful dude. Really I'd love to hear anything and everything I might be missing.
I had read Halberstam's 'Playing for Keeps' so I knew a lot of the stories, but I found it was a good doc. And I don't buy for a second Grant wasn't the one dishing that info to Sam Smith. Grant was incredibly jealous of the attention MJ & Pippen got.
But he definitely reached on things to be ‘mad’ about Throughout his career - the george Karl dinner slight, the Russell slight, a supposed Bj Armstrong slight, this notion that he lit up the knicks in 93 because of the gambling questions .... please. He probably convinced himself it was food poisoning to be mad at all of Utah or something.
Anyway, if Charles Smith wasn’t such a pussy that series ends differently.
/still not over it
My hazy memory is that SB had a few good games but I don’t recall that thread in the series at least leading anywhere other than hazing embarrassment for him?