The GOAT Debate Which Fired Up Jordan Into Doing Groundbreaking Doco

The GOAT debate develops around Chicago Bulls icon Michael Jordan and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James. Jordan won six NBA titles with the team.

Is Jordan the greatest of all time?

“It’s no small coincidence that around the time that he agreed to participate, the Golden State Warriors were in the midst of a 73-win season, which beat the Bulls 72-10 season by one game, LeBron James was in the midst of a championship season with the Cleveland Cavaliers,” Jason Hehir, director of the ESPN and Netflix ten-part documentary The Last Dance, explained. “All of a sudden a discussion was starting to arise, ‘Is LeBron as good as Michael, is Michael the greatest, is there a conversation to be had now?’”

Jordan has been put on top of the league for quite some time. NBA fans talked about Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant. LeBron still plays and for most fans, he is the GOAT.

The GOAT debate, Jordan and the Bulls

The GOAT status belonged to Chicago, but it’s under threat now.

“From the little I do know of him from these interviews,” Hehir added, “he still has that inner fire, that competitive fire that still burns and I would be surprised if the discussion whether the Bulls were in fact the greatest team ever or whether Michael was the greatest ever, didn’t have something to do with his agreement to participate.”

The docuseries focus on Jordan and his childhood. It follows his development as a basketball star. He joined the NBA in the 1984 draft and then won a few titles.

Fans get the chance to see some never-before-seen footage from the 1997-98 season. In that campaign, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and head coach Phil Jackson gave green light to the NBA Entertainment crew. They filmed the team throughout the entire season.

“That footage was the driving force of the entire project,” said Hehir. “Without that footage, I’m not discussing this film. It’s such a mammoth story to tell that you need a lens with which to tell it. That footage provides the perfect lens. It’s a treasure trove, a time capsule. It’s beautifully shot. As the season progressed, the team started to develop a trust and a bond with this camera crew so they were privy to moments that I was shocked to see.”

There are over 100 interviews with Dennis Rodman, Johnson, President Bill Clinton, President Barack Obama and the Black Mamba.