Chicago Bulls: Michael Jordan acknowledged 97-98 was a ‘trying year’

The last year of the dynasty run for those great 1990’s Chicago Bulls teams is about to be highlighted in an upcoming documentary series.

All the desolate and sad news cycle surrounding the novel coronavirus pandemic makes way for a bit of good news to Chicago Bulls fans this week. It is officially the week that the long-awaited ESPN 10-part documentary series “The Last Dance” is set to premier. The two part premier for The Last Dance on national television (ESPN/ABC) is set for this Sunday, April 19.

The Last Dance focuses in on the last run for the great Bulls dynasty teams of the 1990’s. The final run that the Bulls had to win a title came in 1997-98, with head coach Phil Jackson coining the run for this team “The Last Dance” (hence the name of the documentary series).

And the mainstay that this documentary will focus on is all-time great shooting guard Michael Jordan. He and forward Scottie Pippen were nearing the end of their tenure as the top duo in the NBA, but would be able to win one more title in the process.

There will be a ton of newly uncovered storylines in this docuseries since there’s supposed to be a lot of never before seen footage and interviews with a ton of high-profile athletes, celebrities, and even politicians. That will be one of the best parts about this docuseries.

But even before the premier of the docuseries this coming Sunday, Jordan opened up in a rare interview with “Good Morning America” on ABC. In this segment on Good Morning America, Jordan talked about his feeling on the 1997-98 season and what was to come for this docuseries.

Here’s more of what Jordan had to say on the subject.

"“It was a trying year,” Jordan said. “We all were trying to enjoy that year, knowing that it was coming to an end. … At the beginning of the season, it basically started when [Bulls general manager] Jerry Krause told Phil [Jackson] that he could go 82 and 0 and he would never get the chance to come back. Knowing that, I married myself to [Jackson], obviously, and if he wasn’t going to be the coach, then I obviously wasn’t going to play.“So Phil started off the year saying, ‘This is the last dance,’ and we played it that way. Basically, it just kind of tugged at you through the course of the year, knowing that this had to come to an end. But it also centered our focus to make sure we ended it right.”"

This last run for Jordan, Jackson, and the Bulls might’ve wrapped up the most dominant stretch run of any team in the big four professional sports league ever in this country. The Bulls saw Jordan lead the NBA in scoring again, averaging 28.7 points per game, to go along with 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.7 steals during the regular season.

You can catch the first part of The Last Dance premier on ESPN/ABC on April 19 at 8 p.m. CT. Bulls fans are likely to have their eyes glued to the TV as this is one of the few things that can helps sports fans pass the time at the moment.