When Michael Jordan finally retired from the NBA in 2003, he was unequivocally called the “Greatest of All Time”. The statement is technically an opinion, but the universe decided that it was a fact.
The title of “G.O.A.T.” has not been challenged, at least not until LeBron James decided to attend the NBA Finals for seven straight years, while winning the championship for three of them. James might not attend The Finals this year, but he is slowly convincing everyone that he just might be the “G.O.A.T.”.
Michael Jordan is having none of that.
ESPN and Netflix have announced a lengthy docuseries about MJ titled The Last Dance, which will be released in 2019. Jason Nehir (The Fab Five, The ‘85 Bears, Andre the Giant) has been tapped to direct. Most importantly, Jordan has agreed to fully participate in the series.
Reminding the world, especially the younger generation, of MJ’s utter dominance of his era is exactly the spice the world needs in the “G.O.A.T.” debate. Jordan did not just shift the course of how basketball is played, he shifted the entire culture for an entire decade. He was also one of the last megastars before social media, so a long series is a perfect way to display unseen footage that could solidify even more of his legend (the producers reportedly have their hands on over 500 hours of video the world has not seen). Get ready for plenty of gambling, golfing, and grand slams (because he played baseball, not the ones from Denny’s).
When the masterful O.J.: Made in America documentary was released in 2016, it became hard to think of another sports story that captured universal attention of that level. The era of Michael Jordan could possibly be a worthy competitor.
Before crowning LeBron James as the new “G.O.A.T.”, let us at least wait until we watch The Last Dance first.
