In June 2020, ABC and ESPN will release “The Last Dance,” a 10-part documentary series about the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls, who won the franchise’s sixth NBA titles in eight seasons.
NBA fans? Yeah, they’re stoked.
“I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to be asked to participate in some of the interviews,” former Bulls guard B.J. Armstrong said on The DA Show. “I don’t know if it made the final cut, but for sure I was asked to be in it. It’s not every often that I’ll get a direct call. I see Michael in various places, but I know when he does call, he needs something.”
Armstrong, 52, played for the Bulls from 1989 to 1995 and won three NBA titles along the way.
“I’m interested to see it like everyone else,” Armstrong said. “It’s a story that hasn’t been told, and not many people know it. It was some great characters and people that were in it. I’m sure Michael and his team of people sound like it’s going to be an amazing thing. I’m really looking forward to seeing it.”
The series reportedly draws on more than 500 hours of never-before-seen footage from the 1997-98 season.
“I think there’s so many characters,” Armstrong said, “from the ownership, Jerry Reinsdorf, the relationship that Michael had not only on the court. We saw those things, but we didn’t see them in the detail you see them today. There was no social media. Every game wasn’t on television as it is today. You will be able to see the relationships that the players had. There were some books that came out about Jordan and who he was, but I think you’ll be able to see the story from his perspective.”
Jordan, of course, was at the center of the Bulls’ dynasty. He was a five-time MVP and a six-time NBA Finals MVP.
“You’ll see Jordan’s vision of how he played the game,” Armstrong said. “That’s the one thing, to me, that I think the world is going to be shocked because he had a passion for the game. I’ve said it so many times, but what made him special – yes, he was a phenomenal player. Yes, he executed. But when you see someone attack his craft when he attacked his craft every single day, hopefully you’ll get a chance to see his vision of how he prepared himself for those moments. He just didn’t show up and play. He prepared himself to go out there and play the way he played every single game. You need exceptional talent, but you need people who can prepare and practice and prepare themselves in the way that he did and he was willing to pay that price every single day. I hope that comes across. He was true to his sport, he was true to his craft, and everything that he was able to achieve, he achieved it not only because he had the talent to do it, but because he was willing to pay the price. Hopefully that will come across in this documentary.”