[imagesource: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images]

As countries around the world put in place lockdown measures of various degrees, in order to curb the spread of COVID-19, two Netflix series shot to international fame.

The first was Tiger King, and we’re currently at the point where Donald Trump is said to be considering a presidential pardon for Joe Exotic.

The other series was The Last Dance, with the release perfectly timed to capitalise on the fact that live sport around the world had all but ground to a halt.

Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and other names associated with the iconic NBA Chicago Bulls franchise of the 1990s were introduced to a whole new legion of fans, but there was also pushback from some of the central characters.

Pippen, along with former teammate Horace Grant, was among the most outspoken, and in a lengthy interview with the Guardian, he’s elaborated on his special relationship with Jordan, and the inaccuracies of The Last Dance.

Let’s start with the bond between the two greats:

…that relationship, we established that we felt like that in the late 80s, playing against the Pistons, just starting to grow and mature and have each other’s backs.

We grew up together and we defended each other. That respect we had on the court, that competitiveness we took through to the top – it was special.

That was the respect we had for each other, because we had to be on the court to do what we did. We had to be dominant.

And then what irks him about the documentary:

I don’t think it was that accurate in terms of really defining what was accomplished in one of the greatest eras of basketball, but also by two of the greatest players – and one could even put that aside and say the greatest team of all time.

Image: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

I didn’t think those things stood out in the documentary. I thought it was more about Michael trying to uplift himself and to be glorified [the series was co-produced by Jordan’s Jump 23 company].

I think it also backfired to some degree in that people got a chance to see what kind of personality Michael had.

Pippen said he raised these points with Jordan, who accepted what he had to say, adding “hey, you’re right”.

Seems like they’ve put it behind them and moved on.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

By the way, if you enjoyed The Last Dance (and you’ve already watched Chasing the Sun at least twice), here are some other basketball doccies you might want to watch.

[source:guardian]