The Last Dance: Four predictions for episodes 5 and 6

2. MJ vs. The glide

If you can recall the first episode of the doc’s airing, you may remember the Portland Trail Blazers passing on Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA draft in preference of Kentucky center Sam Bowie, a move that has long been ostracized in infamy as one of the team’s most regrettable decisions.

At the time though, their reason for pumping the brakes on His Airness was simple. They already had an All-Star shooting guard on the roster – Clyde Drexler. 

Clyde the Glide was no slouch in his own right. He’s one of the greatest to ever lace them up at his position; a 10-time All-Star, top-50 all-time honoree, and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer.

He was undoubtedly a special talent, a ferocious slasher, smart and lengthy defender and one of the more smooth and athletic players we’ve seen grace the hardwood. His nickname “glide”, was earned, not given. He seemed at times to make a mockery out of gravity with his ability to effortlessly float through the air en route to a spectacular high-flying finish.

But he was no Michael Jordan.

Nobody is. But for all that Jordan possessed from a standpoint of a natural possession of raw talent, it was the inherent infinity of his mental fortitude that unequivocally set him apart from all other competitors.

As we’ve come to discover throughout the documentary, Jordan hated to feel less-than. Much of his desire to be great also had a certain foundation in vengeance towards those who yielded skepticism towards him.

Drexler had nothing to do with the choices his own front office made at the time of their decision to overlook Jordan. While it’s easy to see the rationale behind venturing elsewhere, something tells me that MJ himself didn’t care and felt he had something to prove based on the simple fact alone that he wasn’t prioritized.

His only focus was being the best, period, and the 1992 NBA Finals matchup between the two players’ teams set the table for Jordan to do what he does best: annihilate his competition.

The media had driven multiple stories at the time comparing their skills while questioning who should be deemed the league’s premier shooting guard. Those speculations, coupled with the happenings in 1984 added additional drama to the series, and of course, inflated Jordan’s motivation (not that he needed any extra). And what happened next was…well, you’ll just have to tune in Sunday to find out.