3 takeaways from episodes 5 and 6 of The Last Dance, ESPN’s MJ doc

1. It’s not easy being Michael Jordan

There are a lot of perks to being Michael Jordan. Money isn’t an issue and the luxuries that come with it seem nice. He holds a majority vote as the greatest basketball player of all-time, validating all the hard work he drove into his legendary career.

As illustrated, however, in these most recent episodes of The Last Dance, not everything was all adoration for Jordan in the 1990s, not even as he constantly reached the pinnacle of his profession.

NBA players of today are at times condemned for issuing thoughts on political matters. Jordan was criticized for remaining silent in a similar situation.

Questions flared up regarding what many felt was a gambling problem, never mind that it hardly ever affected his play on the court or Chicago’s title hopes.

How often could Jordan have a moment to himself? How much of his day-to-day life was spent with at least one person in uncomfortable proximity to his airspace?

As The Last Dance moves closer to the subject of Jordan’s first retirement, the writing on the wall is clear even before the heartbreaking loss of his father. He was slowly burning out more so from the stuff that came with basketball royalty than the physical toll of the game itself.

Many famous people understand the sacrifices that come with their celebrity status. Jordan was likely one of them. That doesn’t make those challenges any easier, especially not for the most famous person on the planet.

If all that scrutiny and attention was enough to push as strong-willed a man as Jordan was to the brink, one can only imagine how a mere mortal would handle a similar lifestyle.