The Last Dance: Things we learned from episodes 5 & 6
3. Third time’s a charm?
We’ve heard the saying circulate in and out of our lives for a number of years: familiarity breeds contempt.
But when it comes to winning, especially on the NBA level, this comes across as an absolutely erroneous claim, particularly when taking into consideration the cyclic, 365-day grind players undergo that is solely devoted to that aforementioned purpose.
Factor in the level of competitiveness and overt alpha-minded drive that Michael Jordan so blatantly displayed throughout the entirety of his career, and that renders this saying to a near blasphemous level in his case.
It would’ve been nearly impossible for fans to conceive that the success-driven cavalier that Jordan was had any absence of enjoyment during his well-documented championship runs.
That is, up until now.
The third installment of the Chicago Bulls’ historic first trifecta run was riddled with inner team clashing, media turmoil, and flat-out fatigue.
And for all of the elation and gratification that overwhelmed a famously emotional Jordan after his team’s first ascension to the mountaintop over Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers in 1991, their third consecutive Finals triumph over the Phoenix Suns produced visibly different feelings from No. 23.
The Last Dance: Comparing players across eras is shortsighted. light. Related Story
#TheLastDance revealed Jerry Kraus liked Dan Majerle, and that fueled Michael Jordan against the #Suns in the 1993 Finals.
— Valley of the Suns (@ValleyoftheSuns) May 4, 2020
That is a fascinating level of hate for his own GM.https://t.co/lXuMf0Q8dr
There were no tears. No over-joyous bounds and leaps. No sense of over-the-hump confirmation. Just a pure, calming sense of relief from His Airness.
After the game, Jordan iconically sat on the floor in a state of reflective solitude as the weight of the world seemingly careened off his shoulders, and he reveled in the desire to just sit back, and do “nothing.”
He had accomplished the ultimate feat three times over, but this ring just didn’t come with the same shine as had the previous ones. And unlike year’s past, when initial jubilation usually transformed into a forward-looking determination for more, he was content to recluse in nothingness.
It would become, as we know now, a looming omen that foreshadowed the actions that would take place next.