3 takeaways from episodes 7 and 8 of The Last Dance, ESPN’s MJ doc

1. There was a method to MJ’s domineering madness

‘”Fast-forward years from now,” Kobe (Bryant) remembered Jordan saying per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. “Nobody’s going to look at it and say, OK, [you] lost because that person had a bad attitude. Nobody’s going to say that. They’re going to say that you weren’t able to get it done. So, you have to figure it out. Come hell or high water, you’ve got to figure it out.”‘

This quote perfectly sums up why Jordan was the menacing face-punching tyrant that hardly made him a favorite of teammates during any of his 13 seasons in Chicago.

He understood the glory involved in superstardom but also the heavy price that came with it. Win and the praise overflows. Lose and the criticism never stops even if the individual numbers remain the same.

The sacrifice of adoration and comradery was well worth Jordan’s image in the form of six championships and the GOAT status. The ending of episode seven showed the somewhat negative portrayal he donned because of it is one he isn’t completely immune to.

Not even his extensive basketball resume justifies the lengths MJ went to as a way to push his teammates. It helps, but those tactics also imply that the titles gave Jordan the stature to defend his prodding and berating and not the other way around.

Many failed to see the journey through Jordans’ eyes. It’s what made those lenses so difficult to endorse.

Not that Jordan cared in the slightest how anyone else thought he should operate in pursuit of a championship. As he puts it, such criticism arises “because you never won anything.” And in the words of his spitting image, “friends can come and go, but banners hang forever.”