When it comes to athletes who transcend sports and push into the world of popular culture, it’s hard to get any bigger than Michael Jordan. The Chicago Bulls star obviously had enormous success on the hardwood, but he also became a global celebrity, selling shoes, McDonald’s and seemingly everything in between.
And, thanks to those combined wins, his name has become shorthand for greatness. As Barack Obama once quipped, there’s a reason we say someone is the Michael Jordan of their profession, whether that’s rabbis, neurosurgeons or outrigger canoeists.
And, in 2020, a new generation was exposed to his greatness. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Last Dance hit the airwaves. Without live sports, everyone could tune in to watch the real-life soap opera involving Jordan and his Bulls.
But not everyone enjoyed the show. And that trend, it seems is continuing nearly four years later as three ex-Bulls, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant and Luc Longley, are embarking on a “No Bull****” tour of Australia to tell their side of the story.
Think that sounds like fun? Well, while we might get some good quotes, the larger trend will only continue to make basketball fans losers.
Let’s break things down.
More Michael Jordan Drama Seems Imminent
The Last Dance caused an immediate stir when it aired. And while much of the reception was positive, the docuseries did prompt some drama among former teammates.
Much of it involved Pippen, who, rightly or wrongly, is widely remembered as Jordan’s sidekick during their time with the Bulls. The forward said he wasn’t pleased with the final product that aired, and he apparently told MJ as such. But that wasn’t the end of the tension; if anything, The Last Dance seemed to light a fuse.
Pippen has since taken several opportunities to needle his old running mate, calling him selfish and suggesting that he was a “horrible player.” There were also comments about all-time greatness and how Jordan fits into that ranking.
But Pippen wasn’t the only Bull to speak out. In 2020, Grant also made it clear that he wasn’t happy with how he was portrayed, especially in regard to the allegations that he leaked information for the book The Jordan Rules.
“Lie, lie, lie…. If MJ had a grudge with me, let’s settle this like men,” Grant said, according to an ESPN transcript of a radio interview.
“Let’s talk about it,” he continued. “Or we can settle it another way. But yet and still, he goes out and puts this lie out that I was the source behind [the book]. Sam [Smith, author of The Jordan Rules] and I have always been great friends. We’re still great friends. But the sanctity of that locker room, I would never put anything personal out there. The mere fact that Sam Smith was an investigative reporter. That he had to have two sources, two, to write a book, I guess. Why would MJ just point me out?
“It’s only a grudge, man,” Grant said. “I’m telling you, it was only a grudge. And I think he proved that during this so-called documentary. When if you say something about him, he’s going to cut you off, he’s going to try to destroy your character.”
Beyond that, Grant also insisted that The Last Dance was a “so-called documentary,” discussed Jordan’s treatment of the Bulls and defended Pippen’s commitment to the team.
Now, it seems as if we will hear more of those responses.
So Pippen, Grant and Luc Longley (who didn’t appear in The Last Dance, which is something Jordan would change with the benefit of hindsight) will be going on an Australian tour with their version of the story. And if you take a promotional clip as valid, the trio won’t be holding back.
More Drama Will Only Drag Everyone Down
Before moving any further, it’s important to acknowledge that different people have different tastes. Some have a higher tolerance for drama than others. Consider a reality show: Some of us can’t wait for a fight, while others cringe as soon as a verbal shot is fired.
With that disclaimer aside, the continuing Last Dance drama doesn’t seem like a positive development for anyone.
First, and this is admittedly based on speculation rather than confirmed facts, it’s unlikely we’ll hear anything too groundbreaking at this point. Pippen and Grant have spoken freely about their relationship with Jordan; the former even came out with a book after The Last Dance aired.
Longley, despite keeping something of a lower profile, also addressed his time in Chicago.
“You don’t have to love a bloke to be on his team to care about him, to play basketball together,” the big man eventually explained. “I didn’t love MJ. I thought MJ was difficult and unnecessarily harsh on his teammates and probably on himself, and I just didn’t enjoy being around him that much. That was cool. It was cool with MJ, and it was cool with me. We found a way to coexist.”
Remember, that’s all been said, and the docuseries in question came out nearly four years ago. Do you think any of the men have been sitting on an all-timer of a story, thinking they would save it for a promotional tour in Australia? Or would they have taken that story to ESPN, The Dan Patrick Show or some major podcast when The Last Dance had the world waiting on each episode?
Only time will tell, but one of those scenarios seems more likely than the other.
But (potentially) bland stories aren’t the biggest risk at play. There’s also a larger narrative.
Whether you like them or not, the 1990s Chicago Bulls are a key part of modern sports history. The club dominated the competition and boasted some of the modern game’s biggest names. Jordan, of course, looms large, but the rest of the roster still deserves credit.
Take Pippen as an example of that. While he’s widely remembered as the Robin to Jordan’s Batman, the Central Arkansas product was a talented player in his own right. Despite standing 6-8, he could handle the ball like a guard and play lockdown defense, freeing His Airness from some of the dirty work. Pippen was also capable of scoring, averaging a team-high 20.7 points when the Bulls played the 1993-94 season without Jordan.
Is Pippen’s résumé a bit weaker than His Airness’? Of course, but just about anyone would be overshadowed by an all-time great. The catch, however, is that it’s now hard to appreciate Pip for his accomplishments, as it seems every mention of him is associated with some new drama.
Calling out Jordan hasn’t made people step back and say, “Wow, Pippen was really better than we gave him credit for.” If anything, it’s made the forward seem more like a tabloid figure than a respected part of modern NBA history. We’re waiting to see what wacky claim he makes next, not valuing him for his insight.
For another example, let’s return to the Bulls’ 2024 Ring of Honor ceremony. While you could argue that the club could have handled things a bit more organically and not tried to induct an entire team, plus some individual names, the event became the next chapter in the Pippen-Jordan tension. Would the two men interact? Would someone pull some sort of power move? What sort of quotes would emerge?
In reality, neither man showed up. And, again, from a basketball perspective, it was a shame that the personal drama of two all-time names overshadowed a celebration of sporting success.
And on the subject of that ceremony, the prevailing headline of the event became how the widow of Jerry Krause, Chicago’s late general manager, was booed. Jordan received at least some blame for that and whether you buy The Last Dance’s role in the equation or not, the outcome did provide proof that an eye for an eye ultimately leaves the whole world blind.
Again, sports are a business of high emotions, and grudges will exist. Players butt heads. Fans hold certain figures up as pantomime villains. It happens. Ring of Honor ceremonies, however, usually can punch through all of that to create a celebratory atmosphere.
Newsweek reached out to Grant—who has promised to speak his mind and used the “no bull****” phrase—through his website to request further comment and ask if he had any hesitation about throwing more fuel onto a situation that has been simmering for years.
The NBL, for its part, told Newsweek the league “has zero concerns” that the tour members could cross the line (or be perceived as crossing the line) by reminiscing with trash-talking or taking petty shots.
And that leaves at the doorstep of the current Australian tour. It remains to be seen how things will play out. Maybe we’ll get some headline-worthy stories that make Jordan look like even more of a villain. Perhaps we’ll get different versions of stories we’ve already heard, whether that’s about the Flu Game, Jordan leaving the Bulls to play baseball or other landmark moments.
When boring and uneventful is the least combustible outcome, though, that’s not an ideal scenario.