The Last Dance documentary served as a window into the dominance of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. While stars like Scottie Pippen expressed dissatisfaction with their portrayal, they were still featured well in the documentary.
However, despite being part of the Bulls’ second three-peat, Luc Longley only appeared in the background of the archival NBA footage. Looking back, Jordan regrets that.
Luc’s absence from The Last Dance
Though Longley was never the best player on the Bulls, he was an important piece of their run from 1996 to 1998—he averaged 7.6 points and 4.7 rebounds in the playoffs during Chicago’s second three-peat. Seeing himself completely neglected from ‘The Last Dance,’ the Australian refused to speak to the media and even changed his phone number to avoid any inquiries on the matter.
During an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Company, Luc finally opened up about his feelings regarding his exclusion from the documentary.
“Sitting there on the couch and watching episode after episode where I wasn’t in it,” Longley said. “Yeah, I was bummed about that.”
The snub was so prominent that teammate Steve Kerr also admitted that when he watched the entire series, he instantly realized Longley’s absence would hurt him.
MJ regretted not including Longley
Jason Hehir, the documentary’s director, clarified that Luc’s exclusion was primarily due to logistical challenges. The cost of dispatching a film crew to Australia for one interview was too high. Jordan, who held the editorial rights to that project, mentioned that his sole regret about the series was the limited inclusion of Longley.
“I can understand why Australia would say, ‘Well, why wouldn’t we include Luc?’ And we probably should have,” Jordan said, as per Greg Hassall. “And if I look back and could change anything, that’s probably what I would have changed.”
That being said, given that this sports documentary was being completed during challenging COVID-19 times, there were obviously going to be logistical challenges. Unfortunately, Longley had to bear the brunt of that.