All language subtitles for Meeting Michael (2020).en

(reeling film)

Downloaded from
YTS.MX

(humming)

Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

(light music)

- [Cameron] Dad, can I come up
and look for a treasure map?

- It's not like "The Goonies" up here.

It's pretty tight.

- [Cameron] But I've never been up there.

- All right, come on up.

- Whoa!

This is exactly like "The Goonies."

Whoa, are those CDs?

- Nah, they're video tapes.

- Whoa, is that a scrapbook?

- Yeah, careful with it.

Careful, it's old.

- Sorry.

- Yeah, we didn't have a lot
of money when I was a kid.

But I got to go to one game and I made

a whole scrap book out of it.

- [Cameron] What year was it?

- May 15th, 1993.

(light music)

But check this out, I
was able to sneak down

and take that picture.

And I blew it up.

It's right there, see.

- [Cameron] Well, why?

- Because it looks amazing.

I took that, that's Michael Jordan.

- Whoa, I didn't catch that.

- Yeah, I was able to
sneak down and get that.

And then see that picture?

- [Cameron] Uh-huh.

- [Adam] That picture was--

- Wait, that looks like
the guy from the movie.

Monster Lulu's Trampalator.

- Oh, Luther The Anger Translator.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

Yeah, you're not supposed
to have seen that but okay.

But look at this.

See, I blew it up.

I guess Michael Jordan
did look like Luther

the Anger Translator.

I never thought about that.

- Yeah, why do you have a towel?

- Ah, that's very special.

This is Michael Jordan's towel.

- Why do you have it?

- Um, I was in the locker room

and he left it.

And I took it.

- Why'd you take it?

- Because it's Michael Jordan's.

It's like 25 years old.

Just, okay, it's a little weird.

I admit.

- How'd you get into the locker room?

Are these CDs?

- No, these are video tapes

and I was in radio and I got a press pass.

And these are the video
I took when I met Jordan.

- You met Jordan?

- Yeah.
- Can we watch 'em?

- Uh, yeah.

I guess it should still work.

(light music)

(murmuring)

- [Michael] The closest to being

a post up center have to be--

- Why is this so shaky?

- I was nervous.

That's Michael Jordan.

I had never used this camera before, man.

I bought it that morning.

So I didn't know how any
of this stuff worked.

- No idea?

- I just bought it that morning.

Before there's me and that reporter,

and that other guy was Quinn Buckner.

We were just hanging out talking

like it was totally normal.

But I couldn't record that.

I actually shouldn't even
been really recording this

but I did.

Oh wait, you should hear this.

Jordan's talking about Shaq.

- The hot chip guy?

- Yes, the hot chip guy.

- [Michael] The closest to being

a post-up center is Patrick Ewing.

Then Alonzo Mourning
and Alonzo, he can stand

at the 3-point range shooting threes, so.

And Shaq.

Shaq and Patrick are these ones,

these centers that really remain dominant

in the center, in the middle.

- Sure, and that's gonna work

because Scott, Anderson, Hardaway--

- Hardaway, all those guys
that you can just move around.

Different pieces of
the puzzle with Horace.

- [Reporter] Are we good?

- It's gonna work.

- Why'd the color go away?

- Uh, it was a setting on a camera.

And just turn it like this

and it could do black and white.

I thought black and
white looked kinda cool.

I did some color stuff too.

- I know you've been asked this before.

As far as next year and
the balloon agreement

and all of that, it's gonna be

an incredible free agent market.

- Sure.

- [Reporter] Can you envision
playing anywhere else?

I mean, obviously they
can offer you, how many...

- No, I don't envision.

I don't really have.

I don't wanna play anywhere else.

I want to play in Chicago.

Will they step forward
and see that I do that?

I don't have any reason to
think that they wouldn't.

You know, quite honestly.

But you never say never.

- They talk about the Lakers here.

- The original Game Boy!

- [Reporter] There's gonna be
like, eight teams next year

that have between seven
and eight, you know,

at least seven million to sign.

- [Michael] If Shaq signs first,

seven and eight million,
it's not gonna be enough.

You know, it's gonna be one
guy that sets the market.

- [Reporter] The Lakers are gonna have,

if they renounce Elden, which they'll do,

so they'll have another slot.

They'll have 9.3.

- So will Miami.

- [Reporter] That's just guys comin' out.

- Miami's right there too.

- [Reporter] Yeah.

- Miami's right at 10.

- [Reporter] Yep.

- Right at 10 in free agency.

- [Vienna] Dad, can I come up?

- Yeah.

Hey Cam, look.

Pippen likes Gatorade too.

- Who's Pippen?

- I have failed you.

(murmuring)

- Wow.

(light music)

Are these basketball cards?

- Yeah, I bought every
single basketball card

I could afford when I was a kid.

Pretty, right?

- Yeah.

(light music)

- [Adam] When you don't
live in an NBA city

you gravitate towards anything

that can make you feel like you're there.

And when you're from Columbus, Ohio

there are Buckeye fans
and only Buckeye fans.

'Cause we all just felt
sorry for Cleveland.

So I adopted the Chicago
Bulls when I was nine

simply because the Chicago Bears won

the Superbowl that year.

Which means I lucked into following Jordan

right as he began to explode.

I was also lucky enough to be taping

the night Jordan scored
69 and my father and I

edited a highlight reel using two VCRs

and ended up doing that for
every game I could tape.

(light music)

And magazines.

My goodness, the magazines covers.

I read them, cut out some pictures,

and I'd get an extra copy to save

like giant basketball cards.

We tend to forget that
before HD broadcasts

and TVs the size of your wall, these types

of images were like gold.

You'd see magazine spreads
on a game you had watched

and think, wow, that's
what it would be like

if I was ever able to sit that close.

Knowing you surely would
never get that access.

But for a few moments looking
through those pages, you did.

And then when Jordan retired
I was absolutely crushed.

Which made what came next
even more spectacular.

The return.

Because now I was an adult.

I was out of the house.

So if I wanted to spend 300 dollars

for a pair of nose bleeds
to see Jordan's return

to Cleveland in April of
'95, no one could stop me.

And of course, it added to my scrap book.

(light music)

And then two months later
my life changed forever

when I became the youngest talk show host

ever hired at 610 WTVN.

- [Announcer] Weekend on
the Giant with Adam Kontras.

♪ The full service giant ♪

♪ 610 WTVN ♪

♪ Columbus♪

♪ The middle of the night
and you can't get to sleep ♪

♪ Turn the radio to TVN ♪

♪ 610 WTVN ♪

♪ You hear a sort of club ♪

♪ Where members don't count cheap ♪

♪ And figure this is more
fun than you'd have in bed♪

- [Adam] Yes it's the sad truth, folks.

♪ So call in, for show mine ♪

♪ Called the Late Show♪

- WTVN we've got an answer.

- [Caller] Yeah, are they animals toes

by a radio show host who can't get off

the graveyard shift
'cause he only knows about

the Beatles and Michael Jordan?

- You know how old I am, buddy?

What were you doing at 19?

- [Adam Voiceover] And of
course any chance I got,

I talked about Jordan.

- Dislocated his index finger in the game.

Scared the crap outta me,
I was laying on the ground.

Like, oh god, he's hurt.

He's gone. He's done.

Because Michael was rolling
on the floor in tears, man.

He was, he looked pretty, pretty hurt.

Then he comes back and scores
16 in the second quarter

and he's okay.

- [Adam Voiceover] I
talked about him so much

someone finally called and said, you know,

you work at a radio station.

Just ask for a press pass.

So I did.

And they gave me one!

They gave a teenager a license to dream.

And suddenly this dude's leg would be

where I would end up
watching an entire game.

I pulled out my childhood camera

and it was like my basketball
cards came to life.

(light music)

And then I remembered I had just bought

a video camera that day, and turned it on.

♪ Let's go Cavs ♪

♪ Let's go Cavs, go ♪

♪ Let's go Cavs ♪

♪ One, two, three ♪

♪ Let's go♪

- [Man] You guys have to go.

You can't be there.

You're gonna have to move off to the side.

You're gonna have to go off to the side.

- [Guy] This is where we're
supposed to be, right?

- [Man] You're gonna have
to go off to the side.

We've got a lot of guys
that work in the front.

- Is he yelling at you?

- No, but that was when
I realized radio guys

aren't supposed to sit on the court.

And I just tried to hide.

(crowd cheering)

- [Phil] Go through!

Go through.

- So how did you take this, then?

- Basically, I put it in my lap like this.

And it was not fun.

But I figured if I just kept my head down,

nobody would notice.

I got lucky.

You can actually see me in
the broadcast of the game.

(whistle blowing)

- [Announcer] Foul is on Steve Kerr.

That's his first.

(crowd cheering)

(whistle blowing)

Foul is on Steve Kerr.

That's his first.

(light music)

Out of bounds, Chicago ball.

- [Bench] All right, all
right one, three high.

When I tell you man, you gotta listen.

- [Adam] As I got settled
into the game I realized,

I couldn't keep following the ball

or the footage was gonna be awful.

But it was so loud and the players

were so close, I was actually scared.

It's something you don't
feel when you're in the seats

and most definitely not on TV.

(whistle blowing)

- [Bench] Yeah, good call 41!

- [Announcer] Time out
Cleveland, Cavaliers time out.

(crowd cheering)

- Here you go.

- Plenty of time.

Plenty of time.

- [Player] Pitch it wide!

(whistle blowing)

- [Bench] There you go, there you go.

- [Fan] All right Dickey, way to go, baby.

Go, Dickey!

- [Announcer] Loose ball foul
on number 35, Danny Ferry.

That's his first.

Team first.

(crowd murmuring)

- [Phil] Rebound!

(whistle)

- [Bench] That's a travel!

(buzzer)

(organ music)

- [Announcer] Cavalier foul, number 24

Chris Mills, his first, team third.

Bill Wennington back for Chicago.

(whistle)

(crowd cheering)

Foul on Michael Jordan.

That's his second, team four.

- [Fan] Shoot now, shoot now!

Get it out!

(whistle)

- [Announcer] Foul on Bill Wennington.

That's his third, team third.

For the Cavaliers Bob Sura returning.

(crowd cheering)

- [Phil] Close it out, push off!

(whistle blowing)

- [Bench] Oh come on!

- [Announcer] Foul on Ron Harper.

That's his third, team second.

(crowd murmuring)

(whistle blowing)

- [Phil] Hold him, hold him!

What are you lookin' at?

- [Fan] Sit down, Phil.

- [Bench] Bring it!

(buzzer)

- [Announcer] 24 second
violation, Cavs ball.

- [Phil] That's illegal on Majerle.

What are you watchin'?

You gotta ago through him.

(whistle)

(crowd jeering)

- [Announcer] Foul on Michael Cage.

That's his first.

Randy Brown.

- [Phil] You let him move, ref!

- Who's this guy yelling?

- That's the coach.

He was yelling at the ref the whole game.

Trying to get good calls.

I had no idea Phil Jackson was this loud

until that moment.

- [Phil] Tend D, get out.

Get out, Tony.

Over play it, get on him.

Over play it.

- Angle, angle Tony, angle!

- [Adam] I guess I knew
coaches yelled during the game

but this seemed crazy.

Oh, and let me shout out
John Paxson real quick.

When I got my press pass
and I saw Jordan enter

the locker room, I immediately went in.

Which was apparently the
incorrect thing to do

and Jerry Krause lost his mind at me

and screamed for me to get out.

Now, a part of me was
honored because he was

an infamous jerk that
every Bulls fan hated.

But while grabbing some
food Paxson came up

to me and profusely apologized
for his general manager.

He was genuinely embarrassed

and signed an autograph for me.

The man who sealed the 3-peat in '93.

So cool.

But yes, the coaches were nonstop.

- Play the ball, play the ball!

- Let's go, guys!

- Pass D!

- Go, go, go!

- [Adam] And the Cavs
coach, Mike Fratello,

he just seemed docile in comparison.

- Offsides, John, offsides.

- [Phil] That's illegal.

That's illegal defense!

Do you know how to call a charge?

(crowd murmuring)

Move the ball, move it.

Go through!

Go through, Luc.

Carry out, dive, Luc, dive!

(whistle blowing)

Come on!

Luc!

- [Announcer] Offensive foul
on number 13, Luc Longley.

That's his first.

- [Phil] Go through, Luc!

Sync Luc, sync!

God!

Luc!

- He's really mad at Luc.

- Yeah, Luc gets it the entire game.

But they're making him a better player.

- But they're being mean.

- They're not being mean.

They're just telling him when
he's missing his assignments.

This is a championship team, man,

you can't miss your assignments.

Luc wants the coach to
tell him that, I think.

(crowd murmuring)

- [Phil] Hold it.

- [Coach] Back up, back up!

- [Phil] Dive, dive Luc.

Look at him.

Dive, Luc!

- [Fan] Come on, Mike.

- [Phil] Cut through.

Keep Luc, keep hittin' him, Luc.

(whistling)

Luc!

Hold, hold!

- [Bench] There we are.

- [Phil] Rebound, get at him!

Are you watchin'?

- [Bench] Right there in the middle!

The middle!

Why you aren't looking' at him, Luc!

- [Phil] Charge.

- [Bench] Get home, get home.

You see it?

The middle!

- [Phil] You see that, you're too late.

God, Luc!

- [Adam] And then Jordan
came out of the game.

But the TV didn't cut away

and he basically sat on
the couch next to me.

In 10 years of watching Bulls
games I never really saw

how Jordan interacts on the bench

or what happens during time outs.

All that crowd noise started to fade

and the wonder of the moment returned.

(light music)

Jordan was all business
but Pippen and Harper

were having the time of their lives.

(cheering)

- Heads up!

- [Announcer] Cav's ball.

For the Cavaliers number 11 John Crotty.

(crowd murmuring)

- [Adam] Yeah, did you catch that?

Pippen not only looked in the camera

but can also see him thinking, wait,

they're letting kids with camcorders

on the floor now?

- [Coach] Talk it out,
talk it out, talk it out.

- [Bench] Shoot it, Harper!

- [Announcer] Jason Caffey.

- Let's go jerks, let's play some D.

(funky arena music)

(buzzer)

- [Announcer] Time out, Chicago.

Bulls time out.

(crowd cheering)

Ladies and gentlemen let's see who's here

on tonight's fan cam.

♪ Time out, come on♪

(funky music)

(buzzer)

(crowd jeering)

- [Phil] MJ, you're right back.

- [Announcer] Offensive foul
on number 13, John Amaechi.

- [Fan] Come on, dog, what's that?

- [Announcer] That's his second.

No team foul.

Michael Jordan returns for Chicago.

(crowd cheering)

- [Adam] Then when Jordan came back in,

I instinctively grabbed
my childhood camera again.

It's hilarious to me that I'm in a row

of professional photographers

with tens of thousands
of dollars of equipment

and here I am with a 50
dollar point and click.

But therein lies the magic.

These pictures look like my memories.

(light music)

- Wait, Jordan's 23.

That's 45.

And that's 33.

- That's Scottie Pippen,
and that is Michael Jordan.

- And they signed them.

- Yup.

- Why 45?

- That was his come back number

and it meant the world to me.

So I mentioned I was an
adult when he came back.

But did I mention I was insane?

I taped every single game
of his comeback season

which meant begging local sports bars

to let me record their satellite feeds.

I kept a journal documenting
every single moment.

Mostly for my own therapy since
I lived in Buckeye country

and no one was as fanatical
about it as I was.

The reason I was so nuts was
this overwhelming feeling

that I didn't appreciate his first run

and I wasn't gonna let that happen again.

That's why I went into that locker room

with a 45 jersey under my
clothes and risked my job

to have him sign it.

And he wasn't too happy.

- Was he mad at you?

- Just disappointed.

It was unprofessional.

I was supposed to be
working and I shouldn't

have asked for an autograph, but.

- You coulda lost your job?

- Yeah.

But I'd only had it for a
couple months at that point.

And it was Michael Jordan.

Uh, yeah, I probably
shouldn't have done that.

Jordan didn't mince words with me.

And I quote, you could lose
your stripes for this, dog.

And though I didn't have that on tape,

when I went back to the
locker room after the game,

I caught him starting to scold

another young reporter
doing the same thing.

- [Reporter] Can you sign this for me?

- You're supposed to be working, man.

You're not supposed to be getting an auto-

- [Adam] When I got to
the hallway I asked Pippen

for his autograph and he was very cool.

And years later I realized it was quite

a famous section of the Gund Arena hallway

outside the visiting locker room.

This is where it all went down.

Now, it wasn't my most professional moment

and it kinda hurt that he felt less of me

but hey, he was kind
enough to sign my jersey

and 25 years later it's a family heirloom.

(light music)

Now there's a school of
thought that we all need

to put down our cameras
and just take in the moment

as things are happening.

And I did indeed find myself so in awe

that I just watched as a fan.

(light music)

But I have to say, I have
no memory of the game

during these moments.

25 years later these images are my memory

and I presume in another
25 years I may find

it hard to believe this even happened.

So although I'm glad I took

a few moments to just soak it in,

I'm happier that those moments
were few and far between.

Because that's Michael
Jordan walking towards me.

(light music)

As the first half neared the end,

I finally started to
concentrate on the game itself

and not just the sights and sounds.

I hadn't really paid
attention to how Jordan

was doing until this moment.

(crowd murmuring)

- [Announcer] Foul on 23, Michael Jordan.

That's his first.

Terrell Brandon at the line for two.

- [Heckler] Hey Jordan,
hey Michael, you're on six.

That's okay, Bobby, shut it down.

- [Announcer] Steve
Kerr back for the Bulls.

- [Heckler] Hey Michael,
how are the shoes?

Go back to the old one.

You look better.

(crowd cheering)

- [Adam] When I looked back
over my footage and pictures,

I realized this fan had
been messing with Jordan

during the entire game.

Including pregame warmups.

(crowd cheering)

And then you see the broadcast

and he would stand up.

I mean, he's an arm's length away

from Pippen when he stands.

(crowd murmuring)

- [Announcer] Foul on Terrell Brandon.

That's his first.

- [Adam] And if you listen closely,

he'd been yelling well
before the shoes line.

- [Heckler] Hey Jordan, you always got

a night to leave him alone.

Go easy!

- [Adam] I guess he's
talking about Majerle here

but if you know Jordan,

he's certainly not leaving Majerle alone.

He infamously liked torturing
him when he was on the Suns.

Now, Jordan was having a quiet first half

with only six points in the first quarter

and zero in the second.

Only attempting one shot.

He really didn't seem very engaged

and to be fair, Bobby Phills
was a really great defender.

- [Announcer] 24 seconds to shoot.

- [Adam] Sadly, he died in a car crash

a little over four years after this.

Such a shock.

And Jordan wasn't the only
guy getting screamed at.

Rodman was out with an injury

and Pippen was picking up his slack.

Which brought the heckler's wrath on him.

(whistle blowing)

- [Announcer] Scottie Pippen.

Foul on number nine, Dan Majerle.

That's his first.

Team first.

Scottie Pippen at the line.

- [Bench] One shot.

- [Heckler] Hey Scottie,
you should've got a T.

You were hanging onto the ref.

We all know.

- [Phil] Tend D, get out, get out, Tony.

- [Adam] Whew, man he
is lucky he didn't get

that ball thrown right back at him.

- Hey Michael, it's all in the shoes!

Come on, Majerle!

- [Bench] Get up, let's go!

- [Adam] And then Jordan fouls Brandon.

(whistle blowing)

And that's when the heckler
takes it one step too far.

(crowd murmuring)

- [Announcer] Foul on 23, Michael Jordan.

That's his first.

Terrell Brandon at the line for two.

- [Heckler] Hey Jordan!

Hey Michael, you're all washed up!

That's the way, Bobby, shut him down!

- [Announcer] Steve
Kerr back for the Bulls.

- [Heckler] Hey Michael, how's the shoes?

Go back to the old ones.

You were better!

- [Fan] Hey Jordan, your shoes are ugly!

- [Heckler] Bobby Phills, you're great.

- Were the shoes ugly, dad?

- Uh, no.

So I own two special pairs of shoes.

You guys know about the first.

These are the Nike Mags.

And these are not the crappy ones I keep

in the time machine,
these are the real ones.

And the other pair of special shoes

that I own are those ugly Concord 11's

which are actually the most
famous Jordan shoes ever.

- Whoa.

- Aren't those awesome?

- Whoa.

- Yeah.

And they have a special 45 on the back.

Of all the shoes this man could

have made fun of, he chose
the holy grail of Air Jordans.

The most sought after,
most celebrated Jordans.

The Jordans you can wear to church.

Your grand mama says, look nice for Jesus,

put on your Concord 11's.

Jordan wears these to weddings in a tuxedo

for crying out loud.

The literal height of fashion.

Then again, this dude's
struggling in that area.

I mean I almost hate to
immortalize him forever in film

but once you see how all this plays out,

you'll understand.

(funky music)

- Would you like to wear them?

- Unfortunately, I can't wear them.

- Why?

- These are dead stock.

That means they've never been worn,

never been touched.

They're worth like over 500 dollars.

- Over 500?

- Yeah, so you don't wear these.

- What's the point of
owning a pair of shoes

if you don't even wear 'em?

- Um...

That's a good point.

Uh, I have no idea, anyway let's watch

how he deals with this heckler.

- [Announcer] Cavs ball.

1.8 seconds remaining.

Here we go.

- [Heckler] He was going to the basket!

You guys can't guard him!

(buzzer)

- [Announcer] At the half
the score of the Chicago--

- [Adam] So that ended the half.

And during halftime the Cavs premiered

their new mascot, Whammer.

♪ Well the house is a rockin' ♪

♪ Don't bother knockin' ♪

♪ Well the house is a rockin' ♪

♪ Don't bother knockin' ♪

♪ The house is a rockin' ♪

♪ Don't bother, come on in♪

(cheering)

- [Adam] I wish I could
tell you this gets better.

But this is still eight
years before they got Lebron.

And well, Cleveland's gonna Cleveland.

♪ The house is a rockin' ♪

♪ Don't bother knockin'♪

(audience groaning)

(cheering)

(crowd murmuring)

So the Bulls come back I decide

to try out the snap shot feature

a bit during warmups.

(upbeat arena music)

(whistle blowing)

- [Announcer] Bobby Phills.

(organ music)

- [Adam] I cannot tell you how happy I am

that I realized this was awful

before I ruined any important shots.

(whistle blowing)

- [Announcer] Foul on 44, Michael Cage.

That's his first, team first.

- [Adam] So Jordan starts
to get more involved.

- [Announcer] Michael Jordan.

- [Bench] That's a good
shot baby, come on.

- [Announcer] Michael Jordan.

- [Coach] Time out, time out!

- [Adam] And not just in scoring.

- [Announcer] Cavaliers time out.

(upbeat arena music)

- [Adam] Jordan and Phil were
masters of planting seeds

throughout a game to get calls later on.

And literally the very next play

after this timeout.

(crowd murmuring)

(whistle blowing)

Of course, the kid in me is thrilled

as my Jordan at the line
picture meant so much

to me when I took it.

And now I was actually
filming him at the line.

(crowd cheering)

These were the only
two free throws he shot

the entire game.

Which I thought was gonna
be a problem for them

because the Cavs were stepping up.

(crowd cheering)

And unfortunately, some of
Jordan's team mates were not.

- [Announcer] Cavs ball.

♪ Hey, ho, let's go♪

(crowd cheering)

- [Adam] This may have made
the heckler pretty happy.

But it made Jordan and Pippen take over.

(crowd cheering)

- [Announcer] Michael Jordan for three.

(crowd cheering)

- [Bench] That's a foul, 41!

Come on, man.

(crowd cheering)

- [Announcer] Michael Jordan for three.

Two minutes remaining
in the third quarter.

(crowd cheering)

Scottie Pippen.

- Oh wait, wait, you gotta see this.

You gotta see this.

(light music)

All right, see this basketball card?

That was taken right at that moment.

(light music)

(crowd cheering)

- [Announcer] Scottie Pippen.

- What, it looks brand new.

- Yeah, see this is what
this video would look like

if I had a real camera.

(crowd cheering)

- [Announcer] Time out, Cleveland.

Cavaliers 20 second time out.

- [Adam] Oh, and on the subject of Pippen,

with these free throws he had

a triple-double in the third quarter.

Ending up with 18, 13, and 12.

I feel like he gets dismissed

because Jordan's light was so bright

but at the time, we all felt Scottie

was the second best player in the league,

not just this team.

He did everything.

And was the best support system

for a pure scorer like Jordan
that there's ever been.

And then with Rodman
simply wanting to rebound

and give it to others to score.

I mean, that team was
a perfect storm managed

by a brilliant coach.

What a thing to witness.

- [Announcer] Foul is on
Randy Brown, his third.

Team second.

Danny Ferry back for the Cavaliers.

- [Phil] Come on, MJ, come on Jud.

- [Announcer] Jud Buechler, Michael Jordan

back for Chicago.

(crowd cheering)

- [Adam] So Jordan comes back
in, giving Scottie a rest,

and the fan is still jawing.

- [Heckler] Hey Jud, we're
gonna use the same lineup.

(crowd murmuring)

(crowd cheering)

- [Announcer] Michael Jordan for three.

Time out Cleveland. Cavaliers time out.

(crowd murmuring)

(whistle blowing)

- [Announcer] Cavs ball.

- [Adam] Man, that look when Jordan

is disappointed with you.

I know how you feel, Kukoc.

Made that fan happy, though.

(crowd murmuring)

- [Bench] Same play, same play, charge.

Here he comes, Jud, he's coming back.

- [Adam] All of this leading to one

of the most memorable answers to a heckler

I've ever seen.

- [Phil] Come on, Michael.

- [Heckler] Hey Michael,
ya got 20 is that enough?

(buzzer)

- [Announcer] Michael Jordan.

- [Bench] Nice shot.

Steve, talk, talk, talk!

- [Adam] Now at this
point I still wasn't sure

if Jordan heard all of
this or if he was just so

in the moment he blocked it out.

- [Announcer] Bobby Phills.

- [Adam] After this shot
to go up 16, however,

I got my answer.

(crowd cheering)

- [Announcer] Michael Jordan for three.

- [Adam] He literally points at him

and yells right back.

Now, I've slowed this down as much

as possible because I'm
dying to know what he said

and the only part I can
make out is, keep talking.

Keep talking.

Keep talking.

(funky music)

And the fan does.

He gets right back in his face.

Dude is uncomfortably close to Jordan here

and I'm actually stunned
the ref didn't talk to him.

But after this, MJ knew
the game was sealed

and he was in good spirits.

- [Announcer] Foul is on Michael Jordan.

- [Adam] It was the only
time I saw him smile

the whole game.

- [Announcer] That's his
third penalty situation.

(crowd murmuring)

Chris mills at the line.

One, plus the penalty for two.

(crowd murmuring)

- [Phil] All right here we go, five pass.

- [Fan] Michael!

- [Phil] Reverse five pass.

- Let's go.

- [Phil] Gotta push it up, push it up.

One, two, three, pass.

Four.

Five.

(crowd cheering)

- [Announcer] Michael Jordan.

- [Bench] Kerr, it's the ball.

- [Phil] Heads up, isolation play.

- [Bench] Screen low, screen low!

- [Adam] The Cavs were
still scrapping, though.

(cheering)

- [Announcer] Bobby Phills.

(crowd cheering)

- [Adam] But it made little difference

as MJ gets his 23rd point of the half.

- [Announcer] Michael Jordan.

(buzzer)

No shot, 24 second violation.

- [Adam] He goes to the bench

and you see him look over at the fan

who is still talking.

And realized at the time
I couldn't see his face

when he was jawing at the fan.

Oh, but I saw this.

- [Announcer] Two minutes.

Less than two minutes
remaining, fourth quarter.

- [Adam] I couldn't believe
I was capturing this

and zoomed over to see his reaction.

- [Announcer] Jason Caffey.

- [Adam] Listen, I know Jordan's infamous

about taking things personal.

But it still blows my mind

that he would take something personal

from someone so inconsequential.

But years later I looked him up

and his name was Eddie Nahra
and he was infamous for this.

The heckler.

Every Cavs player knew him

and he'd always show up to big games

with a court side seat and
berate the opposing team.

He did the same at college
and high school games

and rumor has it he did
this at a hockey game

and a Buffalo player
clocked him in the eye.

And what seems especially cruel

is he died in 2002, the year
before the Cavs got Lebron.

So he never got to see 'em win it.

But thank you, Eddie, because you created

an indelible memory for me.

And now countless people get
to see Jordan spar with you.

I'm thrilled I was able
to put this together

and immortalize your devotion.

But yeah, shut up, dude.

- I'm gonna go play basketball.

- Okay.

And then I got to go back into

the locker room after the game.

- [Reporter] Saving it all
up for the second half?

- Two halves to a game.

You know, I think the first half I was,

you know, I really wasn't
in the game that much.

So I felt real rested in the second half.

- [Reporter] I know they rotate

and double a lot on defense

but were you surprised they
were leaving you open so much

on the 3-point line?

- I don't think they could find me.

Second half I was more
at the top, you know,

and before I was in the post
they were double teaming me

and it was easy for them to stay on me.

And then when I got outta the post

and was able to move around a little bit

it made it tough for them to try

and keep an eye on me.

But in the post the first half they did

a good job of getting
the ball out of my hands.

- [Reporter] Michael, that run at the end

of the third quarter into the fourth

it kind of really
separated you guys tonight.

It really kind of took off after that.

- Well, I think in the second half

we really had a couple good stretches

throughout the second half.

And then we were able to, as you said,

separate ourselves from them.

Rebounding wise, open court, you know

we were able to get some
penetration to the defense

and we really put some pressure on them.

- [Reporter] You got nice bench
help tonight too, didn't ya?

- Yeah, everyone contributed off the bench

and Steve Kerr came in and
gave us some good minutes

and Jud Buechler came in.

Dickey Simpkins stepped
in the starting lineup

and gave us a few minutes.

So I think that's the
good sign for this team

is to be able to expand your roles

when one player's not in the game.

And you know, be very productive.

- [Reporter] Can you
feel anything this early

about this team, it's still
very early in the season,

about where this team
is going at this point?

- Well, I think as you see, we've learned

how to expand our roles
in situations like that.

So that's a good sign.

Defensively we're showing great signs

where we can clamp down teams

and make a difference between them and us.

So, we're showing good signs.

Are we where we wanna be? No.

The way we're doing it,

I think we have to do that
consistently throughout the game.

- [Reporter] Wait, so
how about Bobby Phills?

He seems like he's kinda
playing ya better and better

as time's going by.

Can you comment on that?

- Well, I think, you know, the difference

between him and Ehlo
or whatever, you know,

Ehlo in the time that I was
playing here in Cleveland,

they never double teamed.

Here he knows he's got double team coming.

So, he plays pretty sturdy
and very solid in the post

and wherever.

Second half I was able to get him in

an open court situation
where I could get at--

- [Adam] So I debated
whether to mention this

but considering you can
literally see Scottie trying

to put his pants on and mind you I'm not

the only camera rolling,
it bears mentioning,

post game locker room
interviews are insane.

And in the '90s it became a massive debate

after the Zeke Mowatt incident.

Everyone wanted to focus
on female reporters

in the locker room but the truth is,

none of us should be in the locker room.

Before this Scottie came
out in just a towel.

And a female reporter and
I saw way, way, way more

than we should have and
promptly turned our heads

out of respect.

It was wildly uncomfortable
but the only way

any of us could do our job.

25 years later, this is
somehow still a thing

and I'll never understand it.

For bigger games they simply
setup a press conference

and the players come there
after they're dressed

for a controlled question
and answer period.

And now because of COVID,

I have to wonder if the days
of locker room interviews

are going to be a thing of the past

once athletes get used to not being forced

into corners and grilled
before even getting dressed.

It's a wildly unnecessary
relic of the past.

Hopefully.

- [Reporter] Pippen
picked up the rebounding

slot without Rodman, he had 13 tonight.

Is he a better rebounder now than when

you were playing before
is it just the fact

that he had other rebounders back then?

- We had other rebounders back then.

I think he didn't really
have to it as often

with Parks and with Bill.

You know, I think he's been able to always

expand his roles and I think that's a sign

of greatness for him.

And tonight he expanded his, you know,

rebounding area and
certainly in assists there.

- [Reporter] Michael, when you don't have

a first half that's a good one,

do you just say to yourself at halftime

or some point in the second half, like,

no matter, no worry, I'll
get hot in the second half?

- Well, I just, I mean even when I'm

in the first half, I mean
I only had eight shots

and I was still in the game.

I just had to figure out ways to attack

the defense in order to get myself

in the rhythm of the game.

And was able to do that in the second half

with the three point shooting.

Which extended the
defense a little bit more

and I was able to get some isolations too.

- [Reporter] This team,
your team, seems like

they've reloaded.

You guys are ready to go
for another run this year.

For the Cavs, they've
almost hit, you know,

they've gotta start all over.

I mean is it, seeing 'em this year

and seeing Mark Price gone
and John Williams, I mean,

your comments on their team as a whole?

- It's different level.

Through injuries, through
trades, through retirement.

I mean, they're sure not the
Cavs from four years ago.

But they got a good solid
base with Mills and Phills

and Bob Sura and Brandon.

I think now they can
start building from inside

and extend themselves a little bit better.

But they've made some unbelievable changes

and now I think they're
trying to build things back up

and it may take some time.

- [Reporter] Thanks so much.

- [Interviewer] The whole
conference this year seems

to be very competitive.

Indiana and Orlando,
your thoughts on them?

- It'll be tough, you know, Orlando's

dealing with the loss
of Shaq and Indiana's

without a couple players.

So they gotta make some
adjustments here and there

whenever those people come back,

but you can believe both of them

are gonna be the teams
to beat in the East.

- [Reporter] Mike, thanks a lot.

Good luck to you the rest of the season.

- [Man] Hey, Melina told me to...

- Melina Cunnigham?
- Yeah.

- How's she doing?

- [Man] She's doing fine.

She should be up here
the next couple weeks.

- Is she?
- Yeah.

- Is she movin' up here?

- [Man] She's seeing Antonio Langham.

- She's where?

- [Man] She comes to
see Langham sometimes.

- Oh yeah?
- Yeah.

- Ha, tell her I say, what's happening.

- Okay.
- Good girl.

- [Man] She told me to holler at you

at the Cavs game.

- All right.
- All right.

- [Adam] Once I saw Jordan in a good mood,

I knew it was my chance to ask a question.

- [Young Adam] Hey Mike,
now that you're like,

you're 4-0, do you think 66 more to go

to get to the 70 mark?

Or is that even on your mind now?

- Just take it game by game.

I don't think we're in
a rush to get to 70.

We just got a lot of time in between

and a lot of things to learn in between

so take it game by game.

- [Adam] I have now
regretted not asking Jordan

about the heckler for longer
than I was alive at that point.

It would have been the
perfect button to this story.

But you have to realize,
I didn't understand

the extent of the heckler until
after I watched my footage.

I only saw the "shh" and the fan laughing.

The idea of a team
winning 70 in one season

was a much bigger deal
and it had never happened.

But 25 years later, of course
they ended up winning 70

and winning everything
for the next three years.

And the stand out thing
that I capture that day

ended up being the side story,

about Jordan's remarkable ability

to turn anything into motivation.

So, it was no secret
that with the addition

of Rodman, this team
was going to be so good

they could eclipse the
all time record of 69-13.

But at this point,
considering it was game four,

no one had actually asked him.

So I got to be the first idiot to do so.

I'm kind of proud of that.

And glad it's cemented into NBA history.

- [Young Adam] Hey Mike
now that you're like,

you're 4-0, do you think 66 more to go

to get to the 70 mark?

Or is that even on your mind now?

- Just take it game by game.

I don't think we're in
a rush to get to 70.

We just got a lot of time in between

and a lot of things to learn in between.

So take it game by game.

- And that was my day with Michael Jordan.

- Can I go beat Cam at basketball?

- I would love that.

(light music)

My relationship with the NBA after Jordan

changed forever when in January of 2000

I finally moved to an
NBA city, Los Angeles.

And yes, that means I once
again lucked into following

greatness as Shaq, Kobe, and the Lakers

won the championship the first
three years I lived here.

And a decade later, Kobe
and Pau won it back to back.

Of course I had to watch
their first championship

on a web cam in the middle
of the night from Paris.

But you gotta support your team.

(light music)

Now, I still repped MJ.

You can't forget your roots.

But I lived in LA for over 20 years now

and it's my home.

(light music)

In 2010, YouTube move their time limit

from 10 minutes to 15 minutes.

Which meant I could finally upload

the original short I made
about meeting Michael in 1995.

Which really did just sit
in my closet for 15 years.

The amazing thing about the short

was that it had to be edited live.

Meaning, I had two VCRs, a mixer,

a CD player, and a microphone.

And I got one take to
pull off the entire thing.

And I had to factor in the time it took

to switch out CDs while reading my script.

Screw up, start over.

15 straight minutes.

Might be my proudest
editing achievement to date.

And I did all that work just to show it

to four or five people back then, crazy.

Also crazy was watching it go viral.

I mean, when you wake up one morning

and the Washington Post
has written a story on it,

kinda hard to process.

(light music)

And although BroBible.com isn't exactly

the Washington Post, they included it

as part of their top 10
Jordan trash talking moments

of all time.

And it audibly made me gasp.

To think that I somehow added something

to Jordan's legacy with my footage

the wouldn't have existed otherwise,

it kind of boggles the mind.

Also mind boggling is having kids

and having one that is basketball crazy.

To the point of it being
the dangling carrot

that made him walk.

- [Young Adam] Oh, there's five steps.

Yeah!

- [Adam] As well as being his first word.

- [Young Adam] Basketball!

- Basketball.

- [Adam] Too young to take him to games

but I was lucky enough to
score some player tickets

and meet some stars.

(light music)

I even hung out with Charles Barkley.

Thanks to my friend Mo'Kelly
literally calling me

and saying, do you wanna hang
out with Charles Barkley?

- The man, the myth, Sir Charles.

Thank you, thank you.

- Thank you, man, thank you.

- [Adam] Charles has to be one

of the nicest people I've ever met.

Got to watch Kobe's last game with my kid.

- Watch basketball.

- Do you wanna go to bed?

- No.

- Do you wanna watch
Kobe Bryant's last game?

- Yes!

- Ah, okay, that's what we're gonna do.

(light music)

And a few months later,

watch the team I felt
sorry for my whole life

finally get a chip.

Boy, did Cleveland deserve it.

And you may be wondering if I ever got

to see a basketball game
from up close again.

And well, I did.

And I brought a good camera with me.

What's crazy is, I had
brought pretty good cameras

with pretty good seats before.

But location is everything

and 10th row center gets you this.

(light music)

Goodness, is this not breath taking?

(light music)

Oh, to have had this technology in 1995.

Then again, that's what
makes what I was able

to capture back then so special.

(light music)

But to be in this section.

I mean, you're next to
the NBA Commissioner.

Magic Johnson comes up to say, hi.

(light music)

I mean, other than this not
being my childhood hero,

this felt a lot like 1995.

(crowd cheering)

Having a player from
the '90s still playing

also helped that feeling.

Vin-sanity, what can't this man do?

Even got a Hollywood ending

with Lebron getting the game winner.

(crowd cheering)

- Yeah, yeah!

(cheering)

- [Adam] And Tyson Chandler
sealing it with a block.

(cheering)

Now, this is a Laker town and
I am absolutely a Laker fan.

But the economic reality is,

if you're a family of four,

you're taking 'em to
a Clippers game first.

Which Cam ended up
loving, so I surprised him

with some better seats.

The last NBA game I
saw had the best ending

I've ever seen live.

(crowd cheering)

And then, of course, a few months later

our city had our hearts broken.

- Did you see this news?

- [Adam] What?

- About Kobe.

- [Adam] What?

- He died in a helicopter crash.

- [Adam] I was lucky enough to be shooting

a commercial for my DeLorean
in Kobe's neighborhood.

And met him at this Starbucks.

I made him laugh bragging about my car,

which he appreciated.

His life after basketball was
far more inspirational to me

since we shared a mutual
love for filmmaking

and story telling.

As well as an obvious
devotion to our children.

I just knew I'd get to
work with him someday.

And wouldn't you know,

of all the people to
break down on that stage,

Jordan wrecked me in a way
I didn't know was possible.

Already crushed, I wept like a little boy

watching my hero in pain.

And it was a reminder to
appreciate every moment.

Smell the flowers, eat the cake.

(light music)

And wear the shoes.

(light music)

Jordan ignited my passion
for the game of basketball.

But these comparison
arguments have to stop.

Lebron is unbelievable and has kept it up

for nearly 20 years.

Enjoy it.

KD is amazing, Steph is amazing,
Harden, Westbrook, Luka,

Giannis, we have to stop trying

to find every way they're
not as good as Jordan.

While conveniently forgetting his flaws,

and just enjoy the game of basketball.

(light music)

Cheer for everyone to be their best.

Isn't that what we teach our kids?

(light music)

Work hard, learn the fundamentals.

Keep pushing and be the best you can.

Hating on players that are winning now

or undermining their achievements

belittles the game.

The game is great.

And tomorrow is not guaranteed.

(upbeat music)

♪ I've never been able
to soar through the air ♪

♪ I've always been white
and I've always had hair ♪

♪ Championship rings
will elude me in life ♪

♪ But through him, I've done it all ♪

♪ Rookie of the year in 1985 ♪

♪ Scored 63 in the Garden ♪

♪ A slam champ back to back ♪

♪ But lost to Detroit ♪

♪ Through him, I've done it all ♪

♪ Felt what it was like to slam ♪

♪ The ball over my head ♪

♪ Even though my vertical
wouldn't get me outta bed ♪

♪ Slamming from the foul line ♪

♪ Man, what was this boy fed ♪

Uh, Wheaties.

♪ Conquering the Cavs in 1989 ♪

♪ And everybody after that ♪

♪ They shot one and two ♪

♪ And Mr. Wilkens job ♪

♪ A 69 barrage to win in overtime ♪

♪ Through him, I've done it all ♪

♪ Winning three straight
then walking off the court ♪

♪ Gave it up to play with smaller balls ♪

♪ Then when you least expect it ♪

♪ He throws the bat away ♪

♪ You best not look
now, 'cause he's back ♪

♪ Back, back, back♪

- [Announcer] Yeah, he is now back

- [Commentator] Michael Jordan has 55.

- [Announcer] Gone is 45,
back from the rafters is 23.

- [Commentator] It's all over.

The Bulls season comes to an end.

♪ All that I had waited for
came crashing down in May ♪

♪ I knew we'd feel the fire again ♪

♪ There'd be another day ♪

♪ So here we go again, we're
letting no one in our way ♪

♪ Now I find that our 6-5
nearly a full year back ♪

♪ The history of 70
defeated with a smack ♪

♪ Can championship four
and five be that far away ♪

♪ Through him, I've done it all ♪

♪ Through him, I've done it all♪

- Hey dad, I should have said,

you could have lost your job like,

you could have lost your job.

- Yes, all right, try it again.

- Was he mad at you?

- Uh, just disappointed.

It's unprofessional, you know,

I coulda lost my job.

- You coulda lost your job?

- Yeah, weren't you
gonna say it differently?

Oh I, all right, I won't say it.

You say it.

You coulda lost your job.

All right, go ahead.

- You said it, so I had to say it.

- Right, yeah, I know.

Okay so, my bad.

- Can we stop the camera?

- Go, you ready?

And go, don't look at the camera, go.

- Was he mad at you?

- Uh, just disappointed.

It was unprofessional.

I was supposed to be working,

not asking for autographs.

- You coulda lost your job.

- I, yeah, I could have.

It was Michael Jordan, dude.

I don't know what to tell ya.

I did, I risked my job
to get that autograph.

But I didn't lose my job.

You're mad at me?

Like I did something wrong.

I'm sorry.

- You took his jersey.

- No, no, no.

That was my jersey.

I had it on under my shirt.

I didn't take his jersey, dude.

I just had, I took my shirt out

and was like, yo, can you sign this?

And he was like, you could
lose your stripes for this.

He was a little disappointed in me,

but I hope you understand now, Michael.

(upbeat music)