Original subtitles

(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)