Original subtitles

The NBA fit/e up for grabs,

beginning Wednesday n/ghf in salt lake city.

Utah jazz!

Part two between the defending champs and the mailman's crew.

Super Mike and the gang looking human,

working on just two days'rest in the thin air of salt lake city.

After they lost the year before, Utah came back.

They were better the next year.

The atmosphere in Utah was, "this is it.

We can finally vanquish them."

Utah was waiting for us.

We basically had to fly to salt lake the next day,

and it just seemed like we were, kind of, running on fumes.

Most people struggle to be present.

People go and sit in ashrams for 20 years in India,

trying to be present.

Do yoga, meditate, trying to get here now.

Mj, what you listening to?

- What are you listening to? - Huh?

What are you listening to?

Kenny lattimore, brand-new, not even out yet.

He's a friend of mine, you know.

Most people live in fear

because we project the past into the future.

Michael's a mystic.

He was never anywhere else.

His gift was not that he could jump high,

run fast, shoot a basketball.

- Can I walk in peace? - Go ahead.

Yeah, go.

- I love you guys. - There you go.

His gift was that he was completely present.

And that was the separator.

Go ahead.

J“ / knew that there would be a day like this j“

Mj, you got four?

Kb's got none.

Come on. Get on the board, baby.

Get on the board.

Get on the board. Go down there and rebound.

Big downfall of a lot of players who are otherwise gifted

is thinking about failure.

Goddamn!

It's thin air right there. That's like coors stadium.

Michael didn't allow what he couldn't control

to get inside his head.

He would say, "why would I think about missing a shot I haven't taken yet?"

Garbage.

You can open up... You can open up a nice lead.

Uh-oh.

Goddamn!

Damn!

Put him away, mj.

I just told him he could get a nice lead.

- Deep in the hole now. - Whoo, I just love it!

- Deep in the hole now. - Whoo!

A spectacular move/

And the game's over/

Chicago stadium is going wild

First of all, there's no backstabbing going on here.

It's time for me to move on.

This will be Phil's last year as the coach of the bulls.

Are the expectations way too h/gh 7

Where do we go from here?

The only question: How long can it last?

This year's finals has a familiar fee/ to it.'

same time, same teams, same places, same h/gh stakes.

But Utah is hoping for a different end result this year.

No, my mom didn't let us go.

- Downstairs in the basement. - Exactly.

Watching the game. We had school.

She felt like Utah was a little hostile for us as young kids.

I don't remember much of, like, the games.

I can actually see him play.

But I remember the fans, and so loud.

I mean, the screaming was just nonstop.

It was... it was brutal.

We didn't like the jazz at all, like, as a family.

We would just get down there and just talk so much trash.

Those games would get crazy.

This Utah team is vastly improved from last year's finalist

better skills and much more confidence.

The bulls have beaten every team in the league this season

except for the Utah jazz.

Let's get ready to rumble!

P/ppen working on Russell. Double-teamed

stockton comes over and steals.

And stockton waltzes in up the left side of the Lane.

I never said, "oh, my goodness, this is the bulls."

Great team, all the respect that they deserved they get from me,

but I sure didn't feel an aura about Michael Jordan or the bulls.

I don't know how you would play against somebody with that.

We were there to win.

Kukoc. Has it picked off by Russell.

Ahead to stockton, now ll/la/one.

Twenty-second time-out, Chicago.

Guys, this is a scary fucking situation.

And this game should be dead fucking meat.

Now, goddamn it, get yourselves serious on this.

Come on, come on, come on. Think positive, man.

It's scottie back to Michael Russell's on him.

Around a tangle y screen. Ll/lichae/ dishes to long/e y.

Up with the shot... 7'o tie the game/

And it's overtime in game 7.

Come on, now. Let's go.

Twenty-one for Malone. Poked a way by hornacek.

Taken by stockton,

who's chased by Jordan but lays it in anyway, and he was fouled by k err/

And game 7 goes to Utah in overtime.

Knowing that this is the last dance,

I'm trying to muster up the energy to finish this off.

We were mentally, physically exhausted,

but we didn't lose focus of what we were trying to achieve.

Hornacek on Michael fadeaway.

Got it.

P/ppen slices through the defense and slams it.

K ukoc hits off the baseline.

Michael, with the shot clock winding down, against hornacek.

Michael's gonna do it, two defenders. A whistle.

Count the basket, plus the foul.

Chicago comes into salt lake city,

weary or not, and gets out with a split.

People don't understand.

Huh?

The jazz won game 1 in overtime at home.

The bulls won a close game to even it.

It was a hard-fought series, except for game 3 in Chicago.

J“ right here, right now j“

j“ right here, right now j“

j“ right here j“

Gentlemen, game 3. Have a great game.

Careful.

Here's scottie. Into the Lane, another runner.

He hits it. Plus, he's coming to the line.

Eis/e y has it blocked by Harper.

K ad on the run, a little hook. Is an airba/I.

Michael spins around hornacek to the left hand an absolute beauty/

J“ right here, right now j“

Jordan to the Lane. I/I/rapped up...

Somehow, some way, he scores.

The Utah jazz of Malone and stockton,

the jazz who managed to get to the finals two years in a row,

were held to 54 points,

the lowest point total since the advent of the shot clock in any game,

not just a playoff game.

Ridiculous.

Wennington the only bull who hasn't scoreo'.

So, let him do it.

Well, the evening is complete.

A total humiliation for the Utah jazz, beaten by 42.

Chicago leads the series two games to one.

But somehow, it seems like more than that.

Hey, coach.

This was actually the score?

- Is this the final? - That's the final.

In sports, Dennis rodman is in more hot water this morning.

The talk at practice Monday wasn't just about what the jazz

was missing in game 3, but who the bulls were missing the day after.

Dennis rodman once again was nowhere to be found

That's true.

No, it's not.

What... what transpired?

I don't know. He's not here.

I got the world heavyweight title,

and with rodzilla in the house,

there will be no stopping nwo Hollywood now.

So, Dennis rodman ran off after game 3.

He took a detour, um,

from playing with the bulls to become a wrestler with hulk hogan.

And, by the way, big dog,

I just love the way you threw Malone around like a dishrag.

You just beat a bomb, brah.

I wasn't trying to do anything. I was just trying to play basketball,

party, duh-duh-duh-duh, fuck all the girls.

And so, it just happened to just be me, Dennis. Shit, you know?

There are some things worth missing practice for, brother.

He has a chartered plane ready and waiting to whisk him off

to some wrestling deal, where the scripted action called for him

to bust some guy over the head with a chair.

Oh, my goodness. That was rodman!

Dennis's sideshow, is it a reality check for the bulls?

Oh, I think they're all very disturbed, the coaches and the players.

Of course, he'll be fined for this latest offense.

Rodman faces punishment by the bulls for missing practice.

Let's go.

Big guys at this end.

The bad-boy reputation that, frankly, Dennis carefully cultivated,

overshadowed his contributions as a player.

But Phil knew that he was a singular defensive player

who contributed mightily to the success of that team.

No, he's only taking your focus away from the finals, not ours.

I just think that Phil realized that I needed to always do me,

just go do what I do.

You know, like you said, a playoff game, I went to go wrestle.

If I do this, I go over here. If! Do that, I got to go do this. You know?

They're gonna get the 100% when I'm on the court.

When they see him, they'll think he'll go out that way.

He needs to just go this way.

He closes the door, they just think...

So, here's the problem.

You got 300 freaking media out there.

Dennis blew off practice, and he got fined,

and he's got nothing to say to nobody,

as he would say, in his words.

So, we got to try to sneak him out gate 3 1/2,

while 300 media are in the main hallway in front of the locker room.

I don't know if we're gonna get that done.

Michael?

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

Has there been a rodman s/ghting,

or is he off wrestling with hulk hogan ton/ght?

Eis/ey, got to get rid of it.

Rebound to rodman.

It's a two-point game.

And it stays there as p/ppen misses. But rodman chases it down.

Rodman is there.

Scottie for three.

Rodman is there. And Anderson fouled him.

Now the worm is a poor free-throw shooter,

certainly not the guy you want on the line in this situation

if you're Phil Jackson.

He rolls the dice. He makes them both. Who needs practice?

Off the court, his tired freak show continues.

But on the court, he brings tremendous energy and heart,

and Chicago wins it by four.

They're poised to finish Utah off on Friday n/ght.

What are your thoughts?

It might not only be your last game with the bulls but your last game ever.

You know, you're sitting on the fence a little here,

and obviously it's a thing that the world wants to know.

Well, I mean, the world basically is gonna have to wait

and see what happens. I mean...

The job is not done. So, let's not celebrate yet.

- Do you have time? - In my locker.

You talking to me?

You know what I mean?

Ton/ght, game 5 of the 7998 NBA finals,

and a win for the bulls caps the repeat ”three-peat. ”

The stage is set for a celebration.

When Michael smells the finish line, he knows how to close.

If this is the last dance, you m/ght as well have it on your own dance fioor.

Malone's first shot is there.

Stockton gives it to Malone.

I sense a little anxiety,

a little t/ghtness here in Chicago.

Doug, it may be a lack of focus,

preparing for the parade and the celebration

and forgetting that you got to come out and play a game.

Malone.

39 points and personally pushing back to ward Utah.

70.4 seconds remaining.

K ukoc will play it in.

P/ppen out to k ukoc for three.

He hits it!

Five seconds.

It's a one-point game.

A two-point Utah lead, time-out, Chicago, bulls' ball at half-court.

For the bulls to win this at home,

the y're gonna have to finish with a bang... and a giant bang.

Harper.

Into Jordan, a prayer/

We go to Utah.

R/p up the headlines.

It is very much a series.

Well, I mean, I would have loved to have won it here at home,

but it didn't happen.

Everyone thought I could make the shot, and that's the beauty of the game.

For 1.1 second, I mean, everybody was holding their breath,

which is kind of cute.

The bulls know how to close,

but last n/ght the jazz held their own.

Utah knew it was going to salt lake city

after Friday n/ght's game 5.

The jazz just didn't know Chicago would also be along for the ride.

The bulls now 5-4 in title-clinching games,

and if they hope to win it this year, it'll have to be in Utah.

This is it, baby. The jazz have forced a game 6.

Can they stay alive and take it to 77

both games here in salt lake city.

The crowd is going nuts.

You know how, like, in those movies

where you see the lion just sitting in the shade and it's just staring?

Some injury news,

and it's not good news for bulls forward scottie p/ppen.

After a great defensive effort in game 3,

during which he drew numerous charges,

p/ppen has been experiencing stiffness in his back.

Earlier, we spoke with...

Man, this is it. Let's go out and give our best.

- [What time is it? - Lplayers] Game time/ whoo/

And we welcome you back to salt lake city for game 6,

and should the jazz win ton/ght and force a game 7,

then it would be worth noting

that very few teams have ever won a seventh game on the road in the finals.

Utah would have a sl/ght edge, it would seem, in that scenario.

So, if the bulls want to bring the hammer down,

game 6 is the time to do it.

Jordan guarded by Russell.

Hornacek will open on p/ppen.

The y'i/ try and post scottie on him. They go to it right away.

Stockton comes over on the double-team.

Now back to scottie.

And they couldn't reco ver, and an easy two for scottie.

I started the game,

and the first play of the game, I went for a dunk, and itjammed my back.

I was done after that.

Like, I'm telling mj I can't go no more.

Like, "dude, I'm done."

It looks like scottie p/ppen is laboring

as he moves up and down the court.

A back injury is one of the most cnpp/ing of injuries.

Malone.

Gets his first.

Jordan for three. Got it/

the bulls lead by nine, but here's the bad news for them.

Moments ago, scottie p/ppen, accompanied by trainer ch/p schaefer,

leaves the bench and heads for the locker room.

He was in such pain, so disabled.

He had continued loss of function.

He was losing mobility, and his pain was increasing.

It was just, sort of, kind of spiraling.

[Announced scottie's telling the medical staff

that he is not able to play.

So, that could be the end of it for scottie ton/ght.

Malone in traffic.

Got his own and put it back in.

Malone against wennington.

Off-balance. Hit it, plus the foul/

when scottie left, we were just kind of holding on.

Shot clock violation.

Michael ga ve it up.

They weren't even close to hoisting a shot before 24 seconds.

It's Malone.

And it's Utah with the lead

only moments ago, they trailed by nine.

This will be a very wearing game for Jordan.

The y'i/ try to tire him down and wear him out.

It'll be interesting to see if he will have enough at the end of the game

because of the minutes he's gonna have to play.

During the break, I was in the locker room,

trying to get some heat and steam and stuff put on

and try to see if I can, you know, do something.

Ahmad Rashad back at the delta center

where the jazz lead the bulls by four.

Now, the b/g story here in the first half

has been the condition of scottie p/ppen's back.

He has really been hurting.

And scottie p/ppen is back out here on the fioor.

Whether or not he ll be able to play and play effectively, we'll find out.

Utah in possession as we start the third quarter.

Malone fight to work.

Rodman battling like crazy, but can't quite hold onto it.

And rodman just tr/ps Malone up.

They got to call a fiagrant here. The y've got to call a fiagrant.

Lte/I you what.

I/ove what I'm seeing, the battle between these two guys.

They're fighting, giving it everything the y've got.

Rodman.

Drills a 20-footer and gives it that ”go figure ” gesture.

This is scottie out h/gh, immediately returns it to Harper.

A little jump-hook is good

ls p/ppen anything more than a decoy now on offense for Chicago 7

I was a decoy that whole game, but they didn't know it.

Michael said, "you just stay out here and do what you can do.

You're better being out here than in the locker room."

So, I gutted myself through that game.

P/ppen giving it his best.

And that time it was good enough.

Pippen is barely getting up and down the floor.

So, I'm taking all the shots.

I'm bringing all the energy.

And I got very little left in the tank.

As we start the fourth quarter, Michael Jordan has scored 29 points.

He's played 34 of the 36 minutes so far, after playing 45 on Friday n/ght.

You have to believe fat/gue is an important factor now.

Out to mj for three/

its short.

Michael. Short.

The jumpers come up short when fat/gue is a factor.

There's p/ppen heading back to the locker room again

to try to stretch out that ailing back.

We had our massage therapist working with him and using medication

and doing everything we could to try to relieve his pain and his symptoms.

Treat him for five minutes so that he could get

maybe five minutes of pain relief and play for five minutes.

They had him in the back.

They were putting ice on his back and electrical stimulation for pain relief

and they were trying to bide their time up until the ten-minute Mark

to bring him back out and see if he can play the last ten minutes of the game.

As you can see, he's back.

He's on the fioor. We '/I just ha ve to see how it goes.

Anybody that would have a notion

that scottie pippen was a soft player

is patently absurd.

He's as tough a player

and intense a competitor as anybody that I've worked with.

What he did in game 6 was extraordinary.

I know so many players

that would have tapped out without hesitation in that situation.

And he was gonna just throw it out there and finish it no matter what.

Malone, three defenders on him, and they take it away.

It's p/ppen wincing as he comes up with the loose ball.

Scottie just hobbling around

Jordan with the jumper.

And with 37 points,

as Utah falls behind now for the first time since the second quarter.

Stockton has a little dayl/ght, and Utah has a three-point lead

p/ppen in the Lane.

Connects on the turnaround, playing through clenched teeth.

Game 6 is going back and forth and back and forth.

And I just didn't see any way this wasn't going seven.

Utah was really mentally tough.

Fifty seconds.

Malone.

Crosscourt, stockton.

A three/

it's there/

There was less than a minute to play.

We're down three.

Phil calls time-out.

This is a b/g 20-second time-out for Chicago

because it allows Jordan to get some rest.

Michael Jordan, at this advanced stage of his career,

has to carry the team.

He has to play extra minutes in a grueling series.

And that last sequence, in the final half-minute-plus,

is one of the greatest sequences you'll ever see in any sport.

The bulls would like to get two-for-one possession here.

Try to get a quick score and get to the free-throw line

to give them two opportunities for one.

P/ppen into Jordan.

Michael working on Russell.

Brings them to within one.

Michael takes it right to the rim and lays it in.

So, now we need a stop.

Went and made a layup and then went back down.

I knew they were gonna run their patented play through Karl Malone.

They ran that play a couple times prior.

And Dennis and Malone had been fighting all game.

And Karl just totally forgot that I was on the weak side.

Malone is doubled. They SWAT at it and steal it/

Michael never clears.

So, Malone doesn't see him.

He comes from the blind side and str/ps him.

Now I got the ball, and I can see Phil

basically out of the corner of my eye.

He wasn't gonna call a time-out.

If we could do something without them talking about it,

working against a set defense, we'd rather go with a live-ball situation.

Seventeen seconds from game 7 or from championsh/p number six.

Get the hell out the way.

"Get the hell out the way“ only thing I was thinking.

I didn't even have to do shit.

All I did was plant myself right down there. I knew.

I said, "he's gonna shoot this fucker.

He is not gonna pass this fucking ball."

I don't give a fuck if it was John paxson or fucking, you know, Steve kerr.

Hell, no. This is his turn.

When I scoped over the floor,

I felt like I can get a jump shot off, or I can get all the way to the basket.

So, it's just a matter of me picking the right time when to attack.

Jordan.

Open.

Chicago with the lead/

Time-out, Utah, 5.2 seconds left.

Michael Jordan, running on fumes, with 45 points.

At the end of the game, you got to get it out of his hands.

He's a killer.

Watch Jordan's left hand here as he gives Russell the push.

The referee can't see that.

Jordan frees himself up for a clean look.

Everybody said I pushed off.

Bullshit. The man was... His energy was going that way.

I didn't have to push him that way.

Russell was already stumbling away.

That hand on his backside

was the equivalent of a maitre d' showing someone to their table.

When he took that shot,

you could just hear the energy just get sucked right out of the building.

That may ha ve been the last shot

Michael Jordan will ever take in the NBA.

If that's the last image of Michael Jordan,

how magnificent is it?

And those devastated fans were just groaning this collective groan,

as the jazz take time-out.

I'm tired as hell.

I'm exhausted.

But I have one more stop.

One more stop, man. One more stop, baby.

Great "d," guys. Great "d."

Way to go, babe.

Come on, baby. One more stop.

I'm collecting my thoughts, but I'm tired.

I'm trying to muster up the energy...

To finish this off.

If they score, there's a game 7.

If they don't, for the second stra/ght year, they go out in six

stockton, Harper's on him.

Behind the screen. Harper got a piece of it/

it comes off

the Chicago Bulls have won their sixth NBA championsh/p,

and it's their second three-peat.

The Chicago Bulls,

the 1998 NBA champion, and a team for the ages.

1998 NBA finals mvp, Michael Jordan.

Michael's a hero.

He's a guy that delivered every time he was asked to

in these type of situations.

Can you believe it?

Six.

Six!

- Six. - Six of them!

Six of them!

Yes, sir!

Six of them!

Man, y'all can say whatever you want, but they can't win till we quit.

Ha ha ha!

Whoo-hoo!

- Shake that out. - Oh, yeah.

Look at that. That's waterproof goggles right there.

That's waterproof.

I did. I'm not kidding.

Can you continue this, Jerry, with these championship runs?

I'm not even gonna think about this.

All I'm gonna think about is tonight have fun.

Tomorrow morning, we'll worry about anything else.

Okay, but, scottie, now that you're celebrating, you're feeling good,

you're coming back next year, right?

I'll answer that in a couple days.

Maybe at Grant park.

All right.

This was great.

This was the greatest.

Dennis, good job.

Fellas.

Great job.

Thank you, man.

Take care, man. Tell the wife I said hello, okay?

See you guys. Excuse me.

Upon arrival at the hotel,

we just had cameras in front of us and people waiting for autographs.

That was so amazing, just being with the group

and feeling that rush of adrenaline

because of people's adoration for Michael, mainly.

I'm sorry. Is this the smoking floor?

Yes. It is now.

Kiss it.

Kiss the trophy?

Yeah! Damn right.

Phil say, "can you play 48 minutes?“

I said, "whatever it takes."

It didn't help much when scottie went down.

I wasn't expecting him to go down. That scared the shit out of me.

How good did thatjumper feel? I see you gave the look, though.

I had to. Everything was short.

I was flicking my wrist. Everything was short.

I had great looks.

That time...

All the way.

You know, fundamentals. Throw your two fingers at you.

Pronate.

Moment, man. It's the moment. It's the moment.

That zen buddhism shit... You all get in the moment and stay here.

Now the championship's gone.

- Stay in the moment. - In the moment.

Till next October. Then we know where the hell we are.

Champs, world champs, NBA mack daddies.

Chicago completing its second three-peat this decade.

Tens of thousands of fans in Chicago's Grant park chanting, ”one more year. ”

One more year!

I want to tell Jerry reinsdorf he better bring them back

because if he doesn't, we're gonna ride him out of town on a rail.

And now your six-time world-champion

Chicago bulls/

About a year ago,

Jerry reinsdorf called me and asked me did I think we could do it again?

I said, "yes."

Without scottie coming back, we never would have got it done.

And Michael loaded us up on his shoulders and carried us home.

And I want to thank Jerry krause for giving us the opportunity to do it.

He had another plan, but he put it aside.

Thanks, Jerry.

Well, you can't knock him.

We got to give him credit,

and he deserves the credit because he was the general manager of those teams.

I've had a lot of great people in my life,

and that's why my success happened.

I played with Phil Jackson, the greatest coach in the game,

Michael Jordan, the greatest player in the game,

Jerry krause, obviously the greatest general manager in the game.

I want to thank all my teammates, the organization.

It's been a great run.

Thank you for our last dance.

I know a lot of people didn't think we'd end up back in Grant park this year.

Nobody knows if we're gonna be in Grant park next year.

But the one thing I do know is my heart, my soul,

and my love has always gone to the city of Chicago.

And I do know that no matter what happens,

my heart and my soul and my love will still be in the city of Chicago.

You have to almost appreciate his celebrity even more

because he didn't have those platforms to be known worldwide.

There was no ability to promote yourself through social media,

to post videos, no tweets, nothing like that.

He was known for his play and for having this larger-than-life persona.

I'm most proud of the impact that those teams had

on the city of Chicago and the fans.

When we had the celebrations after each of the championships in Grant park,

and to look out over a crowd of faces as far as you could see,

and they're all happy.

They're all happy.

I mean, it makes you feel good that you played some role

in bringing happiness to these people.

In '92, the NBA was in 80 countries.

And now the NBA is in 215 countries.

Anyone who understands that phenomenon of that historical arc

will understand that Michael Jordan and his era

played an incredibly important part in it.

He advanced us tremendously.

There are great players who don't have an impact beyond their sport.

And then there are certain sports figures

who become a larger cultural force.

Michael Jordan helped to create a different way

in which people thought about the African-American athlete,

a different way in which people saw athletics

as part of the entertainment business.

He became an extraordinary ambassador,

not just for basketball but I think for the United States overseas

and part of American culture sweeping the globe.

Michael Jordan and the bulls changed the culture.

That night,

Jerry reinsdorf called me up and asked me to come back.

After the sixth championship,

I... I offered him the opportunity to come back.

"You've earned the opportunity to come back,

regardless of what was said before now."

I said, "well, I think I should just take a break."

I said, "I don't think it's fair to Jerry,

and I know it'd be difficult for him to accept that."

- Reinsdorf? - Yeah.

I can't wait to hear this.

I never underst... we have never had any dialogue about why.

I've made my own assumptions why.

Now, after the sixth championsh/p,

things were beyond our control

because it would have been suicidal

at that point in their careers to bring back

pippen, Steve kerr, rodman,

Ron Harper.

Their market value individually was gonna be too high.

They weren't gonna be worth the money they were gonna get in the market.

So, when we real/zed

that we were gonna have to go into a rebuild,

I went to Phil and sai... To offer him the opportunity

to come back the next year.

But he said, ”/ don't want to go through a rebuild

I don't want to coach a bad team. ”

You know. That was the end it just came to an end on its own.

Had Michael been healthy and wanted to come back,

I don't doubt that k rause could have rebuilt another championsh/p team

in a couple years.

But it wasn't gonna happen instantly.

In '98, krause already said at the beginning of the season,

"Phil can go 82-0, and he was never gonna be the coach."

So, when Phil said it was the last dance, it was the last dance.

We knew they weren't gonna keep the team.

Now, they could have nixed all of it at the beginning of '98.

Why say that statement at the beginning of '98?

If you ask all the guys who won in '98...

Steve kerr, jud buechler, blah, blah, blah...

"We give you a one-year contract to try for the seventh."

Do you think they would have signed? Yes, they would have signed.

Would I have signed for one year? Yes, I would have signed for one year.

I'd been signing one-year contracts up to that.

Would Phil have done it?

Yes.

Now, pip, you would have had to do some convincing.

But if Phil was gonna be there, if Dennis was gonna be there,

if mj was gonna be there, to win that seventh?

Pip is not gonna miss on out in that.

You know, '91-92, I was...

I was young, full of energy, hungry.

In '98, when you're winning six out of eight...

And yet being just as dominant as you were in '91

that's where the craftsmanship came in.

And I think '98 was much better than any of the other years

because of how I was able to use my mind as well as my body.

It's maddening because I felt like we could have won seven.

I... I really believe that.

We may not have, but, man, just not to be able to try,

that's... that's something that,

you know, I just can't accept, for whatever reason.

I just can't accept it.

This was a good time to go.

It's a great run.

We'd had a wonderful time, good team.

Time to go.

I remember there was this team meeting with Phil...

And he was like, "this is it."

My wife had gotten her master's in social work,

and she was part of a group

that went in to help people that were grieving.

One of the things they did was a ritual

in which they kind of put things to rest.

J“ do you see the way that tree j“

He says, "this is it.

This is the last dance, last time we're ever gonna be together."

He asked everybody to bring in

anything that you want to write about what the team means to you.

Write what being on this team has meant to you during this year,

and read it, and we'll burn it in a coffee can.

And every guy had emotional words to say.

And I remember Michael actually wrote a poem.

It was a depth of emotion that you never thought he had.

Phil had this knack,

no matter how big you are or how big you think you are,

to always draw you in to be a part of the process.

I'm not a poet.

I just spoke what I felt at the time.

We're always gonna be bonded.

You say thanks for the past, enjoy the moment.

Let's make sure we end it right.

We saw him as this bully sometimes.

But that day, he showed his compassion and his empathy for all of us.

Then everybody put the paper in the can, and at the end of the session,

Phil turned out the lights, and he lit the paper in the can.

One of the most powerful things I've ever seen.

J“ you can spend your time alone j“

j“ red/gesting past regrets j“

When I look back, it's very gratifying

to come from Wilmington, north Carolina, and never been in Chicago.

Well, that became my home and became a part of my history.

My passion on the basketball court should have been infectious

because that's how I tried to play.

I played for them.

Started with hope.

It started with hope.

J“ in the present tense j“

we went from a shitty team to one of the all-time-best dynasties.

All you needed was one little match to start that whole fire.

Stolen by p/ppen.

Scottie p/ppen on a breakaway.

Here's Michael at the foul line.

A shot on eh/o... good/

bulls win/ they win/

What a pass from jordan/

great passing.

Oh, my/

oh/

a spectacular mo ve by Michael jordan/

I just want the franchise and Chicago Bulls to be respected,

like the Lakers or the Philadelphia '76ers

or the Boston celtics.

Hopefully, I could...

That this team and this organization can build a program like that.