This week would’ve been the beginning of the 2020 NBA Playoffs, which has been looked at as what might be the most competitive it’s been in years. Like NBA’s counterpart, the NHL, whose seasons span the same dates, the COVID-19 pandemic has made fans wonder, will the world get the thrilling, rivalry induced games that every Spring deliver. 

   While Adam Silver and the NBA Players Association deliberate on how the league will finish the season, ESPN has done the great pleasure of pushing the release date for the 10-part documentary series following the last season of the Chicago Bulls dynasty and the historic career of its star, Michael Jordan, entitled “The Last Dance” from Jun. 23 to Apr. 19.

   The debated G.O.A.T of basketball is notoriously silent and uninterested in the media, from his rise in Chicago to his retirement following his sixth title. So obviously, making a 10-hour long documentary using never seen before footage and interviews with Jordan, his fellow teammates, and even the former president of the United States, Barack Obama, was incredibly hard to pull off. 

   The 1997-98 Bulls season was an interesting end to what was the most popular, historic, and successful dynasties of all time. The team went 62-20 during the season, defeated the Indiana Pacers in seven games during the Eastern Conference Finals after cruising through the first two rounds on their way to the team’s sixth NBA finals during the ‘90s. The Utah Jazz got to six games but were no match for the trio of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Denis Rodman who were all stepping out on the court together for the last time.

   The team hired a film crew to cover all the drama-filled practices where Michael Jordan once punched teammate and current Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr in the face during a heated exchange, the one-on-one conversations between Jordan and Coach Phil Jackson, in both of their last seasons with the Bulls and everything in between.

   Why the footage has been dusting on a shelf for 20 years is controversial, most likely due to the strong language, heated footage, and never seen before shots of Jordan. As his former teammate Steve Kerr led the Warriors to three titles in four years and the other debated G.O.A.T. Lebron James has won three himself, maybe Jordan felt the time was right to get his name and his game back on the front pages, knowing Michael competitive nature.

   The Director tasked with bringing this footage to the screen is Jason Hehir, who remembered the historic season in his senior year of college. His accolades include “Andre the Giant” on HBO which covers the controversial and popular wrestler Andre Roussimoff. Hehir said that this will be far more complex and entertaining than his previous documentary.    

   “The Last Dance” will premiere on April 19 with the first two parts being aired on ESPN. Each Sunday for a month will show two parts up until the two finale episodes on May 17. If the strong language is a bit much, then ESPN2 will be showing the censored version.

  This might be the most anticipated sports documentary ever and if there is one thing the viewers will be guaranteed is that this might just change everyone’s perception of the historic franchise and its most beloved star.