Thanks to ESPN and Netflix, we were able to relive the historic 1997-98 season of the Chicago Bulls all over again. Better than that, fans got a chance to get into the life and legacy of Michael Jordan. The greatest of all time won six titles in the 90s. However, he is never letting go of the possibility that they could have achieved seven.
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During the conclusion of ‘The Last Dance,’ MJ expresses his concern over the breakup of the team post their trophy-winning season in 1998. He really wanted to continue playing for Chicago, but unfortunately it never happened.
The core of the team was broken down and a new team was formed in hopes of rebuilding the franchise. When a set of players have won NBA three titles in a row, they definitely should be given the opportunity to go for number four.
While many people think the dismantling of the team came on the back of personal differences and dislikes, there is one man who says otherwise. He is the top authority and has a deep affiliation with the Chicago Bulls since 1985.
Jerry Reinsdorf claims Michael Jordan was unfit to compete in the 1999 season
Just as how Jerry Krause had mentioned in his unpublished memoir, Jerry Reinsdorf, his boss, also states the same. Michael Jordan was not in playing condition for the 1998-99 NBA season. The owner of the franchise spoke to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne to prove why the 1998 season had to be MJ’s last dance with the team.
“The thing nobody wants to remember,” Reinsdorf said. “During lockout, Michael was screwing around with a cigar cutter, and he cut his finger. He couldn’t have played that year. He had to have surgery on the finger, so even if we could’ve brought everybody back, it wouldn’t have made any sense.”
“The fact is, it’s pretty obvious in 1998 that Michael carried this team,” he said. “These guys were gassed. He could not have come back because of the cut finger. But even if he could’ve come back, the other players [Steve Kerr, Luc Longley, Jud Buechler, Dennis Rodman] were going to get offers that were way in excess of what they were worth.”
Reinsdorf had the evidence to back his beliefs
Reinsdorf believed that Michael Jordan could come back and get the job done. But his trust in the other players had vanished. It had not died out suddenly, but with passing time. In Reinsdorf’s eyes, the players were aging, and they didn’t seem like they could go another year with the same intensity. With so many complications running inside the boss’s head, MJ had his finger bust open by a cigar cutter.
These reasons were enough for Reinsdorf to decide that this needs to stop. They may have won him three titles, but it was time for a change. And he carried out the change. ‘The Last Dance’ of Michael Jordan and his team also became the final success for the Bulls in terms of winning the championship. The city of Chicago has never been winners since 1998.
