In 1992, the book ‘The Jordan Rules’ released, and it made the author Sam Smith popular overnight. It gave the readers insider access to the Chicago Bulls and MJ in particular. Fast forward to 2020, we have ‘The Last Dance’. Even then, a lot is still to be revealed around the MJ era and its relevance today. The author of the book talks to The New Yorker and answers some tough questions that include LeBron James.

Was Sam Smith interviewed for The Last Dance?

A straightforward answer is yes. But was MJ happy with his involvement in a project so dear to him? Perhaps the following statement from him will help you understand. Sam asked the crew of TLD if they sought Jordan’s permission, and they quoted the former NBA champion in reply. “I don’t give a f*#k who you talk to.”

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The book bravely exposed the extreme nature of the highly competitive and demanding persona of MJ. It also gave the anecdotes about the fights within the team at that point. This led to major controversies around Michael back in the days.

Is LeBron James an influencer as big as Michael Jordan was?

With due respect for The Akron Hammer, the author denies this. He suggests many reasons MJ was the king of his league and why there can never be another Jordan. The author would emphasize on the fact that nobody, until the MJ-Nike deal, thought a shoe with an athlete’s name on it could sell like crazy. He made long shorts, shaved heads, the NBA, and sneakers popular all around the world.

When MJ announced his early retirement from the sport, it influenced even those who were not even remotely associated with the NBA. He was more than just an outstanding player. As Sam put it, in today’s lingo, he is an influencer.

He says, “LeBron’s a big figure and a great player, and he has an influence in society, but it didn’t change anything. Nobody has changed anything because of LeBron James.” He also refers to his 2014 trilogy on MJ, saying“There Is No Next”—the title referring to the idea that there was Kobe [Bryant] and LeBron [James] and all these “next Jordans.” I just wanted to make the case that there is no next Jordan.”

He also mentions Wilt Chamberlain amongst those few from the player-empowerment era.

Michael Jordan vs Phil Jackson’s Chicago Bulls…

Sam remembers a quote from legendary coach Phil, who joined the Bulls as an assistant coach. He said, “You can’t be the scoring champion and win a title.”

So Phil made a point to integrate these values into the team and into Jordan. So it was later just the winning mentality, and not the Jordan-winning mentality, that they successfully carried. Because no matter what, we have to swallow that no one is bigger than the sport. Luckily for Jordan, it was a competitive drive and not a bully drive.

Sam had really good things to share about Phil, “One of his strengths that was often overlooked or unappreciated was this great ability he had to bring a group together.”

Was the documentary entirely true to the facts?

As per Sam, another straight NO. But this is opposite to what we could see in the documentary. From what we saw, it was clear that MJ was leaving just because the coach was asked to leave. But Sam would tell that Air Jordan was continuously playing for 3.5 years and was totally exhausted at that age of 35.

He exclaims, “That was, to me, like, No. I’ve got to say something here. Because that’s really untrue. He didn’t want to come back. He had plenty of chances to come back.”

Can a book like that now be written on someone like LeBron James?

Sam pointed towards the freedom that the press had back then. He revealed how he would travel on the team bus and how he would join parties with the biggies. Back then, these players did not have enough to hire a personal team who’d manage them. So they always remained in proximity and were readily available for interviews as and when the press required. For instance, there are books written on LeBron James, but none could cause a big stir in the market as much as the ones on MJ did.

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In Sam’s words, “That doesn’t exist anymore. These guys now, like they call themselves, they’re brands. They hire an entire staff. That kind of wealth didn’t exist back then.”