Breaking Down Episodes 7 and 8 of 'The Last Dance' | The Bill Simmons Podcast | The Ringer

[@brennanwhitty7939]

MJ holding a baseball bat in one hand, and a cigar in the other (in the locker room before game 2) might have been my favorite clip in the series. Emotions of laughter, dumbfounded, entertainment all pulled into one.

[@jsobers]

BRENNAN WHITTY thought the same thing

[@keithnmoore2]

I need a poster of that

[@TK0S3]

That was the coolest, most savage moment I have EVER seen in sports. EVER. I had goosebumps. MJ was literally saying ''trash talking when you're up by a lot isn't fun. But trash talking when you're down, now that's the shit'' with that smirk on his face like he gets off on trash talking when he's down knowing he'll be the winner. And he fucking hates trash talking when he's up by a lot or when he's winning. Absurd mentality.

[@briardamon9291]

Instablaster...

[@losvega]

An excerpt from MJ about the Space Jam scrimmages from Marc Vancil's "For The Love of The Game"-- "There was no way I could stay out there for 8 weeks after getting knocked out of the playoffs and being criticized for coming back. I said "David I need the work. I have got to practice. I need to play." He says, "What if we can create a working environment for you on the set that allows you to still do the movie?" I said, "Show me." So they built this state-of-the-art gymnasium that covered an entire parking lot. It had air conditioning, stereo system, card tables, seats, lights, every conceivable weight lifting machine, everything I needed. I would go over to the gym at lunch to lift weights and then return from about 7 to 930 every night to play. There was never a camera and the place. Reggie Miller and Chris Mills were there every single day. Charles Oakley came out and played, Magic came out the last day, Tim Hardaway, Dennis Rodman, all the UCLA players, Tracy Murray was there every day, Lamond Murray, Reggie Theus, Juwann Howard, Larry Johnson, Rod Strickland, Grant Hill, all kinds of guys came into town. The games were great. Oakley took over the middle and played just like he did during the season. Reggie and Eddie Jones went at it pretty good. I knew why these guys showed up. They wanted to learn and try to get a feel for the way I played. I knew their strategy. But they didn't know I was doing the same. I always felt like I could learn faster than other people. So they were helping me just like I was helping them. I could feel it coming back pretty quickly."

[@camdencapps6894]

LosVega God I love that, that’s the greatest sport environment I’ve ever heard of, do you modern stars are like this? I could see jimmy butler creating something like this

[@fmvp6892]

Camden Capps they do this every summer now, especially in that gym in la.

[@camdencapps6894]

MVP Season Cool, do you think people are to hard on modern stars?

[@Guzzydope]

The Jordan Interviews is like watching darth vader do a documentary about the star wars saga

[@louiejordan6933]

That's a great analogy. I was also thinking Thanos at one point and you put Darth Vader who is the prototype villain because he has depth. Great point

[@louiejordan6933]

@@KaP0401 🤣 I'm that Knicks fan. Salute Frank

[@EamonnCagney]

LOL

[@eddie9244]

terrible analogy

[@shinglesshingles]

@@eddie9244 found the Pistons fan😂

[@TpolTime]

This pod is the Michael Jordan of maximizing KZbin Ad revenue

[@AdmiralHipper15]

TpolTime for real, they need to chill the fuck out with the ads

[@jerrycollins2398]

The bat and cigar in the locker room...True KINGPIN.

[@danieloceans9652]

Jerry Collins shit was so gangsta

[@abefroman8821]

Just like Al Capone

[@jovenjoshuagallardo1530]

This is kinda one of the most relatable part - celebrating Father’s Day without your dad. Of course not all of us, can offer a world championship to our fathers but we offer our successes and struggles to them even in death.

[@toddmichaelsen788]

Seeing MJ get choked up about his perception as a person vs. his passion for winning was nothing short of profound. MJ cares more about basketball than most people care about anything. And you can feel that in this particular scene. And you saw it when he played in his body language, in his face, and in his results. It’s an intensity that makes many uncomfortable. He has a singular purpose. Competition is his art. And MJ getting emotional is all about expressing his purpose here on earth. Like Jimi Hendrix playing guitar, or Salvador Dali painting....their craft is their art form and is like breathing to these kinds of people. It’s insanely inspiring to me.

[@eddie9244]

Todd Michaelsen well said

[@jonnyarnett]

I have heard a few people say that MJ is a “terrible person” after watching the Doc. From my observation, they’re either one of two things... really, really young, or not that into sports.

[@brewer921]

I'm middle aged and the biggest NBA fan I know. I grew up on Jordan. I'm from North Carolina. But he was an asshole. Now, one can like that quality about him or not like him. But Tim Duncan won five titles and didn't punch his teammates.

[@benw7367]

@@brewer921 oooooooohhhhhhhhhh Hahaha good stuff. And same here. From nc, loved mj, way into sports and yes he's a dick

[@jonnyarnett]

brewer921 Of course there’s gonna be some people like you two, but I think you guys are in the minority tbh. Let me also clarify, I’m not saying Jordan isn’t a jerk, but I’m saying that I think most older sports fans understand MJ’s leadership, and how getting in front often requires pushing. As far as punching Kerr in the face, even Michael admitted THAT was wrong. Lol

[@chiefsun25]

@@brewer921 Tim Duncan never wanted to be the GOAT

[@sr.chiqitibum8607]

not young, love sports. Jordan is even more of an a-hole than I realized. This whole doc tries to glorify this win-at-all-costs mentality. Naturally, with Jordan controlling the narrative, almost none of the downside of that is addressed.

[@alexjjgreen]

FUN FACT: It takes Bill 4 whole minutes to talk about the Celtics.

[@circuit_bloom_music]

New record for him

[@dayra6425]

Jordan is funny in the way he can call someone a nice guy and it’s an insult

[@gf4670]

It really does just come down to MJ having an extra gear and he could go into the red and keep it there for a long time -- and doing it from like 87-93 was remarkable, but then to do it again for another 3 years in your mid 30s is effing amazing.

[@CoachK-Dub]

I can't fucking believe how excited i was for these podcast episodes to come out each week back in 2020. I wasn't even like really watching last dance. I was stoked for this. The pandemic was fucking weird. Maybe it was just me.

[@g.p.spakman1398]

Nobody ever says what a good guy jordan is. He always gave it a 100% for the fans. He never cheated you. If you came to see him he showed up. Always. Not to mention all the charitable stuff he did. He just didnt feel the need to tell you about it all the time. The only knock is that he gambled (legally) and that he was a tough love leader. Damn, imagine being so famous and all the media writing about you because its sells and all they came up with was that? My god he is just a good dude.

[@GiefReplays]

lol it's our puritan roots. Most other countries are baffled by our constant moralizing over gambling. None of my business how MJ spends his money, I just hope that if it ever does become a problem he can get whatever help he needs. And you're right. As a kid there was every other star and then there was MJ. He never let us down. I'm glad he existed - at his peak - in an era where greatness was enough.

[@philcolons9882]

Many people took issue with his alleged infidelity.

[@danieloceans9652]

MJ giving back and he’s not letting everybody know. He’s super low key

[@DaFatmike15]

this the podcast duo of the quarantine for me, frfr keeping me sane

[@CoachK-Dub]

Yes, indeed brother. I kinda went into quarantine liking Bill more. Came out a Ryen guy. Not sure what that says about me because I definitely felt like a Bill with that little gleam of fear in his voice at the beginning there. He was scared. Ryan was fearless.

[@klocker1111]

WHY ARE THERE ADS EVERY THREE MINUTES!?!?!?! THIS IS UNWATCHABLE!!!!!!!

[@abracad5309]

Sean LaVista the amount of ads are ridiculous!

[@filipkurbanovic9231]

adblock / youtube vanced, google the first, reddit the other

[@dirtmcgirt5457]

Just fast forward to the end and then refresh it. Boom. No ads.

[@jasonalba4004]

@@dirtmcgirt5457 I'm surprised more people don't do this

[@TK0S3]

@@dirtmcgirt5457 Wow, does this really work ? Gotta try that out next time. Thnx for the tip.

[@Qstorm88]

The video game play-by-play at the end had me crying!!!!

[@quietmiser]

mj crying real, deep, tears after number 4. I was moved

[@eddie9244]

bill “i wonder how it would play out in 2020” simmons

[@weatherboy2009]

Eddie Torres bruh 🤣🤣🤣

[@kweefsweat5628]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@KTF0]

Bill in every vs 2020 comparison: "If they played today, so and so would have the ball more, spread the court and shoot more threes"

[@artistdavewhite1669]

Jordan's retirement makes sense on an emotional level...he had just lost his Dad and he had talked with his Dad about playing baseball, which his Dad loved. Of course he went to play baseball. It was probably healing for him. And he was still ultra competitive.

[@eboooo]

23:14 Donavan and Pitino story in Born to Coach was really one of the more touching parts of Basketball a Love Story

[@brysonschuman1223]

Best episodes yet

[@dylancoffey6955]

The part where Russillo wades into the "Trying not to get cancelled" waters and it just gets edited into Bill scratching his head and Russillo waving his hand and cursing to himself is so relatable. Just realizing you talked yourself into sounding like you made the opposite point.

[@isedairi]

Weird they didnt mention in documentary JOrdan's appearance in the Pippen all star game in Chicago Stadium

[@spunterage]

There’s a Playboy interview before his second championship where he actually says that he is going to quit basketball to play baseball.

[@chiecheung25]

Wow. I've never heard that b4. I immediately googled that interview

[@spunterage]

Martin Man it’s an amazing read. He touches on so many issues.

[@myjayln]

Thanks for the suggestion, I just finished reading it, it was fascinating.

[@soloistdeve]

the disturbing thing that i got from last dance is that, aside from money it brings, what social media did to the nba and it's culture is just awful. we gone from grown men competing at the highest level with real amateur spirit to bunch of pretentious boys trying to raise their likes-followers on instagram. and it shows on the court and it's killing the beauty of the game.

[@justinshockley5252]

You comment just makes me imagine if the Gram was around back in those days, shit would be hilarious

[@soloistdeve]

​@@justinshockley5252 it would be really ugly and stressful to watch. they always hide it but those guys really had a stressful job and they didn't get paid like this so there was always the fear of being cut or trade or injury. Edit: and that kept them on their toes, made them really work hard, play hard. now every 17 year old has a fortune that he didn't deserved instantly. they're not driven with any fear of losing anything. and i think that's bullshit. i don't understand why the majority of fans are like 'oh yeah good for them, let them count their dollars', why? why are they so happy for them to getting filty rich without doing anything, without taking any risk? what is that? and the result is they don't give a shit about basketball. LOL

[@eddie9244]

thats i mve been saying . these were actual grown men in the 90s. now these players seem so beta

[@soloistdeve]

@@eddie9244 it's not an alpha beta thing. they spoil the fuck out of them, even the ones with mediocre talent. they got too much money, of course there will be lots of unpassionate dickheads running around.

[@dakruise1]

Lib UCB’s ruin everything

[@mattsteele489]

“Anyway...F the rockets” Bill Simmons for President

[@Qstorm88]

LOL

[@SparkyTakedown]

I agree, watching this doc has enhanced my appreciation for Jordan that I didn't have when I was kid watching him. I always like Magic and Pippen better ironically (although I acknowledged Jordan as the greatest).

[@andyh4518]

"I never asked you guys to do anything I didn't do" - that's pretty much every hyper-motivated individual in a nutshell. They just can't fathom anyone not working as hard as them and since that's usually the majority of the population it makes dealing with "regular" life much harder. Can you imagine having to go through life surrounded by a bunch of people you see as lazy bums?

[@joeraguso5376]

Ted Williams quit managing for similar reasons.

[@JoanneJaworski]

Many think that the way they learned to do things, is the ONLY way. If you think that, you will try to push people in the same way that works on you. MJ did things in the best way he knew to do things and maybe that's what prompted the tears when talking about being a nice guy. Maybe he thought he was doing what was right and not to be the bad guy.

[@eddie9244]

Joe Raguso same

[@shanesawyer5103]

I think that’s why the all-time greats are usually bad coaches/managers

[@KTF0]

@@joeraguso5376 I think that was because he only cared about hitting.

[@jackjackthompson5771]

Very entertaining, thanks guys!

[@edmondhonda2763]

You guys did wonderful on the MMA talk. Keep it up!

[@dylancoffey6955]

One thing I don't think anyone has pointed out: the plot of Space Jam is literally an analogy to MJ's return to basketball? The aliens powers being stolen from them is MJ getting back into basketball shape by inviting NBA players to play in the summer. Though it would be more like a fighter toying with a weak opponent to slowly rebuild his stamina

[@Thatninetykid]

MJ in his Prime on IG just smoking cigars going BETTER lol

[@goldseraph79]

Why are there ad breaks every 3 damn minutes ??

[@filipkurbanovic9231]

get adblock for pc or youtube vanced for android, if you have apple, you can't do shit basically

[@KTF0]

Gotta get those dollars, son

[@codyshowalter583]

Unwatchables, I gave up and am going back to podcast as the ad breaks here are just brutal.

[@chrisg2214]

To make money.

[@JT-xp3in]

Stop being cheap and pay your for premium ad free

[@benw7367]

Hey guys, I know they're competition but did yall catch the latest game of zones episodes? Pretty good stuff. Bill wont love it. And I think Ryen has done enough to make it on but alas, has not. Doing a breakdown of them would be podcast gold. Just sayin

[@jzl7965]

This analysis of the last dance from Russilo and Simmons has really spiced up these quarantine Monday’s 🥰

[@teerthbrahmbhatt9152]

the grover stuff on episode 8 was awesome 8:31

[@christopherjohnson2869]

Love the story at the end!!

[@jwupun]

We can only imagine what the NBA would have been like during the 90's with Jordan and Len Bias going at it every single year.

[@zamis87]

Awesome pod by two greats 🙌🏾

[@dontmatter1368]

Gentlemen, I hope people offer to buy you a beer whenever possible for all the great work you do.

[@eboooo]

I would love more footage from the dream team practices. That would be great to see.

[@mrmacross]

Jordan and the Bulls never lost a playoff series when they had the higher seed. They were something like 24-0 in such situations. That's one thing Jordan can hold over other modern NBA superstars, he never wasted a playoff opportunity. Magic can lament 1990 and 1981. Kobe had 2004 and 2011. Bird got upset a few times by the Sixers, and couldn't defend home court in 1985. LeBron has 2009, 2010, and 2011. Duncan had 2006 and 2011.

[@CO8ism]

2004 redraft please?

[@dayra6425]

Don’t forget Tyson and Jon Jones also had the middle of their career taken away 25:30

[@ohkay2360]

Don't forget the proper spelling of their

[@keithnmoore2]

Yeah as great as those 2 were, they weren’t on the same level as MJ, Tiger, and Ali.

[@dayra6425]

@@keithnmoore2 Tyson was big when he went to prison

[@mrmacross]

Tyson had already lost to Buster Douglas. The mystique was gone, and really he was no longer at his best anymore.

[@dayra6425]

mrmacross he lost to buster Douglas but everyone thought it was a fluke .. and even when he got out of prison that mystic was still there if not even more then when he went in

[@rantsreviews3573]

Listening to Bill talk about MMA is like listening to my dad talk about IG.

[@SowaStudios]

If you view Michael Jordan as an artist and basketball as his medium, then his move to baseball was a form of "combinatory play" - the act of opening up a blocked mental channel by dabbling in another. By 93' Jordan had dedicated himself to becoming the master of his craft around the clock for the last 16 years, going back to 1977, the summer he decided to prove he deserved a spot on his high school varsity team. As a conduit of the basketball muses his output was Da Vincian, his achievements Alexandrian, and his burden Atlasian; but, after the three-peat, his destiny had turned Sisyphusian, while his joy had been stoned by the Medusa stares of the media, and his heart broken by private tragedy. He was simply exhausted in every conceivable human way. Baseball was therapy. It recharged his spirit, cleared his mind, and put things in perspective; allowing him to hear his hardwood calling again and answer it for an encore. Regarding his ultra-competetiveness...if there wasn't a MLB strike in 94' MJ was on the way to becoming a major leaguer in 95' - a 31/32 year old rookie! - what better way to add to his legacy than to become a two-sport athlete? Bo Jackson, Dion Sanders, and MJ...might have been just as legendary as three more NBA chips. Ultimately, that 17-month journey wasn't about satisfying competitive drives, it was about silencing personal demons.

[@tpoltalksbasketball7298]

Forget basketball the MJ doc has really shown how soft the world has become. As Jordan said greatness and leadership require sacrifices most people aren’t willing to make. I hope this has reminded us all of the importance of having Michael Jordans among us who are disagreeable, go against the grain and don’t give a fuck about being unpopular in service of the greater good.

[@spunterage]

He targeted those who he felt needed toughening up. Parish obviously didn’t need that.

[@razkable]

and he was 43....

[@spunterage]

Asmosis Jones yeah true. I was going to make a joke about senior citizens bu then realised I’m not that far off.

[@spunterage]

Yemi well yeah there were more than one or two he didn’t need that kind of extreme pushing. We don’t need to start making lists as it’s irrelevant.

[@jamesmarhen]

I've been very critical of Jordan's leadership style but with Burrell it's good he realized he was wrong. It reminds me of Garnett tried to be this way and kept riding a player (name escapes me right now), a player who was always known to be calm but hard working, and Garnett hated the fact he couldn't "motivate" him because he was too blind to realize that just because Garnett needs to work himself up into a frenzy not everyone needs that. The player was focused, mature, secure, and Garnett's continuous attempts to get a rise out of him was a waste. It's an important lesson in leadership, just because you may need to motivate yourself in one way doesn't mean everyone is motivated that way. You have to be flexible and if you aren't flexible then you're wasting everyone's time and you're being a poor leader.

[@eddie9244]

damn thats alot of ads

[@jackjr2673]

"rub his hands in blood or drink a spit bucket" , love it.

[@cjalldayonetrey7914]

Those clips of the Space Jam pick up games was featured in one of the MJ highlight documentaries. I think it was Air Time.

[@nikkichilds459]

The last five minutes deserves an Emmy

[@yjkgbybtb4462]

Anyone got a timestamp of the thumbnail where Jordan laughs at GP ? Do they talk about that moment?

[@jgiffin37]

Which Dream Team doc do they reference about 11m27s into the pod? Worth a watch?

[@myjayln]

jgiffin37 I’m pretty sure it’s a 30 for 30 on the dream team that’s like an hour and a half long. It’s nothing short of incredible.

[@benosaro9331]

"grinding" took me out😂😂😂

[@spence61]

Episode 7...amazing

[@georgenaratadam3803]

Relentless by Tim Grover is a great book to get inside the head of a winner.

[@JoanneJaworski]

Why do you think Tim Grover got misty eyed emotional in the doc last night when talking about MJ?

[@georgenaratadam3803]

@@JoanneJaworski He says that Jordan was the only person he has ever called "boss".

[@JoanneJaworski]

@@georgenaratadam3803 I bet Michael loved that!

[@ChiCitySoLrebel]

Rocco in 08, the comeback in the US Amateur...and Bob May in the PGA Championship at Valhalla (the other Tiger one Simmons couldn't remember).

[@dustinjuergens8839]

Bo Jackson deserves to be in the conversation of TRANSCENDENT ATHLETES. If your just talking about freak athleticism

[@valthomas9786]

Yeah totally agree. Cant believe they missed him. Especially from the guy behind 30 for 30! That "you don't know Bo" documentary was amazing!

[@michaelrhudak]

Interesting theory about MJ and the rise of the anti-hero, though I think most of the public was unaware of that side of him? I don't know. That definitely was the time when they all started showing up though. Vic Mackey, Tony Soprano, Stone Cold Steve Austin.....maybe you just had to be bald to make that kinda vibe work...

[@raymondweisheit6524]

I usually just listen so I have a question about the you tube pod. Are there always this many ads? Or is this the only thing on ringer that actually makes money?

[@brewer921]

Jim Brown retired at 29 years old. Arguably the greatest football player of all time. To do movies. Michael Jordan's retirement was not unprecedented.

[@chiecheung25]

But coming back and win 3 rings is in my knowledge unprecedented

[@razkable]

i think walter payton was better than jim brown cause he was faster more elusive and could catch...I think people underrate how good payton was cause he didn't have a qb or tight ends we know and he had like 1 very good receiver and some so so one year wonder type guys...you put him with better offensive players and its like jerry rice its over...

[@brewer921]

@@razkable That has nothing to do with what I said. I'm talking about people retiring at their peak, which adds to their mythology. But if you want to get into that ... Brown led the league in rushing eight times in nine years. Then starred in The Dirty Dozen.

[@camdencapps6894]

Also I think the challenge of playing baseball gave him the competitive challenge he needed

[@p.j.t.]

What happened to the podcast with episodes 9 and 10?

[@scarykurapika100yago2]

In terms of competitiveness the difference is MJ was a natural born genuine competitor probably more than any athlete ever.. Even Kobe admitted that he was only competitive in the sport.. MJ was so competitive in everything it's ridiculous.. another story i heard recently from former player Kendall Gill that he was beating MJ at cards in his house.. from 11 pm at night MJ never leaved Kendall's house until he won all his money back, MJ left 7 am in the morning and he had a game that day too lol.

[@kevinwheesysouthward9295]

Could you imagine if Ben Simmons was on the 90’s Bulls? I would pay to see their interactions

[@seven3oh]

Probably would punch him into becoming a hall of famer

[@ijamorris]

That team went 72-10 in regular season. 15-3 in playoffs and 2 of the 3 losses was after being up 3-0 in the finals. Plus they won the chip. So how could you NOT say that's the best team ever? GS couldn't close the deal. 1 more regular season win does not Trump 15-3 in playoffs and winning the chip. Period

[@75aces97]

The case against them isn't number of regular season wins. More subjective stuff like the field. That was not just an expansion season, but an expansion of two more teams after adding 4 in the previous 7 season, combined with 4 consecutive weak draft classes from 1988-91. So overall talent was so poor that players like Doug Overton and Greg Foster managed to stay in the league 11 seasons instead of washing out within 3. And guys like Dwayne Schintzius, Tom Tolbert, Mark Macon, Bobby Hurley, and Anthony Avent played 6+ years instead of none.

[@mrmacross]

Most people say the best Kerr/Curry Warriors was the 2017 squad with Durant, which won 67 regular-season games and won their first 15 playoff games. That squad is easily on the short list for greatest team ever, but a lot of people don't like to give that team credit because 1) Durant's move was seen by a lot of people as soft and 2) Pachulia pulled a Jalen Rose on Kawhi Leonard and wiped out their biggest competitors.

[@fentanyljones6956]

It’s surreal hearin yall talk about the reception for Lebron’s bubble chip before it happened.

[@axlslak]

Not to throw shade at Ali or MJ or Tiger. But I think the most impressive comeback in a sport is George Foreman, who came back at 40 and won the title.

[@nachomaranon7216]

8:15 Rylen with the eye drops... Was he crying from the end of ep 7 or is it sth else...? lmao

[@bendrew6356]

LaSalle Thompson was in the space jam footage

[@burtfurt1995]

Ben Drew The Tank!

[@shinglesshingles]

That was the beat ending of all time. "Anyway fuck the rockets" 💀

[@jamestrickingtonIII]

Y'all or KZbin gotta space these ads out better, it's fucking with the flow

[@coreygelbaugh4530]

How is Adam Silver throwing a no-hitter after the “Free Hong Kong” reaction?

[@ryebry7279]

1:19:25 tuning out on a strong point, lmfao

[@brandonwhite4992]

Lmao at the end of this. "Anyway, FUCK THE ROCKETS"

[@roboslug]

Bill with the giant series ending spoilers lol

[@stoph224]

I like Bill much of the time, but if I was Ryen I'd scream when I made a great observation and Bill just isn't listening (but rather waiting to talk) and then two minutes later Bill makes the same comment but with more Billy gusto and expects Ryen to be like "oh wow, good point!" when he should really be like "I literally just fucking said that..." (UFC chat about Hardy hearing DC's comments.)

[@alexzander972]

Rodman should have won finals mvp vs the Sonics that series

[@1JLegend]

In Jordan’s defense the 96 finals’ he almost had no help at all in the last 3 games of the series. Jordan played bad in game 4, but in game 5 if the rest of the bulls would’ve done ANYTHING they would’ve won that game. Jordan was the only bull that scored over 15 while the Sonics had 3 players score in the 20s.

[@zainw24]

"Anyway, fuck the rockets" lmao

[@789whitt3]

MJ23 🐐No debate

[@masco2483]

LBJ23 is his YingYang

[@allsystemsgo8678]

Ali missed three years, not five years. It's sad that he missed that much time, there's no reason to exaggerate.

[@dwy3r]

5 ads in 12 minutres. jfc i hate ads

[@rrothman23]

AC Green went for more than 10 seasons in a row.

[@josephmatthews7698]

"This guy is a competitive animal, why would he just walk away?" You answered your own question. He didn't walk away from competition but after three rings he felt he'd accomplished everything but realized there had never been a truly elite dual sport athlete and decided he would do that. Remember all the hype Bo Jackson and Deion was getting at the time and Jordan said "I can do that -- but better." After a year though he realized these baseball guys had thousands of pitches and hours of work more than him and he could never truly catch up at his age so he realized the dream was untenable and scratched his competition itch by going back to basketball. Why go back to basketball if he'd dominated already? Thats a more interesting question to me and I think the answer has to do with a cat named Shaq and MAYBE a young Kobe he'd heard about. My 2 cents anyway.

[@SuperTaylorLove]

Bill "I did a tweet" Simmons

[@Zdkim]

Tim Grover his trainer was so moved that he choked up talking about Mj training.... That's just crazy MJ the Goat

[@robertgoldstein7489]

MJ is so Alpha...Dying Breed. When I played team sports, I always hated the guys like MJ who got up in my grill and made my life h*ll...so when you succeeded, played at a high level and earned their respect, it was the greatest.

[@adamandrikos4093]

Lasalle thompson- the hollyfieild guy!

[@francescoruffino6288]

Bill said he bet Gaethje as a 2-1 under dog after he recommended to bet Tony a few days ago because he was only a 2-1 favorite.

[@razkable]

this is how you know media is just full of hot air...bill lebron and wade in 2010-2011 were more like pippen mj then then in 2013 during the streak and 46-2 record they had with lebron (both close losses to the bulls one in miami in the playoffs) after super bowl sunday until game 2 of the east finals.....by then miami's small ball depth was great cause they added shane ray lewis andersen cole and guys like chalmers miller jones haslem joel were healthy and knew their role which in 2010-2011 they did not or they were not healthy...miami literally went like 20-1 with wade lebron bosh james jones joel anthony all plying major minutes some carlos arroyo big z magloire stackhouse pittman juwan and a limited young chalmers coming off a down year and injured haslem and miller for very small production in that streak and many missed gamed for both for both of them during it..thats when they reminded me of mj and pippen just the way they covered ground was nuts and no on remembers cause they started 9-8 and thats all the media cared about and when the heat figured it out they just stopped covering them until late in the year when they lost like 6 of 7 before the playoffs...that heat team won with defense cause they had limited trust in their depth and had bums on the team ...the 2012-2013 heat team were clutch great on both ends but mostly just turned it up late...the 95-97 bulls were a year round team almost never turning it off no matter who was out for them....I remember the 2011 heat in the playoffs stifling teams until game 5 of the finals for an amazing 18 out of 19 games straight the heat's defense was amazing those playoffs and they reminded me of the bulls but no one has rodman harper pippen mj longley...thats a lineup on defense that is insane especially with the ability to put rodman at center and play faster with toni whose longer than rodman or pippen yet can be put on smaller dudes without losing anything inside was a luxury no other team has ever had...miami came close but they didn't have a longley to deal with bigs

[@meepk633]

This curmudgeon bit from Russillo is trash. Posting a 15 second video to social media doesn't mean they are only working for 15 seconds. They are building their personal brands while being the best basketball players in the world. 90s players would have killed for direct marketing like that. Hype could be the difference between $5M and $15M. So what is Ryan actually mad about? That the image and narrative around the NBA isn't controlled solely by people like him?

[@silewis9396]

Love this comment so much. He's so unnecessarily annoying sometimes. I think you're right about the media thing. He really hates they get to show and say what they want so often it gives jealous failed athlete vibes

[@jons6348]

19 ads guys?? You don't think a commercial every 4 minutes ruins a conversation?? Terrible.

[@holymackenaw]

Jerry Krause behaved like DT in that press conference. Bully. And i dont like how they filmed MJ crying on the floor. things like that led to Dirk leaving the floor 2011 to get some privacy for his emotions.

[@Kalinbuggs]

Kobe did this literally and got killed for it smh I'm happy MJ put this out bc Kobe got a bad wrap for doing the SAME THING

[@michaelgomez2522]

I think Kobe got killed for it because Shaq was the alpha on the early teams and didn't act like that. Also Kobe isolated himself from the team. He wasn't "one of the guys". And simply put Kobe isn't Jordan. I expect ultra successful/winner people to be assholes though. To me it is what it is. They're in a high pressure, results driven ultra competitive business.

[@JoanneJaworski]

To me it seems like Kobe got a bad wrap because he was a confident "kid", who wasn't supposed to be that good, at that age, and certainly shouldn't ruffle or outshine the older players. In the Kobe-Michael All Star game, people talked about Kobe wasn't allowed to play in the 4th quarter since he got enough playing time. He got 22 min. MJ got 32 min.(and MVP) yet did anyone have an issue with MJ getting the most play time than anyone else?

[@mrmacross]

I think Kobe even managed to be even more impatient than Jordan. You could just see it with his body language on the court. You saw Jordan bark at guys like Cartwright, Longley, Kukoc, etc., but Kobe was more demonstrative at letting guys know they messed up running a play.

[@Hotobu]

Kobe ain't got big titties though.

[@indigo7454]

Hotobu nigga what ?

[@openingband]

Buddy's background is so bright and distracting. Makes his balled head so shiny.

[@MikeSmith12345]

Hey guys can you please add some more adds? I wanna support

[@heiko2183]

Love the content but 5 ads in just the first 15 minutes is a joke

[@TravJam317]

I got zero.

[@GarrethMorgan]

He basically is asking the UFC to turn into pride fc. Best entrances and super quiet crowd.