The Last Dance 1.05

Episode V

Michael Jordan wins the MVP award at the 1998 All-Star Game. He was playing against Kobe Bryant who was 19, making him the youngest person to ever play in the All-Star Game. 

Jordan wears the original Nike Air Jordans for his final visit to Madison Square Gardens in March 1998. David Falk, his agent, originally tried to get him deals with Converse and Adidas but neither was willing or able to make him a deal in 1984. Jordan had to be pushed into signing with Nike who offered him considerably more than other NBA players were getting at the time. Jordan had a good game but the shoes hurt his feet when he wore them in 1998. His socks were bloody when he went to take them off after the game.

The Bulls won their second NBA championship in 1992. This time they played the Portland Trailblazers in the finals and they won it in 6 games.

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were named to the 1992 US Olympic Basketball Team, aka the Dream Team. They left for the Olympic games soon after they won the 1992 NBA championship. Isaiah Thomas was not picked to be part of the Dream Team. There was a lot of speculation that Isaiah was excluded from the team because Jordan didn't want him there.

Jordan and Pippen played hard in practice against teammates like Magic Johnson and Charles Barkeley. Tony Kukoc, who would later play for the Bulls but had yet to play in the NBA, played against Dream Team twice in the Olympics. Jordan and Pippen did everything they could to wear him down, mostly because Jerry Krause has talked about Kukoc like he was the future of the Bulls. Kukoc played poorly in the first game but stepped up his game in the second one, although his team lost both by large margins.

Michael Jordan was taken to task by some people in 1990 when he did not step forward to campaign for Harvey Gantt, who was running for US Senate against Jesse Helms. Jordan was quoted as saying, "Republicans buy sneakers, too." This led some to think that Jordan cared more about making money than he did about worthy social causes.

Tickets for Bulls games were hard to come by in 1998, with all the speculation that it would be his final season. Lots of people came to the games, including lots of celebrities.