Lucas: Last Dance Rapid Reactions Night 4

By Adam Lucas

1. The most emotional five minutes of the series so far might have been near the end of episode eight with the Bulls winning the NBA title on Father's Day, and Michael Jordan's emotional postgame interview and locker room breakdown. Even our heroes have feelings.

2. Episode 7 did a good job of explaining what an important influence James Jordan was on his son. What you might not have known was that James Jordan was also one of the biggest Tar Heel fans you would ever meet. Less than four months before he was killed, Mr. Jordan attended Carolina's 1993 national championship game in New Orleans. One of my uncle's favorite stories is that he ran into James Jordan in the concessions line at the Superdome and bought him a soft drink. Mr. Jordan tried to prevent him from buying the drink, and my uncle told him, "It's the least I can do for all the wonderful memories your son has given me." James Jordan's response: "The Tar Heels gave us a lot, too."

3. James Jordan was also a close friend of Roy Williams. During a period when Williams wasn't making much money and was a long way from being a Hall of Famer, he and the Jordan family formed a very tight bond. The elder Jordan was a well-known handyman and could make almost anything. Long before his son was the most famous person on the planet (and before Jordan was even the most famous person on the UNC campus) he built a woodstove by hand for Roy and Wanda Williams.

4. Prominently displayed in episode seven during the segment when Jordan was watching his former Bulls teammates in the 1994 NBA playoffs: Jordan's Carolina shorts in his Birmingham Barons locker. As was well-known during the 1990's, Jordan wore a pair of Carolina shorts under his uniform--basketball or baseball--every time he played a game.

5. Every episode has been another example of Jordan's next-level competitiveness. This isn't just "he's a professional athlete" competitiveness. This is "his competitiveness amazes other professional athletes, who are otherwise the most competitive people on the planet." The end to episode seven, when Jordan got choked up just describing how hard he needed his teammates to play, was incredible.

6. Another interesting Jordan/Carolina nugget that isn't as well known:

In 95 at Christmas break, I went to UNC practice. My cousin (Donald Williams) was a Senior. Dean Smith allowed me to watch practice. Low & behold i see MJ practicing with the UNC team.. I thought it was weird, but in hindsight, he was preparing to return to the NBA #TheLastDance
— LeVelle Moton (@LeVelleMoton) May 11, 2020

7. The Tar Heels on that 1995 team will tell you that Jordan had some extra intense battles at the Smith Center with Jerry Stackhouse, who had the misfortune of being the latest player to get the "next Jordan" tag.

8. George Karl: probably should've spoken to Michael Jordan that night at dinner in Chicago. The ultimate offense in Jordan's book? "We both went to Carolina," and Karl still didn't speak to him. In Jordan's mind, Carolina was supposed to supersede the NBA Finals.

9. In case you missed it, ESPN re-aired the 1984 Carolina-Maryland game from Cole Field House, better known as the rock the cradle dunk game. Here's a column on that game, and on why Dean Smith didn't want the legendary dunk shown on his television show.

10. And even more Jordan content: tomorrow's Carolina Insider podcast will have exclusive interviews with UNC grad John Dahl, an executive producer on the Last Dance project. It will also have an interview with former Chicago Bulls PA announcer Ray Clay. If you've forgotten, Clay also made an appearance at the Smith Center during the 100 years of Carolina basketball celebration, where he provided his famous introduction of Jordan for the Smith Center crowd. That introduction can be seen here:

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