The Right Way - Reflections on the Chicago Bulls 1990's Dynasty & "The Last Dance"
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"The Last Dance," a 10-part documentary series by Executive Producer, Mike Tollin and Director, Jason Hehir chronicles the rise and sustained excellence of the great Chicago Bulls team of the 1990's that were led by Michael Jordan. The exploits of the 1997-98 Bulls as they march towards their 6th National Basketball Association (NBA) Championship are highlighted in each episode due to "500 hours of footage on some 3,200 reels of 16-millimeter film" being shot by an imbedded NBA Entertainment crew during the 1997-98 season in anticipation that this would be Jordan's last season in the NBA.
'The Last Dance' ESPN Trailer
Who am I & why are my reflections about "The Last Dance" worth reading and hearing? I was a scout and front office executive with the Chicago Bulls from 1989 - 2000 working directly with Jerry Krause. Oftentimes when I've listened to a podcast or read commentary on "The Last Dance," I remark to myself, "sometimes you just don't know, what you don't know." I know the score and shared my thoughts on a weekly basis after the ESPN/Netflix broadcasts with St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster, Mike Claiborne, on CLAIBSONLINE.COM. The nine podcasts that Claiborne and I created will be linked below for your listening pleasure and enlightenment. You can also find the podcasts on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
The Right Way! Episode 4 of "The Last Dance" depicts the Chicago Bulls first NBA Championship in 1991 vs. Los Angeles Lakers. That's the series where Phil Jackson forcefully asks Michael Jordan in the huddle during a fourth quarter timeout in the 5th and clinching game of the series, "Who's Open?" The answer, John Paxson, who drilled 5 (1 layup - assisted by Pippen) of the final 6 Bulls made field goals in the game. At the 6:30 mark of the 4th quarter the Bulls were down by 3 points (93 - 90). Jordan who finished with 30 points and 10 assists only scored 3 points in the last 6:30 but assisted on 3 buckets (2 by Paxson & 1 by Pippen). Bill Cartwright also accounted for 2 assists to Paxson during that final stretch. After the game, Phil Jackson embraced MJ on the court and said "You did it the right way. I love you."
Bulls vs. Lakers - 1991 NBA Finals Game 5
Those three words, "The Right Way," are the reasons why we're celebrating these Bulls teams via "The Last Dance" documentary 22 years after they clinched their 6th NBA Championship. From the moment Jerry Reinsdorf and his partners bought a controlling stake in the Chicago Bulls in 1985 for 9.2 million dollars the organization did things the right way, on and off the court. There's no doubt that Rod Thorn's decision to draft Michael Jordan with the 3rd pick in the 1984 NBA draft was the spark the Bulls franchise needed to become a raging inferno; but Reinsdorf's decision to hire Jerry Krause as Vice President of Basketball Operations was also pivotal. Reinsdorf and Krause had a vision of the style of basketball that they wanted the Bulls to emulate that was based on Reinsdorf's fascination with the great New York Knicks teams that won 2 NBA championships in 1970 and 1973. Krause also had a vision for the team based on his long career as a scout in the NBA that started with the Baltimore Bullets in 1961. It's been well documented that Krause's first hire when he got the Bulls job in 1985 was Fred "Tex" Winter, who Krause believed was an offensive genius who could be a mentor ("Coach of Coaches") to younger coaches and bring a system of play to the Bulls organization that would emphasize fundamentals, spacing, and ball and player movement that relied on all five players consistently being a part of the offense. That system of play which Tex called the "Triple Post Offense" would be rebranded by the media as the "Triangle Offense" and is one of the main reasons that the Bulls were able to dominate during the 1990s. Jerry Krause had a vision for the Chicago Bulls when he was hired in 1985 by Jerry Reinsdorf and he should be celebrated for being able to implement his vision into one of the legendary dynasties in sports history.
"Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character." That John Wooden saying is a pervasive theme in Chapter 8, "A Question of Character," in Phil Jackson's Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success, which is a book I highly recommend to those who want a deeper understanding of what they witnessed in "The Last Dance" documentary. The foundational principles of the Bulls scouting model, talent and character, are ensconced in Wooden's statement that details the secret sauce involved in winning consecutive championships. Obviously, NBA athletes must possess unique talent, physical tools and basketball skills (technical and tactical), but talent alone will not lead to winning basketball games or championships. You have to select high character individuals to become a part of your organization and that requires an organization doing their homework on individuals before drafting, trading or signing them as free agents to be a part of their team.
When most people think of character, they mean personal character but a wise scout must also look at basketball/competitive character. Sometimes you have to separate an athlete's personal character from their basketball/competitive character in making personnel decisions. In describing basketball/competitive character I like to quote Dean Smith's mission statement (Play Hard, Play Smart, Play Together) for his University of North Carolina teams on Playing Hard - "To play with effort, determination, and courage."
If one creates a culture with talented players who possess high character, both personal & basketball/competitive character, they'll have a chance to produce a team that can be competitively great. "Competitive Greatness" is John Wooden's final block in his Pyramid of Success philosophy and simply means, "being at your best when your best is needed." Simple concept to understand but always a challenge for players and coaches to fulfill when championships are on the line. The Bulls Championship teams of the 1990s repeatedly proved that they were up to the challenge of being competitively great by executing and making plays at critical junctures to win closely contested games that clinched many series. It's a testament to their competitive greatness and killer instinct that they only played in two game 7's during their six championships.
In Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success Phil Jackson highlights "the five stages of tribal development" from the book, Tribal Leadership, by Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright.
Stage 1: Life Sucks
Stage 2: My Life Sucks
Stage 3: I'm Great And You're Not
Stage 4: We're Great And They're Not
Stage 5: Life is Great
Jackson's goal in his first year as head coach of the Bulls in the 1989-90 season "was to transform the Bulls from a stage 3 team of lone warriors committed to their own individual success ('I'm great and you're not') to a stage 4 team in which the dedication to the WE overtakes the emphasis on the ME ('We're great and they're not')." Jackson felt he was able to eventually accomplish this with the first group of Bulls who were a part of the first 3-peat in 1991, 1992 & 1993 by creating a culture of "selflessness and mindful awareness." How did PJ do it? He "couldn't just rely on one or two innovative motivational techniques;" he "had to devise a multifaceted program that included the triangle offense but also incorporated the lessons" he "learned over the years about bonding people together and awakening the spirit." Dave Logan notes how special it is to move a group of individuals to Stage 4 in his Ted Talk on Tribal Leadership: "When individuals come together and find something that unites them that's greater than their individual competence, then something very important happens, the group gels. And it changes from a group of highly motivated but fairly individually-centric people into something larger; into a tribe that becomes aware of its own existence."
Dave Logan on Tribal Leadership
Jackson believes there were essential differences between the Bulls first and second 3-peat teams, besides the obvious, a major change in personnel built around the two pillars, Michael Jordan and Scotty Pippen, who were there for the First and the Last Dances. Jordan & Pippen's evolution as leaders, along with the continued growth in their games enabled Jackson to progress the Bulls '96, '97, '98 NBA Championship teams to the 5th level of tribal leadership that few tribes (2%) are ever able to attain,"Life is Great:"
"I'm often asked to reveal the secret of the 1995-96 Bulls, which some consider the greatest basketball team ever assembled...The simple answer would be that it was all about the superstars: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. But talent can only get you so far in this game...Another explanation might be the magic of the triangle offense. But even Tex Winter would admit that the triangle was only part of the answer...In truth, it was a confluence of forces that came together in the fall of 1995 to transform the Bulls into a new breed of championship team. From a tribal leadership perspective, the Bulls were moving from being a stage 4 team to a stage 5. The first series of championships transformed the Bulls from an 'I'm great, you're not' team to a 'we're great, they're not' team. But for the second series, the team adopted a broader 'Life is great' point of view. By midseason it became clear to me that it wasn't competition per se that was driving the team; it was simply the joy of the game itself. This dance was ours, and the only team that could compete against us was ourselves.... We had absolutely everything in place that we needed to fulfill our destiny - talent, leadership, attitude, and unity of purpose." Phil Jackson
JOY! There are a lot of words that I can use to describe Michael Jordan, but the one that best captures his essence is JOY. The JOY and the LOVE he has for the game of basketball. His style of play, dedication and commitment to excellence has brought joy and wonder to those who were inside or outside of his orbit when he was playing. That this joy of the game also manifested itself in the great Bulls' teams of the '90s is truly remarkable and is one of the main reasons that the Bulls' teams of that era are still a cultural phenomena that has and will stand the test of time.
John W. Gardner on History: "History never looks like history when you are living through it. It always looks confusing and messy, and it always feels uncomfortable." The one thing I know for certain is that I knew I was experiencing history when I was a member of the Bulls basketball operations department in the '90s. And yes, it could be confusing, messy, and uncomfortable but it was a truly rewarding and enriching experience to witness greatness unfold before your eyes on a daily basis.
LINKS TO MY "LAST DANCE" PODCAST SERIES HOSTED BY MIKE CLAIBORNE:
Well done, I am eager to have you on my show.
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