If you have not yet jumped aboard “The Last Dance” series, shame on you. This ESPN documentary gives an eye-opening account of end of the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty. We’ve been brought into a world that was previously unseen by the public eye. The education received from this behind-the-scenes expose has been nothing short of thrilling. I’ve often found myself thinking, “Wow. I had no idea”. This is a sentiment that I’m quite sure can be shared by all who have taken part in this journey to uncover the secrets of perhaps one of the greatest teams to step onto an NBA court.
We’ve been privy to topics such as the tumultuous relationship between former GM Jerry Krause with former players and coaches alike. Another topic that has been explored was the strained relationship between Scottie Pippen, the organization, and Michael due to his contract dispute. However, one specific story that has drawn the most attention as of late was former rebound king, Dennis Rodman, and his impromptu hiatus from the team for 48 hours. Just like the previously mentioned scenarios, it was something a lot of us knew nothing about.
Apparently, Dennis Rodman hit a wall and took it upon himself to take a break. After pleading with then head coach Phil Jackson at great length, he was granted the request. The only stipulation was that he had to return within 48 hours. In addition, he had to be ready to go back to business as usual immediately upon his return. So, off Dennis went to Las Vegas for an exotic weekend that would include a meeting with Carmen Electra. Many of us knew of this encounter due to the media publicizing it at great length. That, in itself, is another story. As expected, Rodman missed his imposed curfew, forcing teammate Michael Jordan to embark on a retrieval mission. “He didn’t come back on time. We had to go get his ass out of bed,” Jordan said in the documentary. This is something that we quite humorously learned. It wasn’t just the general public who was new to this information. Dennis Rodman’s son, DJ, first learned of this illustrious fiasco from “The Last Dance” as well.
DJ Rodman, a former star at JSerra Catholic High School, just completed his freshman season with the Washington State Cougars. He saw action, although in a limited role, in 26 games this past season. During an Instagram Live session, DJ publicly spoke of what he saw during the latest episode. He made mention that a lot of the stories discussed were something he did know about. However, the “Vegas” situation is something he knew nothing of and found it to be quite entertaining. “I knew about everything else but not that. I didn’t know that you could do that. I didn’t know that you could go up to your coach and be like, ‘Hey, I need a vacation,” DJ said during his live session.
It’s quite hilarious if you think about it. Imagine finding out your dad had to be hunted down by none other than Michael Jordan, only to be discovered in a Vegas hotel room with Carmen Electra. This instance is just one of the many reasons that we’ve eagerly tuned in each week to ESPN. If what we’ve learned thus far has this much entertainment value, we can’t wait to see what’s next. However, we will have to wait until next Sunday, at least.