The Last Dance Aftershow

On the final B-side of the Last Dance Aftershow, Sam and David are joined by former Bulls player and coach, Bill Cartwright, and media critic and writer, Bryan Curtis (The Ringer, The Press Box). Bill and the guys discuss player awareness of their circumstances, honoring contracts, who he modeled his game after, his perspective on the Pippen injury, misconceptions from the documentary, the power of the “Triangle,”the mindset of the ’94 Bulls, coaching the Worm and much more. Then they talk with Bryan about the double standard of Jordan. the pandemic effect on the documentary, Last Dance misfires, where do we go from here, random Luc Longley stories and more. Finally, the guys give their closing thoughts.

On the A-side of The Last Dance Aftershow, David and Sam are joined by Heidi Gardner (Saturday Night Live, Life of the Party) and Morgan Murphy (Modern Family, Roseanne, The Comedians of Comedy) to discuss Jordan’s “sociopathy,” Utah food poisoning conspiracies, how the Bulls would have survived in the age of social media, questionable music and fashion choices, the magnetism of Steve Kerr, Jerry Krause finally getting some love, sports life in a post “Last Dance” world and more. 

As we enter the home-stretch of The Last Dance, we called on some of our favorite working documentarians: Steve James (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters) and Bill & Turner Ross (Contemporary Color, Western). Each devout basketball fans, the three filmmakers share how their own personal histories entwine with Michael Jordan and the Bulls.

Plus– we discuss Jordan's complicated relationship with Chicago, the nuts and bolts of making a modern documentary, the power struggle between subject and filmmaker, and the future of the format, especially in the age of the Netflix multi-episode docuseries.

On the A-side of The Last Dance Aftershow, David and Sam are joined by the director of The Last Dance, Jason Hehir, as well as professor and writer, Dr. Todd Boyd. Jason and the guys discuss making the documentary in the time of COVID, Jerry Krause’s portrayal, gaining the trust of Jordan, the absence of Jordan’s ex-wife in the movie and what he learned from making the documentary. Then, Dr. Boyd discusses the process of becoming an interview subject for the documentary, his reaction to the Harvey Gantt situation, the difference of politics and race between black and white athletes, Jason Whitlock’s criticism of black athletes, his history with the Association, the Bulls vs. Rockets and more. 

On the B-side of The Last Dance Aftershow, Sam and David call up Pulitzer Prize winning writer and critic-at-large for the New York Times, Wesley Morris! They talk about Jordan’s tepid endorsement of Harvey Gantt, the infamous Republicans buy sneakers, too line, who the NBA mustache GOAT is, Jordan and Spike Lee’s relationship, nostalgia for Adrian Lyne pictures, and the future of sports movies. Plus- Wesley reveals which athlete would make for the next great actor. 

And this week, if you can, please consider making a donation to Food Bank for New York City: https://secure3.convio.net/fbnyc/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app322b?df_id=9716&mfc_pref=T&9716.donation=form1&commas=yes&s_src=lb&_ga=2.50961193.1477130832.1588842794-2023616953.1588842794&NONCE_TOKEN=E32BE497181B1CED55A2A4E2779F17C3

Sam and David sit down with famed sportswriter Sam Smith (The Chicago Tribune, NBA.com) to go behind-the-scenes of episodes 5 and 6 of The Last Dance documentary. They talk about his decades-long relationship with Jordan and the Bulls as a beat reporter; the mixed reception around the release of The Jordan Rules; Horace Grant's role in his reporting; why MJ, Scottie and Phil couldn't get Jerry Krause fired, and more.

Plus- Sam makes the case for why the Bulls won exactly as many title as they probably could have.

On the B-side of The Last Dance Aftershow, David and Sam are joined by Oscar winning producer/writer/director Adam McKay (Vice, The Big Short, Anchorman, Step Brothers). They talk about Jordan's quest for greatness, watching high school ball in Chicago, lost SNL sketches written for Shaq, a Colin Quinn/Chris Mullin story, the parallels between Christian Bale and MJ. Plus- Adam shares his love for Metta World Peace, Ja Morant, and modern basketball.

On the A-side of the Last Dance Aftershow, David and Sam call up filmmaker and writer Davy Rothbart (This American Life, 17 Blocks, FOUND Magazine) and comedian Brian Moses (Host of Comedy Central's Roast Battle). They break down the Bad Boys, The Worm's Vegas vacation, "The Shot", Phil Jackson's coaching philosophies, and more. Plus- Davy shares his rather interesting connection to the Bulls and the city of Chicago at the end of Jordan's run.

On the B-side of The Last Dance Aftershow, David and Sam call up two very funny people: Carl Tart (The Flagrant OnES) and Daniel Van Kirk (Dumb People Town, Pen Pals). Together they break down the Jordan v. LeBron debate, Pippen's contention with Bulls upper management, the cocaine circus in Peoria, and Jordan's win-by-any-means mentality. Plus– Carl shares a war story from his days of playing Varsity ball.

On this week's A-Side, Sam and David (0:30) give their initial reactions to episodes 1 and 2 of The Last Dance before calling up legendary sportswriter Bob Ryan (23:44). Ryan began covering sports for The Boston Globe back in 1969. He's also a frequent ESPN contributor on shows like Around the Horn and PTI. As a beat-reporter for the Boston Celtics, he was witness to Jordan's entry into the NBA, his quick ascendency, and the infamous 63-point playoff game against Larry Bird in the Garden.

B-side with Carl Tart and Dan van Kirk drops Thursday!