Netflix and ESPN to Produce Michael Jordan Documentary Series

His Airness is getting the 30-for-30 treatment. On Monday, ESPN announced that they will be teaming up to produce a documentary series on Michael Jordan, entitled “The Last Dance.” The production will have its official introduction on Tuesday at the upfronts for ESPN advertisers (I’m guessing the Ad guys will be sold).

The project will be a multi-part, 10-hour series, and while it is unclear how much of the content will focus on Jordan’s earlier years, the primary focus will be the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls Championship run, labeled by Bulls’ coach Phil Jackson at the time as “The Last Dance.”

The name comes from the fact that the ‘98 season was played with the full understanding that it would be the last in Chicago for both Jordan and Jackson. A combination of age, fatigue, and mutual loathing on the part of them and Bulls GM Jerry Krause had made it clear to all parties that it would be time to bring the run to an end, but not before the Bulls made one last run at securing an unprecedented third three-peat.

The Bulls were, of course, successful. Despite a regular season injury to Scottie Pippen, a grueling 7-game series against the Indiana Pacers, and a matchup against a Utah Jazz team with homecourt advantage, Chicago took the Finals series in dramatic fashion, behind Jordan’s iconic Game 6 performance.

Like the rest of the sporting world (unless your name’s Patrick Ewing), we love Michael Jordan and will doubtless set aside the time to check this series out. However, unlike the rest of the sporting world, some of us can remember when he arrived in Chapel Hill as skinny Mike Jordan from Wilmington. After that, well, the ceiling was the roof.