ESPN moves up date for series on Michael Jordan's last season with the Bulls to April 19
Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls smiles while running up the court after scoring on Feb. 9, 1998. Credit: NEWSDAY -SAVE/J. Conrad Williams
ESPN announced on Tuesday that it will show its highly anticipated series about Michael Jordan's last season with the Bulls, "The Last Dance," starting on April 19 and running for five consecutive Sunday nights.
The series, featuring extensive behind-the-scenes footage shot by NBA Entertainment during the 1997-98 season, was to run in June around the NBA Finals. But many people in sports, including Lakers star LeBron James, had urged the network to move up the date to help fill the sports programming vacuum caused by COVID-19 precautions.
The notion of moving up the series began almost immediately after the NBA suspended its season on March 11. On March 17, ESPN programming executive Burke Magnus said, "I know some have asked about 'The Last Dance,' and the reality is that the production of that film has not yet been completed, so we are limited there at the moment. Obviously, you can't air it until it's done."
After the New York Post reported the imminent announcement on Monday night, James tweeted to his 45.7 million followers: "April 19th can't come fast enough. I CAN NOT WAIT!! Yessir! #LastDance"
ESPN said in a news release, "As society navigates this time without live sports, viewers are still looking to the sports world to escape and enjoy a collective experience. We’ve heard the calls from fans asking us to move up the release date for this series, and we’re happy to announce that we’ve been able to accelerate the production schedule to do just that.
"This project celebrates one of the greatest players and dynasties ever, and we hope it can serve as a unifying entertainment experience to fill the role that sports often play in our lives, telling a story that will captivate everyone, not just sports fans.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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