MJ on Pressure of Being Jordan: They Don't 'Quite Understand That It's No Fun'
May 4, 2020
Think twice the next time you say you want to be like Mike.
Michael Jordan acknowledged the pressures associated with being him during ESPN's airing of The Last Dance on Sunday night:
"This is not one of those lifestyles that you envy," Jordan said.
The Last Dance is a 10-part documentary series re-examining Jordan's and the Chicago Bulls' 1997-98 season, which resulted in the franchise's sixth and final championship in the Jordan era.
Jordan's widespread fame was immediate once he arrived as the Bulls' third overall pick in the 1984 NBA draft, but it grew dramatically still after Chicago captured its first NBA championship in 1991.
The fifth and sixth episodes on Sunday night explored Jordan's appeal skyrocketing through his Nike partnership, as well as the negative public attention he garnered through gambling:
Jordan announced his second retirement from the NBA following the 1998 NBA Finals, in which the Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz 4-2. The 57-year-old Hall of Famer returned for two seasons with the Washington Wizards from 2001-03 before retiring for good.