Here’s everything you need to know about the first two parts of “The Last Dance,” the 10-part docuseries on Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls.

The 1997-98 Chicago Bulls were a team at a crossroads.
Michael Jordan & Co. were coming off their second straight championship and fifth in seven years but there were questions about whether this group could run it back and win another.
And that’s where “The Last Dance” begins. The much-anticipated 10-part docuseries premiered with the first two episodes on Sunday night, and the entire internet seemed to come together to watch the behind-the-scenes look at the final year of the Chicago Bulls dynasty, starting from the very beginning.
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I hope all those who believe LeBron is better than Michael Jordan are watching this documentary … and these highlights. Lord have mercy. Never been anything like the one and only 23.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 20, 2020
My name is Michael Jordan and I played with the Bulls…The least necessary intro on the planet.#TheLastDance
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) April 20, 2020
The opening scenes of Part 1 focused on the challenges facing the Bulls heading into that final season, particularly the prospect of a rebuild and the disconnect between the players, namely Jordan, and general manager Jerry Krause.
How Jerry Krause was looking at MJ pic.twitter.com/U79nnfoSuJ
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) April 20, 2020
Space Jam makes more sense when you realize that Jerry Krause looks like Mr Swackhammer pic.twitter.com/gepu7hB3wk
— Charles J. Moore (@charles270) April 20, 2020
Wouldve been FASCINATING if Jerry Krause was alive to defend himself.
— Mike Prada. I have spoken (@MikePradaNBA) April 20, 2020
Biggest takeaway from Episode 1: Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf had the audacity to recently say that all the Bulls players except Michael were nearing the end of their careers and that it was time after 1998 to rebuild. WHAT?!?! I WAS THERE. THAT TEAM WOULD’VE WON TWO MORE.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 20, 2020
From there, “The Last Dance” turned back the clock to the early 80s, just before Jordan joined the organization a time when, according to Bulls owner Jerry Reisndorf, the team was being outdrawn by an indoor soccer squad.
At the same time, Jordan was blossoming into a true basketball star at the University of North Carolina. He didn’t join the Tar Heels fully formed; instead, as his coaches and teammates recalled, he soaked up everything he could like a sponge, vowing to become the best player in UNC history:
HOFer James Worthy on when MJ joined UNC: “I was better than he was … for about 2 weeks.” pic.twitter.com/Ks4gl30vyE
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 20, 2020
“Michael Jordan is the only player that could ever turn it on and off, and he never frickin’ turned it off.” – Roy Williams
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) April 20, 2020
… and, of course, it was mission accomplished on that front. Jordan hit the game winner to seal UNC’s 1982 championship as a freshman, and only got better from there before declaring for the 1984 NBA Draft.
“That gave me the confidence I needed to start to excel at the game of basketball.” – Jordan#TheLastDancepic.twitter.com/s4WZHb8Q9l
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 20, 2020
Dean Smith telling Michael Jordan to go pro because thats what was best for him, instead of telling him to stay which would have been best for Dean Smith.
Thats a coach you want to play for.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) April 20, 2020
And now the Jordan brand sponsors Georgetown. The man can’t catch a break #TheLastDancehttps://t.co/ktMq4lqeVw
— Victoria (@AVocalistsRival) April 20, 2020
When Jordan left Chapel Hill, he entered a whole new world not just as an NBA player. As Jordan tells it in “The Last Dance,” the Bulls teams of his early career were notorious for recreational drug use, particularly cocaine, something Jordan wanted no part of.
pic.twitter.com/JhThvGQ4Uf
— 3030 (@jose3030) April 20, 2020
Both culturally and on the court, Jordan made an immediate impact as a rookie. By his third game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Jordan was already showing glimpses of the legend he would become, helping lead the Bulls back from a nine-point third quarter deficit against a team that previously had Chicago’s number:
1984 TV graphics. pic.twitter.com/DRFrQUNsQo
— – (@TheNoLookPass) April 20, 2020
Imagine the NBA if MJ had just been … ordinary? #TheLastDancepic.twitter.com/pCISyJKjgZ
— ESPN (@espn) April 20, 2020
Magic Johnson saying Jordan was good because of “his balance, his footwork, his fundamentals” is the most Magic Johnson quote possible
— Charlotte Wilder (@TheWilderThings) April 20, 2020
By the end of that rookie season, Jordan’s skill was already capturing the attention of his future rivals and future Presidents:
“It was like he had an extra levitation gear or something. It just didn’t seem real.” – Isiah Thomas #TheLastDancepic.twitter.com/CrCo7ux3YU
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 20, 2020
Jordan’s Bulls were an exclusive show pic.twitter.com/BOPyWEJEhs
— ESPN (@espn) April 20, 2020
Michael Jordan as a rookie:
28.2 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 5.9 APGNBA All-StarRookie of the Year#TheLastDancepic.twitter.com/KvV6RV4MCE
— NBA (@NBA) April 20, 2020
(And as an aside, the internet loved how President Obama was introduced on the broadcast…)
Former Chicago resident! pic.twitter.com/ehBfxuYwRl
— David Gardner (@byDavidGardner) April 20, 2020
man this is so good hahahah pic.twitter.com/Pu9lzgMiZN
— kelly cohen (@ByKellyCohen) April 20, 2020
From 1985, “The Last Dance” flashed forward back to 1997, as the Bulls took part in an exhibition tour in Paris ahead of the season. Jordan dominated, giving an international audience exactly what it wanted … but when Chicago came home, it was time to get down to business.
According to the documentary, Phil Jackson had a tradition of naming a theme for each season. And for 1997-98, that theme was, well, “The Last Dance.” The team knew this was their last hurrah together, which made winning a sixth championship all the more important.
pic.twitter.com/Sjm6WlnM0F
— Caitlin (@saxetniniltiac) April 20, 2020
Appropriately, then, Part 1 ended with the Bulls receiving their 1997 championship rings and turning the page to their final year … all with that iconic music playing, naturally.
*Sirius by The Alan Parsons Project plays*
Everyone: pic.twitter.com/401EsiZw3y
— SportsNation (@SportsNation) April 20, 2020
I just panicked that it was over and remembered we had another episode and felt like I lost and then found my wallet
— Charlotte Wilder (@TheWilderThings) April 20, 2020
Fortunately, we moved right on to Part 2, which shifted its lens from Jordan to the man who perhaps most helped MJ get to the pinnacle: Scottie Pippen.
In Jordan’s own words, “I didn’t win without Scottie Pippen. That’s why I consider him my best teammate of all time.”
Scottie Pippen was the 122nd-highest-paid player in the NBA in ’97-98, but was easily one of the best players in the league. #TheLastDancepic.twitter.com/CcJ132Nbb8
— ESPN (@espn) April 20, 2020