5 of Michael Jordan’s teammates who deserve their own documentaries

Casual sports fans can be forgiven for referring to The Last Dance as "that Michael Jordan documentary." After all, MJ appeared in every episode of the critically acclaimed 10-part series and accounted for nearly half of all the interviews.

Director Jason Hehir did a commendable job of documenting Jordan’s career, but the five-time MVP isn’t the only one with a compelling story to tell. Here are five of Jordan’s teammates who deserve their own feature-length documentaries.

Steve Kerr

The Last Dance deserves credit for examining Steve Kerr’s underdog story and delving into the heartbreaking assignation of his father. However, there’s still so much more to explore.

Following his tenure with the Bulls, Kerr went on to win two more championships with the San Antonio Spurs before making a seamless transition into coaching. In his five full seasons on the bench in Golden State, Kerr has secured the best single-season record in league history and has led the Warriors to five Western Conference Championships and three NBA titles. Yes, he’s benefitted from a surplus of talent, but he’s also an underrated tactician and phenomenal motivator with a knack for building deep relationships with his players. His 12 minutes of airtime on The Last Dance were illuminating, but viewers deserve to see more of him in an expanded format.

Craig Hodges

Jason Hehir interviewed 106 people for The Last Dance, but Craig Hodges was not one of them, despite the fact he won a pair of NBA championships with MJ. The reason for Hodges’ exclusion is simple: Jordan despises him.

Hodges famously called out Jordan in 1992 for his failure to speak up about human rights violations. He believed his more famous teammate had an obligation to use his celebrity for good, and was disappointed that Jordan seemed more concerned with financial gain rather than social justice. Hodges’ comments made him something of a pariah, and he was waived by the Bulls at the end of the season.

Hodges later filed a $40 million lawsuit against the NBA for his perceived blackballing. His quest for redemption, as well as his civil rights crusades, would make for fascinating viewing.

Dennis Rodman

It seems almost criminal that Dennis Rodman only received six minutes of airtime in The Last Dance. That’s nearly a full minute less than journalist David Aldridge, and we’re pretty sure Aldridge never wore a wedding gown to a book signing.

Although we’d enjoy learning more about Rodman’s basketball odyssey, we’re far more intrigued by his off-the-court antics. We’d pay good money to get the dirt on his relationships with Jeannie Buss, Madonna, and Carmen Electra, or to hear some stories about the making of Double Team, his hilariously unwatchable action flick co-starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Toss in some footage of Rodman kicking a cameraman in the crotch and a story or two about his trips to North Korea, and you have the makings of a can’t-miss documentary.

Bison Dele

You’re likely not alone if you don’t remember Bison Dele. The center formally known as Brian Williams only played nine regular season games for the 1996-97 Bulls before becoming a key part of Chicago’s rotation during the playoffs.

The real reason a documentary about Dele would be worth watching is because of his grisly demise. The Arizona product was an avid mariner who set off on a journey to sail the Seven Seas along with his girlfriend, Serena Karlan, his brother, Miles Dabord, and the ship’s skipper, Bertrand Saldo, in July 2002.

Three days after setting sail, Dele and Dabord got into a heated argument and Karlan was killed when she tried to intervene. Dele then killed Saldo when he threatened to report the incident to authorities. Dabord and Dele continued to argue, and Dabord allegedly killed his brother in self defense and then dumped the bodies overboard.

The story made international news, but it still raises more questions than answers. A thoroughly researched documentary could help to shed light on Dele’s enigmatic life and his terrifying final hours.

Kwame Brown

The Last Dance documented Jordan’s motivational approach extensively by showing the way he would mercilessly ride his teammates. His often acerbic techniques worked well in Chicago, where the Bulls won six championships in eight years, but they proved disastrous in Washington, where Jordan’s younger teammates were used to being coddled.

No one suffered more than Kwame Brown, whom MJ drafted first overall in 2001 during his brief tenure as team president. The former high school star simply wasn’t ready for the rigors of the NBA and Jordan eroded his confidence on a daily basis with his constant bullying.

It’s time to hear Brown’s side of the story, and to see what insights we can gleam from Jordan’s final two seasons in the league.

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