Plot Synopsis

Directed by Jason Hehir, THE LAST DANCE is a 10-part documentary series that chronicles Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls' quest for a sixth NBA Championship in 1998. In the fall of 1997, Michael Jordan, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, and head coach Phil Jackson agreed to let an NBA Entertainment film crew follow the team all season long, as the Bull began their quest to win a sixth NBA title in eight years. But "The Last Dance," as coach Phil Jackson called it, was shadowed by tension with the club's front office. As the series weaves its way through the tumultuous 1997-98 season, viewers are transported back to how it all began -- from Jordan's childhood roots, the Bulls' dire circumstances before his arrival and how the team was built after drafting him in 1984, to the struggles that eventually led to the team's first NBA championship. As the series takes the audience through the Bulls' first five championships, viewers experience the off-court challenges, struggles and triumphs that were a part of the culture-shifting phenomenon created by Jordan and the Bulls. THE LAST DANCE features extensive profiles of Jordan's key teammates including Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Steve Kerr, head coach Phil Jackson, and featuring dozens of current-day interviews with rivals and luminaries from basketball and beyond. All throughout, the tension and conflict that defined that final championship run are very much on display. THE LAST DANCE premiered on Sunday, April 19, 2020 from 9-11pm ET/6-8pm PT on ESPN, with a simulcast on ESPN2. ESPN continues to debut back-to-back new episodes from 9-11pm ET/6-8pm PT each Sunday thereafter, through May 17.
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On Sunday, May 17, 2020 from 9-11pm ET/6-8pm PT, ESPN debuted the final two episodes of the 10-episode series:

Part 9 (9pm ET/6pm PT): In 1998, a year after the Chicago Bulls defeated Utah in the NBA Finals, their path to a sixth title only gets more challenging as it goes along, as a brutal seven-game series against the Indiana Pacers decides the Eastern Conference.

Part 10 (9pm ET/6pm PT): In June of 1998, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls take on the Utah Jazz in an NBA Finals rematch, looking for a sixth championship and a perfect ending.

Two days later -- on Tuesday, May 19 -- ABC premiered "After the Dance With Stephen A. Smith: A SportsCenter Special" from 8-9pm ET/PT. ESPN host and NBA expert commentator Stephen A. Smith hosts the prime-time special, as he and a lineup of guests discuss their biggest takeaways from THE LAST DANCE. Guest include: THE VIEW moderator Whoopi Goldberg, NBA great Shaquille O'Neal, GOOD MORNING AMERICA co-anchor Robin Roberts, BLACK-ISH star Anthony Anderson, and NBA legend Earvin 'Magic' Johnson.