By The Numbers: How Michael Jordan and ‘The Last Dance’ Have DOMINATED Television

Michael Jordan returns to your TV screen Sunday night in the much-hyped documentary The Last Dance, airing on ESPN. The ten-part series was originally scheduled to air during the NBA Finals in June but was pushed up two months to fill the void in the sports calendar created by the coronavirus pandemic.

The series interweaves two timelines, the first being Jordan’s tenure with the Chicago Bulls after he was drafted in 1984. The second one is a deep dive into the 1997-98 season, which represented the team’s sixth title in eight years and the final Bulls season for Jordan and coach Phil Jackson. It was Jackson who labelled it the “last dance” during the preseason knowing the team was likely to be broken up. NBA Entertainment had an all-access pass to observe Jordan and the Bulls that year, and the footage sat on ice for two decades.

In a nod to his jersey number, here are 23 numbers to know about The Last Dance and MJ, on and off the court.

$0: The amount Jordan will bank from The Last Dance. He’s donating his entire share of the proceeds, which should reach at least $3 million to $4 million, to charitable causes.

2: ESPN is airing two versions of The Last Dance. The one on its flagship network will air with every curse word audible while the ESPN2 version will have the profanity edited out.

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