The Last Dance – Part II The Seven Year Struggle

The Last Dance – Part II The Seven Year Struggle

“A guy that was totally focused on one thing and one thing only”

The Last Dance is simply an education. There are so many lessons and messages to take from it. It's a great watch too. Here’s a few of the significant elements which stuck out to me in this weeks episodes. 

The Seven Year struggle

Success doesn't happen overnight. It takes time. 

It’s been great to see the journey of Jordan this Bulls team. I guess the key has been the evolution of Jordan in that time. The addition of pieces and coaching around him to facilitate and support his sublime talent certainly pushed him and the team to new levels. The key focus of this article centres around mentality and coaching. Let’s start with mentality. 

Mentality 

Making others better 

There was criticism aimed at Jordan for being a great player, but not being a winner. Yes he got scoring records, individual accolades and superstar status, but the Bulls hadn’t won. 

There was no doubt that he was a great player. That he had the mentality. But was that enough for a team to win? 

The story of training sessions being manipulated to make it harder for Jordan. His desire to always overcome the odds. "Stack the deck against me. I'll still win." I just love this! How many players do you know that complain at the first sign of adversity or frustration? If a ref makes a bad call, if the teams feel uneven. Instead of pushing themselves to be even better they quit and moan. That’s why manipulating practice and antagonising good players can bring out even more in them. As Doug Collins said, the best players want to be pushed.

What Jordan’s mentality did achieve was it brought the out best in Scottie Pippen – Jordan’s mentality to be the best every single day motivated and inspired Pippen to be better and more focused. Jordan constantly was pushing him to be better. This is the sign of a great teammate. A driver to take others beyond their current levels. To support and push them further than they could go themselves. Jordan drove himself - which is what makes him so great. Being around Jordan every day brought out the best in the team. 

From challenger to winner

Winning is a journey. Very few teams or individuals will be immediate winners, if yet winners at all, why? Because it takes time and energy. It takes time to develop the chemistry in a group of individuals, to develop a cohesion and belief. It also requires the right coaching and approach, yet it also requires perseverance, being able to deal with adversity and overcoming setbacks. 

The Pistons were the Bulls nemesis to overcome. They had become the champions of the NBA and the Bulls couldn’t overcome them. They were tough, physical and dominant. They were bullies. And they embraced and loved this. So it took heartache, defeat and disappointment to get to a stage where the Bulls needed to go the next level. 

Becoming the best, rising to the top, this isn’t easy. It’s why not everyone becomes a champion. And overcoming a champion is a part of the journey. They are champions for a reason. It takes resolve, belief and character. The key is to keep going. Keep working hard. Persevering. And as one rise, one falls. The Bulls were continually knocked down and lost to the Pistons yet when they eventually got past them – there was no looking back. They just needed to overcome their nemesis. And when they did. Well a dynasty was born. 

So what got them over the hill? Experience, a fury and maturity as a team.

The fury 

When you get bullied time and time again you can choose to quit and walk away or fight back. They decided that they wouldn’t react to the bully tactics anymore, they wouldn’t complain, or show weakness. They didn’t want to give the bullies anything. And with this they overcame a team who approached games to intimidate and put fear into their opponents. “Don’t whine” – as soon as they know they’ve got you – it’s over”

A key element of the Bulls success was that after their loss to the Pistons they didn’t take time off. “After that game, instead of us going on vacation, we showed up and started working out.” The Bulls got stronger, they focused on their strength and conditioning and became bigger and stronger. Jordan who was a skinny guy who put on muscle and the whole team became more focused and driven from this approach. This wasn’t just about physical development but mental toughness and a desire to be the best. 

They went into their next season with an intensity and purpose to win. And they had worked harder than anyone else on their fitness and strength to come back better and stronger. This was the mentality of champions. Setbacks hadn’t knocked them back, it had given them more purpose and determination. 

Having a goal and being relentless, each and every day to achieve, doing the extras, preparing as well as possible, it makes champions. 

In Phil Jackson’s fantastic book Sacred Hoops he makes the point that “The teams with the greatest dedication, desire and single-minded efforts, ends up winning." It’s pretty clear that this was the case for the Bulls in their first championship winning season. 

Their overcoming of the Lakers was relatively easy after they had tamed the beast. A great lesson however was about overcoming a loss. Even though they lost at home in Game 1 they knew they hadn’t played well and could still have won. They didn’t throw in the towel or lose their belief, but used that loss to convince themselves that they could do it. And they won four in a row and won the title. 

Don’t quit even when behind, stay together and believe in yourselves. 

Emotions

The seven year struggle was evident in the celebrations and it’s an emotional moment. With his dad, teammates and staff Jordan released his emotion after all those hard years getting to this point. The struggle, adversity, disappointments and constant training and work which had gone in to get to the top. His emotions were a surprise to those around him. I loved this from Will Purdue on seeing Jordan in that moment. 

“That’s who we knew, the competitive Michael Jordan,

The win at all costs Michael Jordan

Sometimes we’d question if he was human,

Whether he had feelings,

A guy that was totally focused on one thing and one thing only.

The only thing emotion we’d ever seen out of him was anger and frustration.

We were literally stunned to see those emotions”

Absolutely love this! It’s the character of a winner. And the desire to be a champion. A relentless desire and drive to be the best. Every day! His teammates didn’t know anything but this mentality from him. It’s truly phenomenal! I love the word relentless and this guy was it. And he got to the top. He had finally achieved it. 

He'd overcome the doubters, the bullies and the questions. He was there. The best player. Now a Champion. No wonder he was emotional. And what’s even better about him? He wasn’t going to stop there. And that’s what so great about him. They became a dynasty.

Coaching

In that final game against the Lakers to win the title the lesson about trusting teammates shown through when Jordan in the 4^th quarter, after some guiding words from Phil Jackson started passing to pass to John Paxton who just downed buckets and brought home the Championship. Jordan saw what Phil Jackson was demanding of him and the team all this time; trust and belief in each other. 

The philosophy of trusting each other – having belief in the members of the team. This was Jackson’s beliefs and what he knew would make this team champions. Along with the triangle offense this philosophy delivered 11 championships in the 90’s and 00’s with the Bulls and Lakers. And it’s fair to say that it worked. And importantly it took great players and made them great teams too. 

The Journey 

I think it’s important to see the importance of time and the journey in this story. It wasn’t an immediate success. It took time and change. But the argument is that it built the foundations in all areas in order to not just be a success but a dynasty. And that’s what Jerry Krause should be commended. He made shrewd decisions in terms of coaching and saw the importance of Tex Winter and the triangle offense. He deserves credit for what happened in Chicago. 

As for Jordan, it seems a perfect journey, the development of him as an individual, as a leader and then the trust in his team. Some things feel designed and fate, Jordan’s time at the Bulls felt like it. 

I have a belief that an athlete or student is provided the right type of coach or teacher at the right time in their development. A young Jordan was provided with the coaching of Doug Collins, who was perfect for Jordan in his path to the top.  Collins had the energy and enthusiasm which a young team on the rise needed. He pushed them to new levels. And importantly he brought the best out in Jordan. 

He embraced Jordan and made the team about him. He gave him the ball and put the expectation of responsibility on his shoulders. And what did he get from it? Jordan became the league’s best attacker, best defender and overall MVP. Collins embraced Jordan and asked more from him. He took him from very good to great. It the type of coaching and environment which Jordan needed. 

I often believe that this is what youth development should be about more; developing exceptional individuals. And as they develop and mature, they develop a greater understanding and appreciation of the team. Sometimes however a ‘team concept’ is put on individuals leading to a reduction in the individual. So instead of developing greatness, you get a good team with good players, but no great ones. 

Collins tested Jordan in training, stacked the odds against him, antagonised him, frustrated him. But all with the purpose of getting more from Jordan each day. As he says; “The greatest respect you can give a winner is to coach them and coach them hard.”

Collins got Jordan to the top as an individual. But the Bulls needed a new approach to make the team a success. The journey continued, the evolution of a team and its progression through the levels. Jerry Krause saw the need for a change. He brought in Collins and this helped Jordan, yet he felt that Tex Winter’s ideas and Phil Jackson’s coaching leadership would propel the team to the top. And he was right. Ruthless yes. But he saw the vision and made the decisions. All the pieces were fitting in place to be a great team. It needed Jackson to teach and educate them on basketball and on teamwork in order to become the very best. 

Time and Patience

“Doug Collins approach was catered to Michael. Phil's approach was more catered to the team."  That was Scottie Pippen, who like others excelled further under Jackson’s philosophy. The triangle offense brought out the best in Pippen because he was provided more opportunity to do more than just facilitate Jordan. 

The first title win came in line with two seasons under Jackson, it wasn’t just an easy take over and win, it took time to develop an understanding, patience to develop a real knowledge of the offense and importantly time to develop trust. Time and patience. 

Allied with the improved strength and conditioning program and the Bulls were fitter, stronger, more determined and more intelligent as a team. As is evidenced in the trust in Paxman in their winning game against the Lakers. Simply it was about finding the open man. Not just find Jordan, but trust in the team to find the best option to score. 

If you haven’t read Sacred Hoops I would highly recommend it. The best sports book I’ve read. It fits in with my beliefs on teamwork and togetherness, of the importance of yoga not just in flexibility and core strength but in meditation and being composed and focused. Jackson’s belief in Zen buddism and native American philosophies added new elements to a team who were continually evolving. A team revolved around Jordan was now a team led by Jordan. There’s a difference there. It was a team who focused and playing as one. 

One of the best examples of Jackson’s coaching style and why he was so good is his relationship with Rodman. Perhaps they were kindred spirits. And it was destined they would work together and succeed. The key is that Jackson understood and appreciated Rodman for he was. Not who he wanted him to be. A problem many coaches have. They seek to change players or at least get them to conform. He learnt with Rodman to change how he coached him in order to bring the best out of him. How many coaches think like this? This quote from Rodman sums it up;

"He don't look at me as a basketball player, he looks at me as a great friend."

The Triangle Offense

The triangle offense under Jackson has been responsible for 11 championships with the Bulls and Lakers. It could well be about the great players on those teams, or that it was about Jackson’s coaching, or perhaps it’s the best system for a great team to be effective. It could be all these elements intertwined. The importance of the triangle is that it is about spacing and decision making. Of a structured process of movement and interchange of positions which allows for creating and exploiting space. And is about the players decision making based on the options ahead of them. Everyone involved and playing a part. Importantly it requires high intelligence and key fundamentals. Coaching and great (intelligent) players are required. 

When I see and read about the triangle offense it reminds of Pep Guardiola’s philosophy, a structured framework moving the ball exploiting time and space to find a free man or overload parts of the pitch. It trusts each member of the team who needs excellent technical ability. Players who are multi-functional. And it requires rotation of positions and fluidity. It is what I see as the basis of universality. Universal players who have a strong skill-set where they can interchange and rotate to exploit space and create a fluid attacking game. 

The criticism of this style, for a player like Jordan especially, is that it appears to be taking away from the best. This was a way of playing that was different to just giving Jordan the ball. It required all the team being involved and Jordan being trusting of his teammates. So their style wasn’t overly predictable and a team couldn't just over defend and dominate Jordan and take away all attacking options. In a similar way to when Barcelona started to become too reliant on Messi and lacked other weapons in order to provide Messi more space or to exploit space which a defence focused on stopping Messi provided. More attacking weapons and less reliance on just one player can exploit a defence by creating and exploiting more space. The key is trust in others. 

As Jordan developed this the team became great. The philosophy of Jackson took them from contenders to champions.

Jordan’s evolution can be seen in his changed mentality. Instead of focusing on him being the best scorer etc, he focused on making your teammates better. He demanded a lot from them as he knew that no individual is going to be the team. He finally embraced Jackson and Winter’s belief that “I don’t have to have the ball in my hands all the time”. 

The Maverick

As a final focus of this weeks reflection let’s look at Rodman.

“We got on so well because we wanted to win. We wanted to win a championship.”

Rodman was seen as a gamble and risk when signed, but he was an excellent basketball player, a little strange and eccentric perhaps but in joining the Bulls with a strong leadership group in Jordan and Pippen he would be able to be a positive addition. Rodman excelled; in this environment, with great players and a calm and composed coach, it helped him greatly. 

This is a good example of why teams need strong characters and leaders in the team, and that is can’t always be the coach to be this individual. Look at Arsenal at their peak and the kind of characters they had in their team. It made it a lot easier for Wenger to manage them. I recently watched a video of Mourinho talking about the importance of leaders in a team, how it helps the coach who doesn’t have to be the ‘leader’ but can be the coach of the team. Without these individuals it becomes harder for a manager/coach. 

Jackson had leaders who could set the tone and expectations in Jordan and Pippen. Meaning he could focus on coaching the team, not maintaining disciplining in it. The players set the level and expectation. This is what coaches should desire. This element often is not mentioned enough and why the best teams will most often have excellent leaders in their team. 

The idea of the maverick is such a good discussion to have. Perhaps befitting of a more comprehensive focus. The key however is that if you embrace a maverick, you can unlock things in a team which a safe or steady player cannot do. He may pose more problems or difficulties, but he can also be incredible and offer something special which a team needs. I often think of Maradona or Cantona at Man Utd - that special talent, eccentric, but majestic. A different type of individual to deal with - a test for your coaching ability and temperament, but if you get it right - a player who can be the difference. Some coaches won't want to go near a maverick, that's a shame. Mavericks should always be a part of sports - without them you lose that special something which entertains as well as succeeds. 

Rodman was a maverick. And he can also be argued to be the best defensive player ever in the game. He was a defensive genius. It wasn’t luck or fortune that allowed him to be an excellent rebounder. He worked on his game and mastered it. He studied the game, opposition players and practiced to learn where shots would fall on rebounds. He learnt to be the best at his craft. 

These elements of Rodman often go unsaid because of the focus on him as an individual. But as a player and student of the game, more should be written and commended. A man who embraced his strengths, was fantastic at what he did, honed his craft and was able to adapt. The Pistons were an all out defensive bully who dominated their opponents. The Bulls needed Rodman’s defensive quality and energy but also needed Rodman to be adaptable to succeed in the triangle. His basketball IQ and intelligence allowed him to thrive for two Championship sides playing a different type of basketball. 

The Bulls once again made a shrewd signing to add to their team, more evolution of their team and adding more pieces to a great organisation. A story of evolution, process and pieces being added to add and improve continually. What a story. What a lesson. 

And we are only 4 episodes in. While I’ve read a lot about Jackson and the Bulls/Lakers this has been such a beautiful documentary so far. So many lessons to take and learn from. 

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