'The Last Dance': Here's what happened in the dome Warners Bros built for Michael Jordan during 'Space Jam'
Spoilers for 'The Last Dance' Episode 8
It was August 1995. Michael Jordan was back from retirement and it wasn't a fairytale run as Orlando Magic trumped the Bulls. It didn't help Jordan that his body had adapted to baseball training and that had an impact when he made a comeback. There was a need to reconstruct the body and at the same time, Jordan was also starring in 'Space Jam'. 'The Last Dance' gives an exclusive look at the space Jordan was provided to train, hit the iron, and also film 'Space Jam'.
While it was not an easy task to film through the day and follow it up with intense training, Jordan did so and he had his unique way of doing it. He invited other NBA stars for scrimmage games and there were no less intense than the ones played officially. For Jordan, this was a chance to get back to fighting shape and he did so by upping the intensity of his gameplay and his training after the White Sox stint. Part of some of those games was Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers.
"I don’t know how he did it,” Miller recounts the day. "How he filmed all day and still had the energy to play for three hours. We would play until like 9 or 10 at night, and he would still have to get weightlifting in. And then his call time was at like 6 or 7 in the morning. This dude was like a vampire, for real."
As far as 'Space Jam' goes, the movie is a cult-classic. It provides a fictional take of what happened between Jordan's initial retirement from the NBA in 1993 and his return in 1995, in which he is enlisted by the Looney Tunes to help them win their freedom in a basketball match against the Monstars. The latter is working for Mr Swackhammer, the ruthless owner of the intergalactic amusement park, Moron Mountain, who seeks to capture the Looney Tunes as his newest attractions.
What are your thoughts on 'The Last Dance' Episode 8?
'The Last Dance' airs on Sundays at 9 pm ET on ESPN.