For over a year, ESPN has been teasing The Last Dance, a massive 10-part documentary about the final season of Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls dynasty in 1997-98. The series is said to feature hours of previously unseen footage documenting the last of the Bulls' six titles, which everyone knew at the time would be the last run for the Jordan-Scottie Pippen-Dennis Rodman trio coached by Phil Jackson.

The Last Dance was originally slated for a June release. But in the wake of virtually all sports throughout the world being shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, ESPN came through in a major way, pushing the premiere of the documentary up to April 19, with two episodes running per week through May 17. It's the most anticipated, and ambitious, sports documentary to come out since O.J.: Made in America.

Producing a new documentary about Michael Jordan in 2020 is a little like attempting to retell the story of The Beatles. The degree of difficulty in finding something fresh in the source material that hasn't already been done to death is very high. But this behind-the-scenes footage, filmed by NBA Entertainment during the 1997-98 season, has been sitting in a vault, unused, for two decades while producers tried and failed to find a director and convince Jordan to participate. The director who ultimately signed on, Jason Hehir, has done some great work for ESPN in the past, most notably on the Fab Five.

With the premiere of The Last Dance less than three weeks away, Bleacher Report's resident Bulls experts, Sean Highkin and Will Gottlieb, discuss what they're most hoping to see, and learn, from the series.

Just how big were the '90s Bulls?

It's been 22 years since Jordan won his last championship, and he remains one of the most important figures in the sport. The Jumpman logo is still nearly as popular as the NBA logo. His shoes are a cultural staple two decades after his retirement. His legacy transcended time and sport and lives on in a way that no other athlete's has. If Jordan is still this important, getting a better sense of what he was during the peak of his fame will only add to his legend as it is now understood.

Jordan's brand was greater than being the greatest basketball player of all time. In his book Playing for Keeps, David Halberstam cites a quote by Harry Edwards, a sociology professor at University of California Berkeley, that Jordan represented, "the highest level of human achievement, on the level of Gandhi, Einstein or Michelangelo." He was something everyone needed to see, regardless of their interest in sports. He was an artist who saved the game of basketball.

When superstars of the 1990s like Jerry Seinfeld and Oprah Winfrey—both of whom appear in the trailers—are lining up to talk about how big a spectacle someone else was, it's a pretty good indicator of just how big that someone was. Putting into context the global impact of Jordan's Bulls should help us understand the history of the NBA and how it rose to its current level. It should also add to the myth and mystique of Jordan's career. — Gottlieb

Was Jordan as brutal to his teammates in the Bulls' practices as legend suggests?

Many of Jordan's teammates over the years, including Steve Kerr and Will Perdue, have legendary stories about being bullied, physically and verbally, by Jordan in practices and team meetings. It's one of the more problematic parts of his legacy, even though his uncompromising mentality contributed to his greatness.

The NBA Entertainment crew that filmed the 1997-98 season captured everything. How much of that unfiltered, uncensored practice footage is there? And how much of it will be included in The Last Dance? — Highkin

How did Jordan motivate himself at that point of his career?

The stories about Jordan's maniacal competitive nature are well-covered. But within the context of where they were in their story arc, it's incredible to think that Jordan's competitiveness matched, perhaps even exceeded, his skill level. And let's not forget that his skill level is the highest the game of basketball has ever seen.

At that point in his career, there was nothing left for Jordan to prove. He had won five championships. He had four MVPs. He was 34 years old and the consensus greatest athlete of all time. He hadn't been beaten down or had to overcome a seemingly insurmountable challenge in almost a decade. And yet, with all the drama and fanfare surrounding this team, Jordan's will, determination and competitive edge carried the Bulls. He added another title, MVP and Finals MVP to his trophy case.

In 1997-98, Jordan was only competing against himself. We know about his insatiable desire to win and the rage that inspired that competitive streak. But how was that rage still burning at that point in his career? — Gottlieb

The second three-peat's only real playoff adversity

The Bulls never faced any serious playoff challengers during the first two years of the second three-peat. They lost a total of seven games combined in the 1996 and 1997 playoffs, including the Finals, and didn't play a single series longer than six games.

That wasn't the case in 1998, as they were taken to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals by a formidable Indiana Pacers team. Reggie Miller defended Jordan better than anybody else on the planet, and all but one game in the series was decided by single digits. The Bulls advanced to the Finals after winning Game 7 at home by a score of 88-83 behind a 28-point, nine-rebound, eight-assist performance from Jordan before beating the Utah Jazz in six games in the Finals.

It's not hard to imagine a world in which the Bulls lost that series—that Pacers team was good, featuring Miller, Mark Jackson and Chris Mullin. It should be expected that The Last Dance will go into depth about just how worried Jordan and the Bulls were about losing that series, a rare moment of vulnerability during an otherwise dominant run. — Highkin

Jordan's relationship to Kobe Bryant

In the wake of Kobe Bryant's tragic and untimely passing, Jordan's eulogy served as a powerful reminder of the relationship between the mentor and protege. Like much of the world in the '90s, Jordan was Bryant's favorite player. Jordan was notoriously hard on young players who thought they could take his throne, but he saw himself in Bryant. Over their few overlapping years, Bryant had himself become a carbon copy, taking hold of his mantle and capturing the imagination of another generation of basketball players. Jordan respected that. As Jordan waned out of the league, it gave him solace to know that there was a bridge between his NBA and the next.

As a featured interviewee in the trailer for The Last Dance, Bryant will undoubtedly share some of his lasting thoughts about his relationship with Jordan. How Jordan challenged and motivated and inspired and molded Bryant, allowing the young star to reach his potential. How he could successfully become for today's players what Jordan was for him. 

Jordan's eulogy provided some context into their relationship, and hopefully, Bryant's words about Jordan can reciprocate that and offer another layer to his memory. — Gottlieb

How did Scottie Pippen's unhappiness impact the team?

Pippen cemented his place in NBA history as Jordan's running mate for all six championships, but his time with the Bulls was far from perfect, and by the end of their run, he clearly wanted out. Pippen was laughably underpaid throughout his entire tenure with the Bulls, never earning more than $3.425 million in a season even as player salaries exploded in the 1990s. There was also his infamous refusal to take the floor for the final possession of a playoff game against the New York Knicks in 1994, during Jordan's brief retirement, because Jackson drew up the final play for Toni Kukoc and not him.

He was almost traded on draft night in 1997. Longtime Bulls general manager Jerry Krause was in love with high school phenom Tracy McGrady and was determined to move up high enough to take him, even if it meant giving up Pippen. Krause relented after Jordan threatened to retire if he went through with the deal.

Pippen missed ten weeks of the 1997-98 season with a toe injury, after he put off surgery during the offseason. Following the 1998 lockout, in the wake of Jordan's retirement and Jackson's departure, he left Chicago for Houston as a free agent, finally getting paid what he was worth.

Pippen (rightly) felt undervalued throughout his final season with the Bulls, just one of many variables up in the air along with the uncertain futures of Jordan and Jackson. Hopefully, The Last Dance sheds some light on just how deep Pippen's unhappiness ran and how that manifested itself during the year. — Highkin

What was the season like for Phil Jackson?

It's a good thing Phil Jackson was known as the Zen Master because the 1997-1998 Bulls season was nothing short of chaos.

This was going to be Jackson's last season with the team. Michael Jordan had said that he wouldn't play for another coach. So the two pillars of the most important dynasty in the history of sports already had a foot out the door. Scottie Pippen was publicly asking to be traded and beefing with Dennis Rodman. Toni Kukoc was always a squeaky wheel about his role and playing time, and Jordan was always giving him fits. Jordan's frustration with the inadequate start to the year was causing him to lash out on younger players like Luc Longley, who was becoming more vocal about his distaste for the criticism they were receiving. There was even drama between Jordan and GM Jerry Krause.

In short, the Bulls were crumbling. Somehow, through Jackson's ability to juggle all of these moving parts, the Bulls completed their second three-peat and won their sixth championship. Getting a chance to hear from the Bulls' legendary coach about what he was going through, what levers he pulled and whose buttons he pushed to keep this teetering Jenga tower from collapsing will be a fascinating overarching storyline of the Bulls' final title season. — Gottlieb

Will the contentious relationship between Jordan and Jerry Krause be on display?

Jordan never fully trusted Krause, despite his undeniable track record building six championship teams in Chicago. Their disagreements date back to the mid-1980s, when the organization wouldn't allow Jordan to return from a broken foot in 1985. Jordan also resented Krause's decision to trade his close friend, Charles Oakley, to the Knicks for Bill Cartwright in 1988, and never fully forgave him for it.

The animosity continued for years between Jordan and Krause, who died in 2017 at the age of 77. Jordan and his teammates often derisively referred to the general manager as "Crumbs." Krause's desire to trade Pippen for McGrady in 1997 infuriated Jordan, as did various contract negotiations for Pippen and himself over the years. Krause long believed he could build a championship team without the greatest player and coach of all time, a notion Jordan and Jackson found ridiculous.

Their rocky relationship has been documented in dozens of books (the two seminal Jordan books are Sam Smith's The Jordan Rules and David Halberstam's Playing for Keeps), but I want to know how much of it was caught on camera during the especially contentious 1997-98 season. — Highkin

How will we look at Jordan's legacy after this documentary?

The Bulls' 72-win regular-season record has been broken. LeBron James went to eight straight Finals. The game has evolved. There is more talent in the league than ever before. Jordan was, without question, the greatest of his time.

Steve Kerr's commentary will be one of the most interesting in this documentary series. He was the coach of the 2015-16 73-win Warriors and faced James in the Finals four straight years. He was also one of Jordan's teammates on three championship teams, including the 1995-96 72-win Bulls team. He has the rare experience as a part of both historical landmarks and may have the most reputable analysis on the teams, eras and top players. 

It took almost 20 years before the collective basketball universe began to question whether Jordan remains the greatest basketball player of all time. Even if his reign were over (narrator: It's not), that's a pretty long stay on top. It will be interesting to see if this documentary tips the scales in one way or another. — Gottlieb

How reflective (or petty) is Jordan in 2020?

One of the biggest selling points for The Last Dance will undoubtedly be Jordan's participation, which took years to make happen. He rarely gives interviews these days, but when he does, they're usually worth the wait. His last extended interview before this was with ESPN The Magazine's Wright Thompson in 2013, and that profile found him uncommonly introspective and vulnerable as he wrestled with his post-playing existence.

On the other hand, anyone who's seen his infamous Hall of Fame induction speech in 2009 knows Jordan will never turn down a chance to settle scores and correct slights, even ones that exist only in his mind. Given the fraught nature of the season The Last Dance is documenting, it will be fascinating to see which version of Jordan shows up for his first substantial public interview in seven years. — Highkin