Celeb Twitter Reactions to Emotional Episodes 7 & 8 of The Last Dance

ABTV Celebrity Twitter On: Michael Jordan’s The Last Dance

Grab yourself some tissues for this one, folks! Episodes 7 and 8 of The Last Dance were definitely tear jerkers. Part four of ESPN’s docu-series over Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls covered from 1993 when Jordan decided to retire from basketball in order to take his shot in the MLB through the beginning of his second NBA Championship three-peat. 

The emotional aspect of these episodes centered around the death of Jordan’s father, as well as the toll Jordan’s leadership style had on his teammates. 

Episode 7 started off with Jordan discussing the impact his father, James, had on his life – viewers already saw a glimpse of this in earlier episodes as well. Jordan talked in depth about the pain he felt when his father disappeared before his body was found in a creek in August 1993. 

Sports broadcaster Vince Cellini recounted a time in 1989 when he interviewed James Jordan. 

The #LastDance is jogging my memory. In ‘89 I interviewed MJs father James Jordan in Cle and asked him if it was possible for anyone to stop his son. “Well I took his car keys once”. Did you stop him? “No, he got a ride”.

— Vince Cellini (@Vince_Cellini) May 6, 2020

In fact, for the first time viewers received the audio from this iconic shot after Jordan won the NBA Championship on Father’s Day in 1993. 

😢 This scene had us in tears. We have never heard the audio of MJ crying from this 24-year-old footage. #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/1fUbzGRZYa

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) May 11, 2020

And while many recognized the tremendous job his parents did, it was fitting that on Mother’s Day, viewers were able to witness the impact of his father – but Mother as well. 

“Just try to encourage your son or daughter, to be a good decent human being and work hard to achieve."

—Deloris Jordan to any parents who say they are going to have the next Michael Jordan #TheLastDance | #MothersDay pic.twitter.com/anKSXfeP3R

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 10, 2020

By the end of Episode 7, two things were certain. Michael Jordan is an emotional dude and we saw another example of what happens when MJ is motivated. 

In fact, director Jason Hehir told ESPN on Twitter, the things that illicit raw emotion from Michael Jordan come down to two categories: his family and his philosophy on how he lives his life. 

"I remember thinking … 'that is going to be a powerful moment in this documentary.'"#TheLastDance director @jasonmhehir talks about the riveting end to episode 7. pic.twitter.com/HVTlrrgQes

— ESPN (@espn) May 11, 2020

He went on to describe how during the filming of this episode he knew this would be a powerful moment of this documentary.   

As the episodes progressed, viewers were taken back to the day of Michael Jordan’s retirement in 1993. 

Lebron James chimed in by admittingly crying on that day, at just 9 years old. 

Definitely cried this day. 9 years of age. Just Couldn’t believe it

— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 11, 2020

So while James cried, other NBA stars took to Twitter to discuss MJ’s departure in a different light. 

Jamal Crawford really said it best. 

Could Y'all imagine if the best in any sportM just stopped and went and played another professional sport in their prime?! WOW!!!

— 🏁 Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) May 11, 2020

While Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kevin Love jokingly added that MJ’s idea of pressing the reset button was by relentlessly pursuing being the best at another major sport. 

MJ’s idea of pressing the reset button — just relentlessly pursue being the best at another major sport.

— Kevin Love (@kevinlove) May 11, 2020

Love also pointed out that MJ continued to get paid his full NBA salary while playing double A baseball. 

In the minors but still getting the bag 💰#TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/oIkfoC2Bv1

— ESPN (@espn) May 11, 2020

Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell, who’s No. 45 represents – in part – Jordan’s baseball career, was also reflecting MJ’s time as a dual-sport athlete. 

Would’ve loved to watch MJ practice and play baseball!

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) May 11, 2020

As the episodes progressed, viewers witnessed the harsh realities that came from being a teammate of Michael Jordan. We’d seen his rage against opponents, but now his competitive drive dribbled into practice too. 

Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett found humor in the situation, calling Jordan’s laugh similar to Heath Ledger’s Joker laugh. 

Jordan giving the heath ledger joker laugh to his teammates in practice 😂

— Myles Garrett ⚡️ (@MylesLGarrett) May 11, 2020

While many thought these scenes to be emotional, Philadelphia Eagles center, Lane Johnson, took them as motivating. 

Jordan's competitiveness is unreal! Got me wanting to go lace 'em up and head out to the field right now! 😤 #thelastdance #comebackfootball

— Lane Johnson (@LaneJohnson65) May 11, 2020

In fact, Golden State Warriors rookie Eric Paschall was amped to see the infamous practice fight with Jordan – a focal point of Episode 8. 

Coach Kerr was not having it!!!!!! 😂😂

— Eric Paschall (@epaschall) May 11, 2020

Rex Chapman also tweeted a wonderful reminder. 

Steve Kerr is a reminder that you can fight anybody for 3 seconds until the refs break you up. Except for Mike Tyson.

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) May 11, 2020

Isaiah Thomas – no, not the villain of the 90’s Bulls, but current NBA player – stated straight facts on twitter during Sunday night’s airing. 

He called out the generation of players for being scared to play MJ and how mentally they “already lost”. He referred to last week’s episode where viewers saw Charles Barkley win MVP, yet say he was fine with losing to MJ. 

Only thing I don’t like is how scared everybody was playing against em. Mentally they already lost because they not even thinking they can win. Barkley won MVP and said I’m fine with losing to MJ. If somebody said that these days they would get killed by media and everybody else

— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) May 11, 2020

Thomas’ final statement was it seemed players of the MJ era “quit before the ball went up” when it came to facing the superstar. 

I understand how dope MJ is and how he’s the best but mentally damn he killed them and physically it wasn’t a chance. All I’m saying is it seemed they quit before the ball went up

— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) May 11, 2020

And quite possibly one of the best parts of the docu-series is that Michael Jordan’s legacy of being prime meme material continues to flourish. 

Previously it was all about #cryingjordan, but now it’s definitely shifted to #ipadjordan. Jordan’s reaction to watching clips in the docu-series has been an odd focal point of the series. These tweets may not be from “celebrities”, but it was definitely the biggest talking point on twitter Sunday night. 

iPad MJ tho! #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/jsdZeER781

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 11, 2020

I could watch Michael Jordan reacting to iPad videos all day long #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/gPdveIXv6D

— Matt Sullivan (@msully_94) May 11, 2020

give us a full hour of Jordan watching other players talk about him on an iPad

— Jonathan (@jnthnwll) May 11, 2020

Still thinking about Michael Jordan laughing at anyone that appears on this iPad pic.twitter.com/3WfesahcGp

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 11, 2020

iPad MJ is the goat!! 😂

— Quincy Pondexter (@QuincyPondexter) May 11, 2020

"Don't mean a thing without the ring."#TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/yRuNBnwF02

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 11, 2020

The series wraps up Sunday, May 17th with the final two episodes airing at 9PM ET on ESPN and ESPN2. 

You can catch up on the series by watching on Netflix or Hulu. Additionally, tune in every Monday night to AfterBuzz TV’s The Last Dance after show at 10PM ET. 

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