Warriors legend Chris Mullin got to see the Chicago Bulls’ dynastic run through the 1990s featured recently in ESPN’s “The Last Dance” up close and in person, as he was a member of the Indiana Pacers during that 1997-98 season chronicled in the show.
Mullin was discussing the documentary on the radio last week, and explained how looking back at Michael Jordan and the rest of that Bulls team shapes the perspective around the Warriors after a five-year run with some similarities to those Chicago teams.
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“I think it puts into context how great this last five-year period the Warriors have been on,” Mullin said to KNBR on Thursday. “That’s a hard thing to endure man, and the way they did it, they did it with some grace and some class and some dignity.
"I know [Warriors coach] Steve [Kerr] didn’t let the cameras in, but I think as years go by, we’re gonna look back and go ‘man, that Warriors team of the last five years was a special, special time here in the Bay Area.’ ”
“The Last Dance” gave an inside look at the tensions that surrounded the final season with Jordan, coach Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman in Chicago. The Warriors never had anything like Bulls general manager Jerry Krause saying that even if Chicago went 82-0 that year, Jackson wouldn’t be retained as the head coach.
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Golden State Warriors
The team managed to keep just about all internal drama from leaking to the media, and for the most part said very little to cause division within the team.
While most of the country still harbors those feelings of resentment toward the Warriors and the organization’s sudden rise to the top of the sport, Golden State’s run of three championships in five years never will be forgotten by the fans who watched each and every game in the Bay Area.