I started playing basketball in the early/mid 90's, around about the same time that channel 4 started bringing it to the UK in a way that was much more accessible. Although I was a Knicks fan, I watched a lot of Bulls games and, like everyone, knew Jordan and what he could do. The Last Dance tap into that well, bringing a sense of nostalgia and familiar summed up into one place in a tidy and tight documentary series. The focus on that final season of the Bulls makes for a good frame that it jumps around within; at times it is a little messy in the way it skips around, but mostly it does it in a clear way that makes sense.
The basketball action is supported very well by the behind-the-scenes access from the time, and the talking-head contributions from today are very well chosen, and focus on the right people for the majority of time. It tells an interesting story and does so in a well-paced way that has drama and impact. The downside of it is that, as it plays out, you realise how much of it does seem slanted towards giving Jordan more credit than perhaps he deserves. Perhaps knowing this, the series does let the 'Jordan as an a**hole' aspect come through but it is careful and quick to allow it to be explained away and moved past. In this sense the show falls short of being a pure documentary into the man or the team, but it does remain an engaging and entertaining recap on a great basketball player who was the lead figure in one of the greatest teams of the era.