:03:08
After Michael Jordan's final season,
:03:10
the NBA gave him yet another
Most Valuable Player Award,
:03:14
and said the reason is simple.
:03:16
"After 13 seasons,
you still go out every night...
:03:20
and play like Michael Jordan.
:03:28
When Jordan would go out
for the spotlight introduction,
:03:31
he would look up into the stands
and he would realize...
:03:34
that there was at least
someone up there that night...
:03:36
who had never seen him before,
who would never see him again.
:03:39
And this would be the one
Michael Jordan moment...
:03:43
they ever had.
:03:45
And he would say he was playing
for those people there.
:03:50
We had a six-game road trip,
three cities in four nights.
:03:52
Michael had had some spasms
in his lower back.
:03:55
And we literally had to, you know...
:03:56
carry him off the bus,
off the plane to the bus...
:04:00
from the bus to the hotel.
:04:03
You know, it amazed me...
:04:06
He went out
and got 40 points that night.
:04:08
This is the kind of player he was.
He wanted everybody...
:04:10
to see his special skill.
:04:12
And he didn't want people
that loved basketball...
:04:14
not to have that opportunity.
:04:16
When the playoffs began,
:04:18
in his heart Michael already knew...
:04:20
that these would be his last games.
:04:22
But this would be
no nostalgic farewell tour.
:04:25
He was determined to go out
on his own terms...
:04:29
as a champion.
:04:36
The Bulls' first-round opponents
were the New Jersey Nets...
:04:40
young and full of hope.
:04:42
Michael was dominant.
:04:56
It was a three-game sweep,
:04:58
built on mental toughness
as much as physical talent.