The Last Dance dropped in 2020 and, like many things in that turbulent year, it left behind a lingering bitterness. The documentary on the Chicago Bulls dynasty was told from a Michael Jordan lens. It included most of the franchise’s legends like Scottie Pippen which resulted in a whole other drama. But one Bulls star was conspicuous by his absence. It led to a different row as this player was nothing short of a phenomenon himself.
Luc Longley is the first Australian to play in the NBA. He went on to win three NBA championships with the Bulls alongside Michael Jordan. He now reveals how fans brought back his glory days that were omitted from The Last Dance.
Luc Longley is grateful for fans
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The first Australian in the NBA, Luc Longley was part of the Chicago Bulls from 1994 to 1998. During that time, he won his three championship titles alongside Michael Jordan. Despite this, the NBA star from down under had next to no presence on Netflix’s The Last Dance.
This was unacceptable to fans. They made their displeasure vocal and demanded why a significant member of the roster was excluded. Longley too immediately expressed his disappointment at being left out. This subject immediately came up when Luc Longley discussed his career with ESPN Australia. In that conversation, the Aussie saw a silver lining. This incident made him see how much the fans still love him.
He first admitted that The Last Dance was “legit” in detailing how Michael Jordan was the driving force behind the dynasty. He’d go on to say, “The thing that really made me feel great about my legacy, as you call it, was when the Last Dance came out and I wasn’t involved that the Australian public had an uproar.”
This same public would continue to hype Longley and buy his jerseys, “Those are the people that cared about it that connected with their being an Australian in the NBA. Not only Australian in the NBA but an Australian winning three championships.”
The Last Dance proved that fans today still care about these NBA stars from the ’80s and ’90s.
As Longley speaks, he seems to have not realized the impact he made on NBA fans until the documentary came out. But he will be getting his due credit soon.
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MJ acknowledged Longley
After Longley revealed his dejection, Michael Jordan was quick to make things right. His Airness expressed his regret for leaving Longley out of the show and went on to praise his skills.
Jordan doubled down to say that Longley should’ve been in the documentary. But apparently, it would’ve strained the budget to send a filming crew to Western Australia where Longley currently spends time post-retirement.
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Longley has been humble about his role in the championship win. However, he is no longer snubbed. A documentary titled, Foundation, centered around Longley is coming soon. It contains a lot of footage that was used in The Last Dance but this time from the lens of the first Australian player in the league.
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