It must make Michael Jordan cringe a little when he saw footage of his almost maniacal obsession with winning at all costs on the basketball court. However, Jordan can justify this behavior because he was the winner. And he points out that only people who have won or achieved some level of success in their life will understand his behavior.
“When people see this they are going say, ‘Well, he wasn’t really a nice guy. He may have been a tyrant.’ Well, that’s you. Because you never won anything. I wanted to win, but I wanted them to win to be a part of that as well. Look, I don’t have to do this. I am only doing it because it is who I am. That’s how I played the game. That was my mentality. If you don’t want to play that way, don’t play that way”
I think Jordan’s rationale for his behavior is not for the viewers of the documentary, but for himself. I think this self-reflection didn’t start with “The Last Dance” but with the death of Kobe Bryant. This is just my opinion and pure speculation, but I think Jordan saw the admiration and love that Kobe received after his death and thought more about his legacy.
By no means am I alluding to or trying to apply that Jordan is selfish or is being jealous or resentful towards Kobe legacy. I just think that when Kobe died, Jordan started to analyze his legacy a little bit more closely.