“The Last Dance” docuseries provides a fresh insight into the Chicago Bulls' dynasty, as Michael Jordan was an open a book for his interviews, perhaps in ways he has never been.
Yet there are a few things he still wants to remain private, like his house in Jupiter, Florida. Jordan actually refused to do his interviews there:
“There are certain aspects of his life that he wants to keep private,” executive director Jason Hehir told Jason Guerrasio of Insider. “He just didn't want people to see all that. I respected that, so I never pushed back.”
ESPN filmed “The Last Dance” interviews with Jordan at three homes located near his own home. One of them was a rental and the two others are owned by Hehir's friends, who granted him permission to use them for filming. Hehir explained the choices:
“I looked for places that seemed like Michael might live in,” Hehir said. “I knew what his real house looked like and I knew this is a wealthy guy who has certain tastes, so we wanted something to match that.”
In some shots, Jordan can be seen in full cocktail-having, cigar-smoking glory, while others are more conservative shots that blend in with the story.
Jordan has been a relatively private man since retiring from the game for a third and final time in 2003, despite owning several businesses, including the Charlotte Hornets. While it's impossible for such a recognizable face to achieve anonymity, Jordan is a hard-to-reach icon in today's game. He even kept an extremely low profile at the NBA's All-Star Weekend in Chicago this past February.
Filming “The Last Dance” outside of MJ's actual house is a small concession Hehir and the filmmakers had to make in exchange for his candid thoughts, a trade they definitely won in the end.
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