'The Last Dance' concludes Sunday: Michael Jordan rare underdog in final Bulls game

The coronavirus pandemic wiped out live professional sports in this country until just recently (UFC is back, NASCAR returning Sunday), and ESPN made the brilliant decision to move up "the Last Dance" documentary on Michael Jordan's final 1997-98 season with the Chicago Bulls to help fill the void – it originally was going to start airing in June around the NBA Finals.

The doc has drawn record-setting ratings for the network and been a talking point in the sports world for weeks. Alas, the 10-part series concludes with the final two episodes Sunday night.

Of course, Jordan's Bulls won three straight NBA titles before his first retirement (to go play baseball) and then three in a row again after he returned. According to ESPN, in those six championship seasons the Bulls went a combined 320-281-7 against the spread (53.2%), including 63-52-1 in the playoffs (54.8%).

At one point from November 1995 to June 1997, the Bulls were favored in 185 consecutive games (they were 97-87-1 ATS). That's obviously a record by far for any US professional team sport. Chicago was an underdog in 60 games total during those title seasons.

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Yet, the Bulls were barely favored to win Jordan's sixth title, opening at -115 to win the 1998 Finals against the Utah Jazz, who were +105. Utah had home-court advantage for those Finals, and the Bulls were not a very good regular-season ATS team that year in going 39-41-2 (48.8% cover rate).

That -115 moneyline number was easily the shortest the Bulls were favored in any of their NBA Finals appearances. Part of that was Utah having home court and part that Chicago nearly lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers.

Miller has said on "the Last Dance" he still thinks the Pacers were the better team. The Bulls were taken to a Game 7 just twice in their six championship seasons (also 1992 vs. Knicks) and never in the NBA Finals.

The Bulls were underdogs in all three games in Utah in the '98 Finals, including +2 in Game 6 on June 14, 1998. We all know what happened: Down 86-85, Jordan hit perhaps the most picturesque jumper in NBA history with five seconds left (after maybe pushing off on Byron Russell) for an 87-86 lead. That was MJ's final shot as a Chicago Bull – the Jazz still had time to win and force Game 7, but John Stockton missed a three-pointer with one second to go. 

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