LeBron’s last dance? Filmmakers of iconic series Michael Jordan follow James, 38, and the Lakers this season, spending ‘a ton of time’ with ‘The King’
- LeBron James prepares for Western Conference Finals against Denver Nuggets
- This season, he became the all-time leading scorer in NBA history.
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In the weeks to come, LeBron James’ place in basketball history is going to be discussed again as the Lakers star goes for a fifth NBA title. But off the pitch, ‘The King’ is already building a legacy to rival Michael Jordan.
Lakers radio analyst John Ireland has made the fascinating revelation that the filmmakers of The Last Dance – the iconic series about Jordan’s sixth and final Chicago Bulls title – have been working with James this season.
‘I hope I’m not talking about school here, Andy Thompson, the guy who shot The Last Dance, younger brother of Mychal Thompson, who worked for the NBA for 30 years, spent a ton of time with us this year,” Ireland said on Horrible announcement podcastst.
“So if LeBron ever wanted to go that route, I think Andy just stores it up so he has it and has the opportunity to tell the story.
LeBron James could have a ‘Last Dance’ style streak on his current Lakers season
James, 38, is battling with the Lakers for what would be his fifth NBA career title
“If we’re going on a magical run to the title, Andy, who was the driving force behind The Last Dance, most of the stuff you’ve seen in those 10 episodes was shot by Andy Thompson.
“And Andy is a smart guy, he’s already working on, potentially, a story about LeBron’s run ending like he had one for Jordan’s run ending.”
The Lakers are preparing for the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets — Game 1 is Tuesday night — but for their current success, the regular season was far from impressive for the team.
They finished seventh in the Western Conference and at times even looked doubtful of making the playoffs. But it’s still a season that would make for engrossing viewing, especially given the subplots surrounding James.
In February, he became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with 38 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He needed 36 to eclipse Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s tally of 38,387.
The match was stopped for 10 minutes to celebrate James’ achievement and came at a time when the 38-year-old was battling an ankle problem.
In the playoffs, James was targeted by Dillon Brooks during the Memphis Grizzlies, with Brooks calling James “old” and getting kicked out in Game 2 for hitting him in the groin.
But the Lakers won the series in six games, setting up a showdown with Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
James became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer this season, in February
Jordan won six NBA titles and his last with the Bulls has since made an iconic TV series
The Lakers also won it in six, with attention now turning to the Nuggets and Luka Jokic.
One caveat to the footage from this season is that James is unlikely to retire at the end, regardless of how successful the Lakers are. He previously highlighted a desire to play in the NBA with his 18-year-old son Bronny.
Ireland also said Thompson was filming Kobe Bryant in the years before his death, but doesn’t know what will happen with that footage.
“The good news is, if you’re a basketball fan, all of these images exist,” Ireland said. “Whether it ever comes out and they know what to do with it is another story.”
