The Portland Trail Blazers can find their key to championship success within worldwide phenomenon “The Last Dance” that highlights the Bulls’ mental toughness.
The Portland Trail Blazers can learn a lot from ESPN’s 10-part docuseries “The Last Dance” about the 1990s Chicago Bulls. The most important lesson for the Blazers, though, is that mental fortitude wins championships and talent wins games.
More from Rip City Project
- Blazers News: Portland signs FIBA WC standout center
- Blazers News: Portland re-signing failed lottery pick
- 8 Do-overs the Portland Trail Blazers Wish They Had During Last Decade
- Portland Trail Blazers NBA 2K24 team, player ratings
- Woj: Blazers, Lillard ‘fully prepared’ for star to be with team in training camp
Michael Jordan is often considered the greatest NBA player in the history of the game. On May 13, ESPN completed its list of the 74 greatest NBA players of all time and ranked Jordan No. 1.
However, the best player of all time does not mean the most skilled. Basketball analysts and former players say that there are past and present players that are as talented or more talented than Jordan.
Retired NBA player Kendrick Perkins recently tweeted his five most skilled players in NBA history. He included Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Kobe Bryant as the most skilled over Jordan. Perkins said Bryant mimicked Jordan’s game but added more to it with his footwork and post moves. Former NBA player Chauncey Billups also said Bryant was the most skilled player of all time.
Damian Lillard often receives praise for his talent. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and coach Gregg Popovich have complimented Lillard’s game. Bryant said Lillard was “serious” in his rookie season.
"“He’s not afraid of anything,” Bryant said in a postgame interview. “He’s got the whole package—the three-ball, the midrange and getting to the rim.”"
Lillard’s fearlessness helped the Blazers win many playoff series but not a trip to the NBA Finals. In the last three years, the Blazers’ have been swept when eliminated—twice by the Golden State Warriors.
In the 2019 NBA Playoffs, the Portland Trail Blazers didn’t win a game against the Warriors but held a lead of 17 points or more in the final three games of the series. They had an opportunity to defeat the Warriors but did not.
Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers are talented, but have yet to develop the mental fortitude to elevate to championship level basketball.
Jordan’s mental toughness—not his talent—separated him as the greatest. In “The Last Dance”, Jordan said that he had to “win at all costs”. He often used slights—sometimes fake ones—to motivate him to play great.
The docuseries also showed Jordan tried to instill in his teammates his desire to win. They were not as talented as Jordan but became mentally tough and learned how to win with their minds.
"“He was pushing us all to be better,” former Bulls player Bill Wennington said in Episode 7. “And guess what? It worked.”"
The 1990s Bulls won six championships and never lost in the Finals. There were players that were as talented as Jordan that played in his era like Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley and Karl Malone but did not have the same mental fortitude. The Bulls played many tough, close playoff series against talented teams but they won because of their smart play and psychological grit.
The Blazers can win championships. They have a talented roster, a good coach and an intrepid leader. But they must learn to play better with their minds and develop a collective mental toughness to win more than a few playoff series.