Michael Jordan explains why he took time out of his busy schedule to be in Luc Longley’s documentary: ‘He matters to me, his story needs to be told’

NBA icon Michael Jordan took time out of his busy schedule to be in Luc Longley‘s documentary, which came out in 2021. 

Jordan told Australian Story executive producer Caitlin Shea that Longley “matters to him.”

“He matters to me,” Jordan said. “He does matter to me. And his story needs to be told. … We went through the trenches. We shared a lot. We competed together. And I would take him any day of the week if I had to go through a competition again. If you asked me to do it all over again, there’s no way I’d leave Luc Longley off my team, no way possible because he mattered. He had an impact on me. He helped me change as a person.”

Longley and Jordan were teammates on the Chicago Bulls from 1995-96 to 1997-98. They won three straight championships together. 

The Bulls beat the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA Finals and the Utah Jazz in the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals.

Jordan averaged 29.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists from 1995-96 to 1997-98, while Longley put up 9.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. 

Jordan once refused to pass the ball to Longley despite the natural flow of the offense dictating that the pass be made to him.

Bulls head coach Phil Jackson called a timeout and advised Jordan to pass to Longley. However, Jordan didn’t listen to Jackson.

Former Bulls big man Bill Wennington wrote an autobiography, “Tales From the Bulls Hardwood,” back in 2004. In the book, Wennington talked about the game where Jordan didn’t pass the ball to Longley despite Longley being open.

When Jackson called timeout and instructed Jordan to give the ball to Longley, Jordan declined because Longley missed two of his earlier passes. 

At a meeting in practice the next day, Jackson once again told Jordan to pass the ball to Longley when the offense’s triggers and actions needed it. Longley and Jordan had an interesting chat at practice that day. 

“Michael,” Wennington recalls Longley saying, via Chicago sports historian Jack M. Silverstein of Substack. “I am trying my hardest.” When Jordan heard Longley say that, he said, “Luc, you are not. You are not catching the ball. If I pass you the ball, you have to catch the ball.”

Jordan was a demanding teammate. He expected perfection from everyone, coaches included. He’s why he had so much success in the NBA. 

Jordan won five MVPs, one Defensive Player of the Year Award, six championships, six Finals MVPs, three steals titles and 10 scoring titles with the Bulls, who went 6-0 in the NBA Finals in the MJ era. 

Jordan was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009. He finished his NBA career with averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.8 blocks in 1,072 games with the Bulls and Washington Wizards.