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And there was Thompson, tagging along for the ride as a field producer.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
How did the project come to be?
Andy Thompson:I first met Michael when I produced a feature on him withNBA Inside Stuffhost Ahmad Rashad.
Michael said, No.
Ahmad said, Thats Mychal Thompsons brother.
Jordan said he wrote my brothers name on his school textbooks.
He said, Mychal Thompson is my favorite player.
And she said, I dont care who Mychal Thompson is, your name is Michael Jordan.
Write it the right way!
So our bond started with his respect for my brother.
And ever since that day, through all the Bulls championship years, we would get tighter.
Jordan is a famously reticent interview subject.
Did your closeness with him prove to be a benefit from a production standpoint?
Andy Thompson:Gregg knew I had a good relationship with Michael.
And he just did not know.
It was night and day, when compared to what we were usually doing.
How did you begin negotiating access to Jordan and the Bulls?
In the meeting, I said, Adam, Michael Jordan might retire on your watch.
I didnt even use the word documentary.
I simply said, We just need to get it in the can.
Adam said, I think we should go for it.
I have a relationship with the Bulls ownership group.
Ill make a call.
Thats where the conversation started.
And here we are.
We were not going to get cameras into practices, into locker rooms, without Phils blessing.
Once Phil and Jordan said yes, we had sealed the deal for access for the season.
Were your cameras ever seen as an additional distraction from the ultimate goal of winning a sixth championship?
I remember during the Bulls first West Coast trip, in Phoenix, we werent given access to practice.
We had to come in later with the regular media.
Andy Thompson:It happened maybe a month later.
Our boom microphone was right over them when we were shooting and he didnt care.
I finally felt like,Okay, I think were in a good space now.
That was really important, because if you get Michael onboard, then everybody else falls in line.
I knew Scottie Pippen was hurt.
He had hurt his back in a previous game, and he was questionable for Game 6 in Utah.
Michael was always gregarious pregame.
He was always talking crap.
He was always doing something to joke with the security guards.
He was loud and boisterous.
There isnt a trainer working on him.
He is just lying there.
I look at Michael Winik, and I say, Mike, you gotta shoot that.
So Mike Winik shoots it.
Jordan did not move.
In the corner, Pippen is getting worked on by the trainers.
And then Phil turns and walks back out of the locker room.
So you capture all of this incredible footage over many months and then you shelve it.
Why did it take 22 years for an audience to see this film?
So the 500 hours went under lock and key in the vaults of the various offices of NBA Entertainment.
Over the years, various projects and opportunities came up.
The lions share of NBA Entertainment projects were shot on standard-definition video.
Had you been thinking all along that the season-long shoot might be a future preservation effort?
Gregg Winik:At the time, Betacam video was the industry standard.
We said, We have to shoot this on film.
It will preserve better over time.
Andy Thompson:We have one of the few documents of Michael Jordan in HD.
People rarely shot Michael on film, except for his commercials andSpace Jam.
So almost everything that youve seen before this project is all standard definition.
So for maybe the first time, youre seeing Michael in HD.
What was the film transfer process like?
Gregg Winik:Very, very scary!
Luckily not one of the 3,200 reels was lost through the last 22 years.
When you see this stuff, it just looks spectacular.
NBA Entertainments vintage Jordan and Bulls championship home videos are compelling, mostly as time capsules.
Do you think those two modes of storytelling are at odds?
And Andy, along with my brothers Michael and Peter and others, documented those momentswhen they were happening.
So this is not just any other sports documentary with people looking back in time.
This article has been updated with new original photos, courtesy of Gregg Winik.
