The Last Dance details the career of the man who led the Chicago Bulls to six titles in the 1990s, with editions three and four of the 10-part saga telecast last weekend.
In all, 6.1 million people watched the opening episodes in the United States, making the documentary ESPN's most-watched original program since it began producing such shows 16 years ago.
The success looks likely to spark similar projects.
Kobe Bryant, a five-time champion with the Los Angeles Lakers who died in a January helicopter crash, had a camera crew follow him around during his final NBA season in 2016, and that footage could go into a Bryant documentary.ESPN has aired talk shows about the documentary after The Last Dance telecasts, with the latest episodes on Jordan's hatred of the Detroit Pistons leading to interviews with former Detroit star Isiah Thomas - notably on the Pistons snubbing the Bulls for post-game handshakes when Chicago swept the defending champions out of the 1991 playoffs.
"I hated them," Jordan said in the fourth chapter of the documentary. "And that hate carries even to this day."Thomas was not a member of the 1992 Barcelona US Olympic gold medal "Dream Team" - an NBA lineup featuring Jordan. And Thomas said he hoped the handshake snub was not the reason he didn't make it, saying: "If [I was] not part of the Dream Team for that lapse of emotion - for not shaking somebody's hand - then I'm more disappointed today than I was back then."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
