:26:00
But in the end,
fresher legs prevailed.
:26:04
The previous year,
although Utah had lost,
:26:07
they had proven to themselves...
:26:08
that they could play with the Bulls.
:26:10
and then they win game one.
:26:12
I thought Utah was going
to be the N.B.A. champions.
:26:17
When eveybody, in some ways,
didn't expect me to win,
:26:20
and the odds
are stacked against you.
:26:22
And for once in your life,
you are the underdog...
:26:26
You know,
that was beautiful for me.
:26:28
When he needed it most,
Michael didn't find comfor...
:26:32
in the championship banners
he helped raise.
:26:34
But rather strength...
:26:36
from the seven years
of defeat that came before.
:26:39
That was a long road.
:26:42
It kept me in the gym in the
summer, working on my skills...
:26:45
tying to be
the best basketball player
I could become.
:26:49
But at the same time,
:26:50
to show players who were
not on the same level...
:26:53
with the same
mental toughness...
:26:55
that,
if I'm going to do this,
:26:57
then you have
to keep up with the pace.
:26:59
And quietly,
it stared to turn.
:27:02
He was your hardest worker.
He competed eveyday.
:27:05
That filtered down
through your team,
so as a coach...
:27:07
you never had to talk
about the work ethic
of your team...
:27:10
because your best player
always brought that.
:27:12
Michael's standards
were too high...
:27:14
for many
of his early team mates...
:27:16
but then
came Scottie Pippen.
:27:18
The infuence
of Michael on Scottie Pippen
was almost from day one.
:27:23
Michael kind of
helped him get out there
on the basketball court...
:27:27
and taught him some
little things... some of
the small tricks that he'd use.
:27:36
as a consequence,
the two of them
really played well together.
:27:39
It was
the Lone Rangerand Tonto.
:27:42
There's no doubt about it.
:27:44
Pippen became a star
in his own right.
:27:46
and then there was
the supporing cast...
:27:49
that Michael would
challenge relentlessly,
:27:52
knowing that they too had to be
ready when their moment came.
:27:55
He understood the fact...
:27:57
that eveybody had
to share in the game,
:27:59
and that he was willing
to be part of this...