Michael Jordan: A Sports-Starved Public Awaits ESPN's 10-Part Series -`The Last Dance'

The old joke was the only person who could hold Michael Jordan under 20 points a game was Dean Smith, his coach at North Carolina.

Smith had nothing to do with the gruesome game Jordan suffered back on Dec. 3, 1983, when top-ranked North Carolina played Stanford at Maples Pavilion.

My wife and I bought tickets for the game and sat high in sold-out Maples Pavilion, curious to see the game’s new phenomenon. Jordan had made the game-winning shot in the national championship game two years earlier and he was on his way to national player of the year honors in his final college season as a junior.

He was going to be terrific, right?

Well, not on this day.

UNC’s 88-73 victory in the championship game of the Stanford Invitational was memorable for two reasons:

1) Dean Smith won his 500th game as Carolina’s coach

2) Jordan was virtually invisible

While Sam Perkins won tournament MVP honors, Jordan played only 7 1/2 minutes against Stanford due to foul trouble. His four points were the second-fewest of his three-year Tar Heels career.

It was hard to be impressed that day at Stanford, but we all know what Jordan became — arguably the greatest basketball player in history and unquestionably the most marketable sports star ever.

ESPN will begin airing its epic 10-part series, “The Last Dance,” on Sunday at 6 p.m. Anyone over 30 is hoping to learn something new about Jordan. Everyone else is likely to get an education.

*** SI takes an inside look at the documentary:

And anyone who loves sports - and has been badly missing it - is likely to gobble up this documentary look at Jordan's final championship season.

Thankfully, my experience watching Jordan play in person didn't end with that game at Maples.

Six years later, I saw MJ lead the Bulls to victory over Warriors at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. No foul trouble this time: Jordan had 29 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists to barely miss a triple-double.

A year later, Jordan and the Bulls won the first of their six NBA titles.

As we await “The Last Dance,” Sports Illustrated is diving into its more than 60-year-old vault of stories to revive the great athletes, events and moments in sports history.

Here is a link to SI’s podcast, “Michael Jordan: The First Last Dance.”

ESPN's broadcast schedule for the Jordan documentary:

Sunday, April 19, 6 p.m. PT -- Episodes 1 and 2.
Sunday, April 26, 6 p.m. PT -- Episodes 3 and 4.
Sunday, May 3, 6 p.m. PT -- Episodes 5 and 6.
Sunday, May 10, 6 p.m. PT -- Episodes 7 and 8.
Sunday, May 17, 6 p.m. PT -- Episodes 9 and 10.