Michael Jordan Discusses 'The Last Dance' Documentary: 'We Tried to Enjoy the Year'

The basketball world is rapt with anticipation for the The Last Dance documentary examining Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Bulls, and Jordan provided a sneak peak in an interview Thursday morning.

"So Phil [Jackson] started off the year saying 'this is the last dance,' and we played it that way," Jordan told Good Morning America's Robin Roberts. "Basically, it just kind of tugged at you through the course of the year, knowing that this had to come to an end. But it also centered our focus to make sure we ended it right."

Jordan said he was tied to Jackson, knowing he would leave the Bulls if his coach did. Jordan and Jackson secured their sixth championship with the Bulls in 1998, then left the organization. Jackson won five more championships with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Jordan returned to play in 2001, but he retired after two seasons with the Wizards.

"[1997-98] was a trying year," Jordan said. "We all were trying to enjoy that year, knowing that it was coming to an end. ...At the beginning of the season, it basically started when [Bulls general manager] Jerry Krause told Phil [Jackson] that he could go 82 and 0 and he would never get the chance to come back. Knowing that, I married myself to [Jackson], obviously, and if he wasn't going to be the coach, then I obviously wasn't going to play."

Jordan won his sixth championship in 1998, capping back-to-back three-peats split by a two-year stint in minor league baseball. The North Carolina product won Finals MVP six times, and he sealed the 1998 championship with a game-winning jumper over Jazz guard Bryon Russell. 

ESPN's 10-part documentary will begin Sunday night, with episodes airing through May 16. Part one of the documentary will air Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.