Best of SI: Why Jerry Krause Deserves More Credit for Bulls' Dynasty

Just a few more months, that’s all Jerry Krause wanted, just a few months to find out if his dream of enshrinement into the Basketball Hall of Fame would become a reality, to get the recognition Hall voters had for so long, bizarrely, denied him. It was the spring of 2017 and the architect of the Bulls dynasty, his body ravaged by a bone disease, waited, hoping to get the call he had earned several times over. He never got it. Krause died in March 2017, just days before the call came informing his wife, Thelma, that Krause had made it, months before he could be feted in front of his peers.

He died feeling slighted, but really—isn’t that the way Krause lived? The Last Dance—the 10-part documentary on the Bulls' dynasty that wrapped up on Sunday night—was endlessly entertaining and incredibly insightful. But when it came to Krause, the Michael Jordan–backed series could be downright cruel. A generation of teens and twentysomethings too young to remember the Bulls' six-title run came away from the doc with a deep understanding for what Jordan would do to win. They also likely left with the belief that Krause was little more than a caretaker along for the ride.

It’s nonsense, of course. Krause was one of the keenest basketball minds of his generation, an ex–baseball scout turned NBA general manager who inherited a team with Jordan and proceeded to build out a roster around him.

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