Luc out of ‘Last Dance’

The man who unfairly accused former Gilas coach Chot Reyes of instigating the brawl with Australia in a FIBA World Cup qualifying game at the Philippine Arena in 2018 was left out of the spotlight in the ESPN 10-part docu series “The Last Dance” despite playing a role in delivering the Chicago Bulls’ sixth NBA title in 1998.

Luc Longley, 51, was the Bulls starting center whenever he was fit to play during the three-peat from 1995-96 to 1997-98. Longley’s problem was he never played an entire season in that run. He averaged 9.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 26.5 minutes in 62 games in 1995-96, 9.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 24.9 minutes in 59 games in 1996-97 and 11.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 29.4 minutes in 58 games in 1997-98. When he couldn’t suit up, his reliever Bill Wennington got coach Phil Jackson’s nod to start. Wennington’s numbers reflected his low potential. He averaged 5.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 15 minutes in 71 games in 1996-97, 4.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 12.8 minutes in 61 games in 1996-97 and 3.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 9.7 minutes in 48 games in 1997-98.

Longley was the Bulls’ fifth highest-paid player in 1997-98, earning $3.2 million. Michael Jordan was No. 1 ($33.1 million), Ron Harper No. 2 ($4.6 million), Toni Kukoc No. 3 ($4.6 million) and Dennis Rodman No. 4 ($4.5 million). He was paid more than Scottie Pippen whose salary was $2.8 million. Wennington earned $1.8 million and Steve Kerr was near the bottom of the ladder with $750,000.

In the docu series, director Jason Hehir said “budgetary constraints” kept Longley out of the loop. Hehir declined the option of a remote video, since Longley lives in Australia, because it would’ve “killed the vibe” of the show. Instead, Wennington, a Canadian, got max exposure that he didn’t deserve. Wennington’s claim to fame was in 1998, McDonald’s stores in Chicago brought out an item in their sandwich menu called Beef Wennington, a single burger patty topped with cheese, onions, barbecue sauce and a slice of Canadian bacon. 

In 2012, Longley came to Manila to promote the trade launch of the NBA.com Philippines website, join kids at the three-day Alaska Jr. NBA National Training Camp in the UP gym and endorse the NBA Cares project. He was treated like royalty. He flew to Cebu for a two-day vacation and did some diving. Gov. Oscar Moreno hosted him in Cagayan de Oro where he distributed gifts to kids in evacuation centers. Longley was captivated by the Filipinos’ passion for the game. “Filipinos are a strong race,” he said. “I’m surprised no Filipino has made it to the NBA today and I’d be more surprised if it doesn’t happen in the near future.” In 2018, Longley castigated Reyes for “inciting” Gilas to “thug” the Boomers and said nothing about how the Australian team provoked the host team with racist remarks, unnecessary roughhousing and pre-game tomfoolery. He was with the Boomers as an assistant coach.

In his book “Running With The Bulls,” Longley glorified his role with the Bulls. “(Jordan) realizes the fact that I’m a competent scorer,” he said. “I give him an outlet, especially on a screen and roll. I flare out for that 15-foot jump shot and he loves to hit me with that pass because I shoot it at a pretty good clip. Michael knows if I get the ball in the post and he uses a rub screen or a baseline cut, he’ll get the ball back in the right rhythm to shoot the ball. He knows he can make back cuts when he’s being overplayed and I’ll bounce the ball down low for him. He goes to the hole because that’s one of the things I bring to this team, passing.  I wouldn’t be on this team if Michael didn’t like me or didn’t like what I was doing.” 

Apparently, Longley’s pronouncements failed to convince Hehir he was worth the cost of sending a crew to Australia to join the celebration of “The Last Dance.”