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The Last Dance (Netflix)

You don’t have to be a basketball fan to enjoy this thrilling ten-part documentary. You don’t even need to be a sports fan. You just have to be interested in extraordinary people and what makes them tick.

The 1997-98 season was to be the last that coach Phil Jackson and his legendary Chicago Bulls team would spend together. Management had, for various reasons, made that clear. So Jackson, who liked to pick a theme for each season, had The Last Dance laminated on the front of the team handbook – hence the title of the series, which is about those incredible few months, the team in general and its star player Michael Jordan (near right).

It documents the on-court action, behind-the-scenes tensions and personality clashes as well as Jordan’s relentless, almost pathological, pursuit of victory. Jordan would acknowledge that ‘there’s no “I” in team’ but insisted ‘there’s an “I” in win’.

And it showcases his jawdropping talent – his ability to jump and then seemingly hang in the air. ‘It was like he had an extra levitation gear or something. It just didn’t seem real,’ says one of his rivals. There are frank interviews with everyone involved as well as with former US presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

The series has been hugely popular but also controversial as Jordan controlled the final cut, and some have argued it presents too favourable a picture of the athlete. Nevertheless it makes for compelling, must-watch TV.