'The Last Dance' producer recalls days in PBA

MANILA, Philippines — Did you know that one of the brains behind ESPN's hit documentary "The Last Dance" actually played in the PBA in the late 1980s?

Andy Thompson, executive producer of storied docuseries on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, served as an import for the Tanduay Rhum Masters in the 1986 Third Conference of the PBA.

Talking to SLAM's Nikko Ramos and Boom Gonzales on NBA Philippines' "Republika Huddle", Thompson raved about the Filipino fans he encountered during his stint in the country.

"The thing that jumps right at you is that when you get here, you think you've been exposed to the best fans in the world because you grew up in the United States," Thompson said.

"But there's nothing that could've prepared me for the passionate fans and the fandom of the Filipino fans. It was unbelievable... to me I say it was the most fun I've ever had playing basketball in my life," he added.

During his collegiate days, Thompson played for the University of Minnesota. The NBA Entertainment executive said that the thousands of fans that they had back in his days in college, still weren't enough to compare to the ones he saw here in the Philippines.

It was Thompson, an uncle to Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson, who had proposed the idea of archiving footage of Jordan and the Bulls in the 1997-1998 season.

Thompson had reportedly gone to then NBA entertainment head Adam Silver to prpose the idea.

The former PBA import was already working with NBA Entertainment at the time after calling it a career a little later in 1986 due to a patial tear in his ACL during his stint with the Rhum Masters.

What started out as only an idea for the former PBA import has now become one of the highest rated and touted sports documentaries.