The contentious game-winning play made by Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan in 1998 still haunts the Utah Jazz.
The Utah Jazz haven’t been this close to winning an NBA championship since they were eliminated in back-to-back Finals by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in 1997 and 1998. Arguably the most memorable moment of Jordan’s career occurred in the last game of the second of those two series; the Hall of Famer *created space* against Bryon Russell, the Jazz defender, and made a crucial midrange jumper to put the Bulls ahead.
Jordan would go on to win his sixth championship of his career and the game after Utah failed to make a desperate three-point attempt in the next possession.
The Jazz’s home arena, the Delta Center, has a WiFi network named “JordanPushedOff,” suggesting that even after 25 years, they still can’t seem to let go of the past.
Michael Jordan’s game-winning jumper to win the 1998 NBA Finals left the Utah Jazz in shock ðŸ˜.
The WiFi network in the Jazz arena is called “JordanPushedOff.”
🤔 Can you guess what the password might be?
(pic.twitter.com/E94Mn5tsKO) (via @utahjazz)
— November 9, 2023, ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints)
One of the most well-known—or infamous, depending on who you ask—debates in NBA history is whether or not Michael Jordan pushed off on Bryon Russell. It’s probably fair to believe that Jordan would have been penalized for an offensive foul if Russell had been the player on offense.
But sometimes you get what you deserve when you’re the finest player of your generation and the NBA’s greatest marketing weapon, and it’s doubtful that any NBA official wants to be remembered as the guy who called an offensive foul on Michael Jordan in the last seconds of an NBA Finals game.
Perhaps it was just not a foul that was offensive.
