Michael Jordan never saw a Game 7 in the NBA Finals during his six trips, but he could have come a trip short if his Chicago Bulls had lost to the Indiana Pacers in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals.

Tied 3-3, then-coach Phil Jackson was preparing to give one of his Zen Master speeches, only to be interrupted by Jordan in true yin-yang fashion (h/t NBC Sports Chicago):

“I remember the day before the game we had our walkthrough, our practice, and I remember Phil called us in, and in typical Phil fashion, he’s trying to get our minds right,” Steve Kerr recalled during a podcast appearance with ESPN's Zach Lowe. “He said, ‘You know, the important thing in a game like this is to not fear losing. You embrace the idea that you could lose. It’s OK, you face that.’ And so he was kind of getting into the psychological spirit of how to approach the game.

“But before he could even really get started, Michael just said, ‘No, f*** that, Phil, we’re not losing.’ And then we all put our hands in the middle, said ‘1-2-3, Bulls!’ everybody went home, and then we showed up at the arena the next day.”

The Bulls would go on to win that Game 7 by the score of 88-83, with Jordan chipping in 28 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. Kerr would give some much-needed contributions off the bench, scoring 11 points in 18 minutes.

Toni Kukoc was another hero, pouring in 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-4 from deep.

Jordan's short pep talk set the tone for the Bulls' mindset, ultimately paving the way for a third straight trip to the NBA Finals and soon after a three-peat after beating the Utah Jazz on the biggest stage one more time.