Karl Malone had the chance to rewrite history against the Chicago Bulls and give his Utah Jazz a shot in the arm that would have given the 1997 NBA Finals a completely different feel. Michael Jordan had just bricked what could have been the game-winning free throw in Game 1 of the 1997 NBA Finals, but it was running mate Scottie Pippen who came to the rescue with a scathing six-word prayer to put the Bulls on top.

With the score tied at 82, Jordan's miss with 35.8 seconds gave the Jazz a big opportunity. A John Stockton missed 3-point attempt was corralled by Malone, who was fouled by a flying Dennis Rodman who went over the back.

Malone had an incredible Game 1, but the Bulls were no strangers to some of his struggles at the foul line. Pippen was hoping to cut the right cord to make Malone's confidence go haywire, this time going off the cuff:

“I just whispered in his ear: ‘The Mailman doesn't deliver on Sundays,'” said Pippen, according to ESPN.

That infamous and somehow innocent line made Karl “The Mailman” Malone think twice about his shot, even if he only needed one free throw to take the lead over the Bulls with a mere nine seconds left.

Asked about what inspired that line, Pippen admitted he hadn't thought of it at all:

“It was off the top of my head, freestyle,” said Pippen, noting it wasn't anything personal with Malone. “It actually wasn't personal. Karl was my guy. He even came to pick me up from the airport sometimes when we were in Utah. My relationship with him is way more than basketball. It was a joke because my brother was a mailman.”

June 1, 1997 happened to be a Sunday, and Pippen — plenty aware of how the postal system works — had the right wit to tease “The Mailman” at the right time and make a stamp in NBA history.