Even to this day, there's still an ongoing debate on whether or not Michael Jordan pushed off Byron Russell prior to his game-winning shot in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz.
But as far as Jordan is concerned, there was nothing illegal going on in the sequence leading to what is now immortalized as “The Last Shot”.
The Last Shot.#TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/Mhbajti9Nr
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) May 18, 2020
In the final episode of ESPN's brilliant 10-part docuseries “The Last Dance”, Michael Jordan was quick to rebuff claims that his shot shouldn't have counted since he allegedly committed an offensive foul.
“Everybody said I pushed off,” Jordan said. “Bullshit. The man, his energy was going that way, I didn’t have to push him that way.”
Down by one-point with under a minute to go in regulation, Jordan stole the ball from Jazz forward Karl Malone and quickly ran the ball to the other end. He called off his teammates and squared up against Utah's best perimeter defender, Russell.
With 10 ticks to go, Jordan made a move going right before cleverly crossing over to his left to create enough separation from his defender. However, it's clear that Jordan's left hand made contact with Russell's left thigh before he launched that shot.
Did he push off or not? The issue remains subjective to some, but here's a closer look at the play in question.
Regardless of the circumstances, that shot gave the Bulls a one-point advantage as they ran away with an 88-87 victory. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the sixth time after dropping 45 points and the game-winner in Game 6.
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