Michael Jordan was always the alpha dog. Every time he had the chance to have the final say on any game, he wasn’t going to hesitate. He’d take the ball on his hands and pull up from the top of the key to knock down the last shot.
He did pass on a couple of last-second shots after drawing double or triple-teams, as Phil Jackson was the only person on earth that could’ve convinced him to give up on a buzzer-beater and Michael, a diehard winner, always did what was best for the team.
However, everybody on the planet just knew that he wasn’t going to pass on the opportunity to score the last shot of Game 6 of the 1998 Finals, knowing that could be the last shot he’d ever take in his NBA career. The Jazz knew it, everybody in the arena knew it, and obviously, his teammates knew it.
Final sequence:
Scottie Pippen: “Get the hell outta the way.”
Dennis Rodman: “I knew Michael wasn’t passing that f****** ball. That was his time.”
Good lord this is awesome. #TheLastDance
— TJ Eckert (@TJEckertKJRH) May 18, 2020
“Get the hell outta the way,” Pippen said when asked about his thoughts regarding Michael’s final shot, while Dennis Rodman also chipped in – in a hilarious fashion, as per usual:
“I knew Michael wasn’t passing that f****** ball. That was his time”, Rodman said. “He’s gonna shoot this f*cker. He’s not going to pass this f*cking ball. No John Paxson, no Steve Kerr. This is his f*cking turn,” the Worm concluded.
"He's gonna shoot this f*cker. He's not going to pass this f*cking ball. No John Paxson, no Steve Kerr. This is his f*cking turn." – Rodman on Michael Jordan's '98 gamewinner
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) May 18, 2020
Jordan got the ball, faked Byron Russell and hit the greatest shot of his successful career to give the Chicago Bulls their sixth title and put the cherry on top of the sundae on one of the greatest stories in sports, just like we all knew he’d do.
