- Isiah Thomas praises Michael Jordan’s final basket as a Chicago Bull
- Jordan won the sixth NBA Championship of his career with a game-winner against the Utah Jazz in the 1998 NBA Finals
- Zeke says it’s one of those priceless moments in sports
Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas had their fair share of differences during their time in the NBA. The two superstars hated each other due to the battles between the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons in the playoffs.
Despite that, when talking about Jordan’s iconic final shot against the Utah Jazz in the 1998 NBA Finals, Zeke had nothing but praise for it. The iconic game-winner helped Jordan win the sixth NBA Championship of his career in an eight-year span.
“Everybody knows the ball is coming to him. All eyes are on him. He’s gotta get a shot. Somehow, he maneuvers, gets his man off-balance. Even though he got open, and that’s what I mean by clutch impression, because everybody knows it’s coming to him. You gotta make it. You gotta get open.
“He finds a way to get open and now he’s standing at the foul line after you know, a historic career, you standing at the foul line and you knock that shot down and he captures the moment after he makes the shot.”
Michael Jordan crossed over Bryon Russell to hit a phenomenal game-winner and sealed Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. The final score was 87-86 in favor of the Chicago Bulls. It was the final nail in the coffin as the Bulls won the series 4-2.
Jordan finished the game with 45 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 4 steals. For the series, he averaged 33.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game.
Michael Jordan won the sixth NBA Finals MVP of his career for his phenomenal numbers throughout the series.
Isiah Thomas Opened Up On Playing Michael Jordan For The First Time
Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas locked horns several times during their NBA careers. But their first meeting happened when Jordan wasn’t even in the league.
Instead, Jordan was part of the 1984 Team USA, which played eight exhibition games against the Team NBA All-Stars. Thomas, being part of the latter, got a chance to play versus Jordan.
A 21-year-old Michael Jordan was too much to handle for Team NBA All-Stars. After all, Team USA won 8-0 in the exhibition games and obviously, the future Bulls superstar was the brightest star.
Those eight games proved to Isiah Thomas and other NBA superstars the true power of Michael Jordan. Later on, as expected, Jordan dominated the NBA for years.
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