The year is 1997. A 34-year-old Michael Jordan seeks his fifth NBA Championship as the Bulls finish the regular season with an incredible 69-13 record.
After fighting through challenging Eastern Conference competitors, MJ and his team face their next big opponent: the Utah Jazz, who house John Stockton and Karl Malone.
It’s Game 6, the Bulls have a 3-2 lead with the chance to win the title at United Center. With the score tied at 86, and seconds left on the clock, everyone is looking to Michael Jordan to take that final shot and clinch his fifth Championship.
Instead, it is Steve Kerr who becomes the hero, draining a 17-foot jumper at the top to the key to secure the victory for the Bulls.
24 years later, on the anniversary of that shot, and fans still can’t stop talking about it.
Perhaps the best part of it all was what Kerr said after, during the Championship parade.
In front of a large crowd, Kerr hilariously roasted MJ, joking that he bailed him out once again.
“Phil told Michael, he said ‘Michael I want you to take the last shot.’ And Michael says ‘you know, Phil, I don’t feel real comfortable in these situations so maybe we should go in another direction. Why don’t we go to Steve?
So I thought to myself, ‘well I guess I got to bail Michael out again.'”
"Well I guess I got to bail Michael [Jordan] out again." 🤣
24 years ago today, Steve Kerr helped MJ and the Bulls win their fifth NBA title.
(🎥 @NBA) pic.twitter.com/GvRvawSFnu
— ESPN (@espn) June 13, 2021
Truly hilarious stuff from Kerr, who was seemingly having a great time poking fun at the whole situation.
Kerr was probably the last player anybody expected to hit a shot like that down the stretch of such an important game. Nonetheless, he came through for his team and marked his place in the history books.
It’s always fun to look back on that moment and share in the joy and laughter of that Bulls team.
