In sports, few dates carry the weight of June 14, 1998, the night Michael Jordan delivered his last legendary moment in an NBA Finals.
Facing a hostile crowd at the Delta Center and a formidable Utah Jazz team led by Karl Malone and John Stockton, Jordan entered Game 6 with the weight of a potential second three-peat on his shoulders. With the Bulls trailing by one and roughly 20 seconds remaining, the game teetered on the edge. In a sequence that has become a staple of sports highlights and hip-hop references alike, Jordan stripped Malone in the post, reclaiming possession and the narrative.
Refusing a timeout, Jordan brought the ball up the court, and as the clock ticked toward five seconds, drove hard to the right, then abruptly crossed back to his left. The move left Bryon Russell reaching as Jordan rose for a 20-foot jumper. The ball found nothing but net, leaving just 5.2 seconds on the clock and securing an 87-86 victory.
The shot remains a subject of playful “legal” debate in Utah. Decades later, Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant jokingly issued a ruling that Jordan pushed off to create space. For the rest of the world, it was simply “His Airness” at his peak. After capturing his sixth title and sixth Finals MVP, Jordan retired, kicking off a sequence in which he would step away from basketball, play minor league baseball, and then return to the NBA for a short-lived run with the Washington Wizards..
He never again reached the playoffs. That jumper in Salt Lake City was his final postseason shot, a cinematic swan song for a Black athlete who changed the global landscape of sports and business.