It’s a shot lodged into NBA lore forever and in stuck in the craw of Utah Jazz fans even 26 years later. It’s a shot sports fans know well: Michael Jordan, then of the Chicago Bulls, driving into the lane with Jazz forward Byron Russell guarding him.
Jordan stops, his left arm appearing to extend across his body, making contact with Russell before elevating and drilling a two-point shot that put the Bulls ahead and eventually secured Game 6 and the 1998 NBA Championship for Chicago. And for decades since, a key question has never been settled among the Jazz and Bulls faithful, coaches, and even players: Did Jordan push off?
According to the Information Technology department at the Delta Center, where the Utah Jazz currently play in Salt Lake City, the answer is a resounding yes. And the Delta Center crew managed to have some fun jesting about the moment with the WiFi credentials for media covering the NCAA Tournament first and second round games there this weekend.
The network for reporters covering the contests there? “JordanPushedOff,” with an alternate option bearing a generic name.
Jordan, for his part, does not believe he pushed off, saying so in the 10-part documentary about him and his tenure with the Chicago Bulls and their dynasty.
“Bulls---. His energy was going that way. I didn’t have to push him,” Jordan said in the documentary. Members of the Jazz team have said he did, though John Stockton has said he wouldn’t have called an offensive foul for the slight push.
And with the Larry O’Brien trophy and ring to show for it, Jordan is probably fine to let Jazz fans stew in their own annoyance about a push he may have gotten away with.
Eight teams are playing in Salt Lake City on the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, four from the West Region and four more from the Midwest.
Teams playing in Salt Lake City out of the West Region are: No. 2 Arizona, No. 15 Long Beach State, No. 7 Dayton and No. 10 Nevada.
And the teams playing in Salt Lake City out of the Midwest Region are: No. 4 Kansas, No. 13 Samford, No. 5 Gonzaga and No. 12 McNeese State.
And while those teams can’t win a championship this weekend, they can win a pair of games and advance to the Sweet 16, perhaps with some late-game heroics like Jordan’s along the way, with or without the controversy.
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