The Chicago Bulls won the 1993 NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns, becoming the first team to secure a three-peat since Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics in the 1960s. Horace Grant played a big part in the series, and his incredible pass to set up John Paxson’s winning shot at the end of Game 6 became a legendary sports highlight.
Paxson's shot
During an AMA session on Reddit, Grant was asked if he had any thought process during the last play of the 1993 NBA Finals when he immediately kicked the ball out to John Paxson instead of putting it up for two points or if he made the pass just off instincts.
“It was a combination of both. It was a very instinctive play because I saw in my peripheral vision that Danny Ainge and Dan Majerle were right there. They were right there, and I knew that someone was open. And it just happened to be a great shooter like John Paxson. So it was a combination of basketball instincts, and knowing that I had two guys on me,” Grant explained.
“For example, during the Bulls’ second three-peat, when John Stockton came over and double-teamed Michael Jordan, he passed it right to Steve Kerr who made the shot. So it was a combination of both,” Horace added.
1993 NBA Finals Game 6 recap
The Bulls scored 12 points in the fourth quarter but still managed to survive and beat the Suns 99-98 in Game 6 of the 1993 NBA Finals on June 20, 1993.
Chicago led Phoenix 87-79 after three quarters before they got into a scoring slump—the Bulls didn’t score in the first 6:09 of the fourth quarter. They had three shot-clock violations in that span, and the fans at American West Arena sparked the Suns’ defense and got them back in the game.
Jordan ended the scoreless drought with a free throw with 5:51 to play. Then he scored the next eight points. The Bulls had possession, trailing 98-96 with 14.1 seconds left, after Dan Majerle air-balled a shot.
The Suns didn’t want to let Michael Jordan beat them, but they forgot about Paxson in the process.
Jordan acted as a decoy; he passed the ball to Pippen, who had his lane cut off by Mark West. He then found Grant in the post, and the four-time NBA champion made the tremendous pass to Paxson, who drilled the game-winning three-point shot with 3.9 seconds to play. Grant then blocked a Kevin Johnson shot, and the Bulls won the game 99-98.
Paxson only took three shot attempts in the game before his last basket, but he was ready when the Bulls needed him the most. Paxson’s three was the basket scored by anybody other than Jordan in the fourth quarter.
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