Jordan's Final Masterpiece Almost Didn't Happen

CLEVELAND - Michael Jordan was the quintessential master of the miraculous moment on pro basketball courts all over the world. His final NBA championship was captured with his trademark excellence and that indelible moment is among the most iconic in sports history.

And it all happened 11 years ago today.

So vivid are my memories of that tension-filled Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. The Chicago Bulls ended up winning the game in dramatic fashion, but their path was nearly derailed many times that season, which had been dubbed "The Last Dance" by head coach Phil Jackson. It was all but guaranteed that the five-time championship team would be dismantled after the season, win or lose and that the legendary Jordan would once again step into retirement. He was a ripe and worn 35 years old, still the league's best player, but certainly losing his enormous powers little by little.

All-star Scottie Pippen missed a whopping 38 games during the regular season to surgery and the Bulls stood at a very unremarkable 12-9 after 21 games. Jordan had to assume much more of the overall burden of lifting the defending champions to their accustomed heights, which at his age was a ton to ask.

But he was up for it.

After a whirlwind journey through the 1997-98 season, which began with preseason games in Paris, France and played out like a nightly farewell rock concert for the incomparable MJ, the Bulls managed to tie the Utah Jazz for the best record in the NBA at 62-20. Since the Jazz beat Chicago during their two regular season meetings, they won homecourt advantage throughout the entire postseason.

The Bulls went into the playoffs with dreams of winning their 6th NBA crown of the 1990's. They pushed aside both New Jersey and Charlotte before a challenging matchup with the Indiana Pacers in the East Finals. The Bulls took Games 1 and 2 at home, then lost two barn burners in Indiana by a total of four points. Chicago murdered them in Game 5 for a 3-2 series lead, but the Pacers withstood Jordan's 35 points in Game 6 to win by three, forcing a rare (for the Bulls) Game 7 in Chicago.

Jordan guaranteed a Game 7 victory.

Indiana not only jumped out to an early 20-7 lead in Chicago, they also led by two in the closing minutes. Making matters worse, Jordan was mired in an awful shooting nightmare. He shot just 9-of-25 from the floor, but managed to manufacture points down the stretch. He was also the master facilitator and played a great floor game with 9 rebounds and 8 assists.

The Bulls won barely, 88-83 to advance to the Finals for a rematch with a vengeful Utah Jazz, who had lost the 1997 NBA Finals to Chicago in six games.

Utah grabbed Game 1 in overtime, marking the first time the Bulls lost the first game of the championship series in 7 years. The loss set off a wave of panic, I in particular was overwhelmed with nervousness. Game 2 came down to the wire, but with key plays down the stretch from Jordan and Steve Kerr, Chicago earned the victory in Utah for a 1-1 split heading home.

The Bulls authored a historic rout in Game 3, thrashing Utah by 42 to take a 2-1 lead. Game 4 was yet another nip and tuck affair, but MJ's 34 points led the way to a four point victory and a 3-1 lead.

Game 5 had been branded as Jordan's final home game ever and courtside seats sold for as much as $10,000. It was supposed to be the game that the Bulls won their title to send MJ out in a blaze of glory. It was supposed to be the first time Chicago won all three games on their homecourt when they were without homecourt advantage (as in '93 vs Phoenix).

None of those things happened.

Both Pippen and Jordan shot the ball miserably. Toni Kukoc was the only ray of hope as he scored 13 points in the first quarter. He ended up shooting an unreal 11-of-13 from the floor and had a team high 30 points. Pippen was a putrid 2-of-16 for six lousy points, but was enormous in other ways; he had 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Jordan bricked his way to a 9-of-26 showing in scoring 28 points.

Karl Malone was the beast of all beasts in this game as he broke out of a series-long "slump" by scoring 39 huge points, 17 in the pivotal 3rd quarter. In spite of Malone's dominance, Jordan had a chance to win the game as he shot a 30-foot shot with 1.1 seconds left that missed everything.

This set the stage for that historic Game 6 in Utah. The Jazz came out tough in that game and never backed down from the Bulls. Both Malone and John Stockton played their usual roles, scoring and passing and running their venerable pick and roll. Chicago's Pippen injured his back on the first play of the game and was hampered for the rest of the night.

Jordan came out blazing. He scored 16 in the 2nd to finish the 1st half with 23 points, but the Bulls looked as if they were going to need more than him if they were going to win. Pippen managed 26 minutes, but he was needed for maybe another 15. The Jazz were getting a star performance out of Malone and steady contributions from Stockton and Jeff Hornacek, not to mention solid efforts from the bench. For Chicago, only Kukoc stepped up offensively, but even he scored just 15 points. In any event, no one else on the team reached double figures.

The 4th quarter wound up being a brilliant showcase of Michael Jordan's will and determination. After his efficient 9-of-15 shooting start, he went into a tailspin and made just four of his next eighteen. In the early minutes of that final period, his career-long knack for creating heroic basketball moments seemed coated with age, exhaustion and an overmatched reality. He was running on fumes and missed five straight shots as the game drew to its final few minutes.

But with his resolve at an all-time high and his teammates in dire need of another Michael Miracle, he drove purposefully and continuously to the basket to overcome his non-existent outside shot. He was fouled every time and after an uncharacteristic showing at the line in the first 3 quarters (4-of-7), he hit on all eight of his 4th period foul shots.

Inside three minutes to play, Jordan exhibited his outstanding defensive I.Q. when he intercepted a Utah outlet pass, which led to another drive to the basket and trip to the free throw line. He made a pair of foul shots with 59.2 seconds left to tie the game at 83. Utah got the ball back, Malone switched roles with Stockton and found him with a crafty pass and before you knew it, Stockton's 3-pointer put the Jazz up, 86-83 with 41.9 seconds left.

After a Bulls timeout, Jordan drove hard to the baseline and scored on a beautiful layup over Antoine Carr at 37.1 seconds to draw the Bulls to within one. Back on defense, the Bulls took their positions on the floor in hopes of preventing another crushing Jazz score. This is where I was tremendously filled with nervousness and had a tummy full of butterflies. Of course, as Malone got the ball on a post up ready to make his move to the basket, Jordan came from the weak side and stole the ball from the Jazz superstar, which put an enormous smile on my face.

This is the moment that I remember with incredible jubilation and acuity. As my best friend and I watched this moment unfold on television at a sports bar, he put his head down on the table and said, "I know [he's] going to make it." I felt the exact same way, but I was still super tense because I just didn't want Michael to fail. As he confidently brought the ball upcourt while surveying the defense of the Jazz, the clock ticked inside of ten seconds and the scoreboard showed Utah to be ahead, 86-85.

Game 7 in Utah was seconds from being a reality.

MJ, met at the top of the circle by Jazz swingman Bryon Russell, went into his move as he dribbled with his right hand as if he were going into the paint. Russell stayed right with him, then Jordan cleverly nudged him surreptitiously with his left hand, went into a crossover dribble, stepped to his left as Russell drifted the opposite way, and rose up for an unobstructed jumper from 20 feet out.

All net.

As Jordan stood like a perfectly sculpted effigy with his right arm raised in a textbook follow-through motion, the basketball lay on the court after its winning trajectory had carried it and this moment into the history books. The clocked showed 5.2 seconds remaining, the scoreboard showed the Bulls ahead, 87-86, the crowd showed awe and shock and Jazz coach Jerry Sloan scrambled to devise a strategy to overcome this stunning 40 seconds from Michael Jordan.

Stockton got the inbounds pass and fired up a too-close-for-comfort 3-pointer that bounced off the rim and backboard at the buzzer. The Bulls had won the NBA championship for the sixth time in eight seasons!

It seemed like a million people mobbed Jordan on the court after the title had become official. Phil Jackson gave him a huge hug and said, "MJ, oh my God that was beautiful!" For the legendary Michael Jordan, it was his seminal moment -- his flash point in an epic NBA career that eclipsed the highest of expectations by an enormous margin. He finished with 45 points, 16 in the hard fought 4th quarter and a bucket of tears welling in his eyes. He knew this incomparable dynasty had reached its end.

Jordan's 33.5 points per game helped him earn his 6th NBA Finals MVP award as Chicago stamped itself as the team of the decade with its "repeat three-peat" as Commissioner David Stern called it.

I will never forget June 14, 1998 and what Michael Jordan did that day. He proved in amazing fashion that talent will get you very far, but your determination will be what seals the deal.

That's why he's the greatest.