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Michael Jordan Denies Pushing off on Bryon Russell Before GW Shot: 'Bulls--t'
May 18, 2020
It is one of the most iconic shots in NBA history and one of the most memorable moments in the transcendent career of Michael Jordan.
Jordan, holding the follow-through, connected on the winning jumper in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, propelling his Chicago Bulls to a sixth championship in eight years and a second straight title over the Utah Jazz.
Except his detractors believe he pushed off Bryon Russell to create separation before launching the shot.
"Now, everybody says I pushed off," Jordan said in The Last Dance on Sunday. "Bulls--t. The man, his energy was going that way. I didn't have to push him that way."
Whether it was a push-off is up for debate, but it is notable it was juxtaposed against Reggie Miller's push-off at the end of Game 4 of the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals. That physical series between the Bulls and Indiana Pacers was a featured piece of Sunday's episodes, and Miller gave Jordan a much harder shove to free himself up than No. 23 ever gave to Russell.
As for the winning shot in the 1998 NBA Finals, it capped off one of the best individual stretches in league history.
Jordan's Bulls were down three with less than a minute remaining when he scored a layup, stole the ball from Karl Malone and then, without calling a timeout or even thinking of passing the ball, hit the shot over Russell.
"When I scoped over the floor, I felt like, I can get a jump shot off or I can get all the way to the basket," he said. "So it's just a matter of me picking the right time, win that timing."
His teammates knew it was coming.
"I knew. I said, 'He's going to shoot this f--ker,'" Dennis Rodman said. "He is not going to pass this f--king ball. F--king John Paxson or f--king Steve Kerr, hell no. This is his turn."
"Get the hell out of the way," Scottie Pippen said when asked what he was thinking on that possession.
How much Jordan's left hand influenced Russell getting out of the way remains a topic of debate, but His Airness weighed in on it Sunday.