"I told Steve, in the timeout before, 'Don't be shocked if I find you open'" - Michael Jordan on how he prepared Steve Kerr to take the game-winning shot in the 1997 NBA Finals originally appeared on Basketball Network .
The shot that iced Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals didn't come from the man everyone expected.
The ball left Steve Kerr 's fingertips — not Michael Jordan 's — and sank through the net with five seconds left to play. It was the kind of moment that would typically belong to the game's brightest star. But that night, it went to the man standing just outside the shadow.
What most fans saw on TV was Kerr rising up with confidence, draining the 17-footer and clinching Chicago 's fifth NBA title in seven years. What they didn't see was the quiet orchestration that happened seconds before.
In the final timeout, Jordan pulled Kerr aside and prepared him for exactly what was about to unfold. It wasn't an offhand remark but a calculated decision born of experience, instinct and an understanding of how championship defenses operate in crunch time.
"If I get in an isolated situation, no way are they going to let me isolated against Bryon Russell," Jordan said , recalling the thought process in the lead up to Kerr's game-winner. "And I told Steve, in the timeout before, 'Don't be shocked if I find you open, you take the shot.'"
The play itself was a subtle twist on the Bulls ' triangle offense. As expected, the Utah Jazz keyed in on MJ, throwing a double team as he curled off the screen with Bryon Russell tailing him and Karl Malone hedging hard. That left Kerr momentarily unguarded near the top of the key.
Jordan didn't hesitate. The pass was crisp. Kerr caught it in rhythm and buried the jumper.
It was the culmination of trust. Steve had averaged 8.1 points that season, shooting 46.4 percent from the 3-point line, but had taken a backseat in the playoffs. Still, he was no stranger to the moment. By 1997, Kerr had already won two titles with the Bulls and had made a career out of staying ready.
But being ready wasn't always enough in the NBA Finals. The ball had to find him — and that only happens when the best player in the world decides he has earned that trust. Everyone expected Jordan to take the final shot, but he made sure the shot went to the right hands. Kerr, who had spent his formative basketball years as an underdog, found his legacy in that blink.
The Bulls closed that game 90–86, finishing the series 4–2. Jordan had 39 points and six assists. Kerr had just six points total, but his last two were the most important of the night.
That moment offered a rare glimpse into how Jordan led behind the scenes. Popular lore paints him as relentless, demanding, sometimes ruthless in practice. And all of it was true. By 1997, stories of Jordan's competitive fire were already legendary.
He'd gone after teammates during scrimmages, most infamously punching Kerr during practice earlier in the season. But what followed that scuffle became just as important: an apology and a foundation of mutual respect.
Kerr himself would later say that moment, rough as it was, helped forge a connection. Friendship with Jordan wasn't the goal, but reliability. By the time the Finals series arrived, Jordan didn't just see Kerr as a shooter. He saw him as someone who wouldn't flinch.
The shot elevated Kerr's status, but it also further defined Jordan's evolution. Just two years removed from his first retirement, Jordan was already showing signs of a more complete understanding of leadership. In his earlier years, he may have forced the shot over a double or even triple team. By 1997, he was reading the floor like a seasoned tactician. He knew the gravity he pulled and how to use it.
Jordan's 1997 Finals were elite by any metric — 32.3 points per game, 7.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.2 steals — but his most important assist might have been the one that landed in Kerr's hands with a title hanging in the balance.
In the years that followed, Kerr would go on to win another ring with the San Antonio Spurs , then build one of the greatest dynasties of the modern era as head coach of the Golden State Warriors .
But for many, his defining moment will always be that jumper in '97, delivered by a pass from the man who could have taken it himself.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 16, 2025, where it first appeared.
