Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals
Exterior of the Delta Center in 2023, where the game was held. | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | June 14, 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referees | Dick Bavetta, Hue Hollins, Danny Crawford | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 19,911 | ||||||||||||||||||
On June 14, 1998, Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, the championship series for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1997–98 season, took place at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was contested between the visiting Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz. In the closing seconds of the game, the Bulls guard Michael Jordan executed a quick cross-over on Jazz forward Bryon Russell, and then hit a game-winning jumpshot from behind the free throw line to give the Bulls a 87–86 lead with 5.2 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The Bulls held on to win the game after John Stockton missed a three-point field goal, winning their sixth NBA championship in eight years.
Game 6 was the final game with the Bulls for Michael Jordan and coach Phil Jackson; both would retire from the NBA, then eventually return. It is widely cited as one of the most intense and iconic games in NBA history. It earned, and still holds, the highest television ratings of an NBA game of all time.