“His wife told me he buried his head in his pillow for hours” – Michael Jordan said Steve Kerr hit a game-winner in the Finals out of frustration of what happened two games before

Steve Kerr forged his name in history when he knocked down the game-winning jumper in Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals.

Before the epic moment, Kerr told Michael Jordan he’d be ready to shoot it, knowing that the Utah Jazz would double-team the “Black Cat.”

Redemption

As it turns out, Steve had been fantasizing about that moment since Game 4. In the post-series interview, Jordan revealed that a previous blunder had been running through the point guard’s mind.

“Steve’s been fighting himself since Game 4,” Jordan said in 1997, per the New York Times. “He missed a 3-pointer, and he went back to his room. He doesn’t know this, but his wife told me he buried his head in his pillow for hours because he felt he let us down. He said give him the ball in the timeout.”

In the final minute of Game 4, the Chicago Bulls were down one point, 73-74. Kerr entered the game to stretch the floor for Mike and serve as an outside threat.

When Jordan entered the paint against Bryon Russell, John Stockton stunted, freeing Kerr for a second. MJ flung a quick pass to Steve, who launched one from deep. However, it fell short, and the ball ended up with the Jazz, who eventually won.

The play was etched in the former Arizona Wildcat’s mind. Not just his miss but the Jazz’s defensive reaction whenever Michael drove to the hole.

That’s why, in Game 6, Mike knew that Stockton was going to collapse on Jordan again. Kerr knew what type of shot he was going to get, but he wasn’t going to botch it the second time around.

Career opportunities

The current Golden State Warriors coach believes that game-winning shot led him to a fruitful stint with the San Antonio Spurs. Kerr signed a five-year deal with the Spurs, which he claims was “the most money I ever made in my career.” Once he retired, people still remembered him as the guy who drained that epic shot in the 1997 NBA Finals.

“So, it changed a lot of things,” Kerr said. “I think hitting that shot probably got me my job in TV, you know, because playing for the Bulls and having a big moment took me from a place of relative obscurity to, ‘Oh, we know that guy.'”

Indeed, Steve has quite a fascinating career journey. And he deserves every bit of it. It doesn’t look like it, but he’s one of the most competitive players the NBA has ever seen. His resume proves his obsession with perfection, which we’re witnessing now when he’s a coach, too, as he won four NBA championships as a Warriors head coach.