“Michael Jordan had cat-quick reflexes and stole the ball; I don’t want no trouble”: Karl Malone denies any notion regarding Jordan fouling him in Game 6 between Bulls and Jazz

Karl Malone on whether or not Michael Jordan fouled him on the steal in Game 6 that eventually led to the latter hitting a game-clincher. 

Michael Jordan had perhaps the greatest storybook ending to his career with the Chicago Bulls. It would’ve made perfect sense for the 35-year-old to stop his career of professional basketball after having won Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals and his subsequent 6th championship. Of course, he laced up for the Washington Wizards for two more years after retiring in ‘98. 

The sequence of events that took for Michael Jordan and the Bulls to win their 6th championship aren’t talked about nearly as much as that one shot that MJ made over Bryon Russell. Dan Patrick says that he absolutely believes that Jordan pushed off Russell but Karl Malone didn’t give his take on that.

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Prior to the shot however, Michael made his presence known on the defensive end of the floor by stripping ‘The Mailman’ clean on the left baseline, causing him to fall to the ground. 

When asked about this, Karl Malone did say much. 

Karl Malone on whether or not Michael Jordan fouled him. 

Karl Malone was quite the outspoken man when he was in the NBA. He publicly claimed that he didn’t feel all too comfortable playing against Magic Johnson after he was diagnosed with having contracted HIV and was regularly getting into scuffles on NBA hardwood.

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However, following his playing career, Malone kept to himself as he focused on his hunting and fishing endeavors for the most part. When he did speak with the media, he wasn’t trying to cause any kind of a stir. 

So, when Dan Patrick asked Karl what he thought about Michael Jordan and him stripping the ball away from him, the ‘97 MVP did not comment on whether or not this was a foul as he wanted no trouble. 

“The Chicago Bulls won the championship and that’s how I’m going to leave it. I don’t want no trouble! He has cat-quick reflexes, he just stole it.”