I remember Greg Gumbel’s iconic call for the best moment in Utah Jazz history

Legendary sportscaster Greg Gumbel died on Friday at the age of 78, and after the news was announced there were numerous tributes to his work in various areas, including March Madness, the NFL and the Olympics.

Gumbel spent most of his 50-plus-year career at CBS, but from 1994 to 1998 he worked for NBC, during which time he created the best moment in Utah Jazz history, according to NBA History X am Saturday noted.

In the NBA’s 1997 Western Conference Finals between the Jazz and Houston Rockets, Gumbel had the play-by-play assignment for Game 6 on May 29 in Houston (local television stations did not have the rights to it).

The Jazz led the series 3-2 and were therefore looking to close it out in Game 6 and secure their first trip to the NBA Finals in franchise history, where they would face the Chicago Bulls after the Bulls took the final that evening Eastern Conference Finals had previously been completed against the Miami Heat.

With the game tied at 100, Jazz forward Karl Malone grabbed a rebound after a missed shot by Clyde Drexler and the Jazz called a timeout with 2.8 seconds left to set up a final play.

As the teams exited the timeout, Gumbel noted that “(Bryon) Russell is going to attack the ball” and Mario Elie was guarding him. The other four Jazz players on the court – Malone, John Stockton, Jeff Hornacek and Antoine Carr – were all gathered at the free throw line, and the Rockets’ four other players were there too.

As Russell received the ball from the referee, the Jazz players began passing in different directions, with Malone acting as a screener. Stockton ran toward halfcourt to allow Russell an easier inbound pass between halfcourt and the Jazz’s 3-point line, but it also gave him momentum for a 3-point shot once he caught the ball and back ran to the Utah basket.

Color commentator Steve “Snapper” Jones recognized that the Rockets had lost Stockton and said, “Uh-oh.” As Stockton began to rise for a shot with more than two seconds left on the clock, Gumbel’s iconic call rang out:

“Stockton. Open. 3.” Then, as the ball whizzed through the basket: “Got it! John Stockton sends the Utah Jazz to the NBA Finals!”

More than 27 years after what became known as “The Shot,” it remains the best moment in Jazz history, as the team lost to the Bulls in the Finals 15 days later and again in 1998 and ever since has not returned.