Michael Jordan "The Last Dance" Lithograph

“The Last Dance” lithograph features the two iconic photographs of Michael’s game-winning shots at North Carolina’s NCAA Championship and the Chicago Bulls 6th and final NBA Championship.

Michael always said that he became Michael Jordan the moment he hit the game-winning shot to beat Georgetown for the 1982 NCAA title.

Michael fell asleep on the bus to the arena. He had a dream about hitting a game-winning shot in a game, not necessarily that day's game. After the game, the first thing his father, James, said to Michael was, "Son, your life will never be the same after today."

The day before he hit the shot to beat Utah in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, which is the second shot on the lithograph, Mark Vancil was in MJ hotel suite in Salt Lake City. They were finalizing the "For the Love of the Game" book and Mark kept asking him how he processed the most crucial moments of a game. Mark provided a scenario: "There are five seconds left, you are losing by a point and there's a timeout. What are you thinking about?" The more Mark pushed, the more perplexed MJ became.

Finally, MJ moved up to the edge of the chair and said, "Are you asking me am I thinking about missing the shot? Why would I think about missing a shot I haven't even taken yet?"

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Michael wrote the poem on the back of the lithograph during the 1998 championship run. Before the playoffs started coach Phil Jackson spoke to the team about the journey they had been on together and the recognition that this would be the last go-around as a unit and that they should think hard about what has transpired, then write something to share with the group once the season, The Last Dance as Phil named it, ended.

Win or lose, said Phil, we will gather one last time when the season is over.

Michael was the only player to take the time to write anything. And he was the only one to read his thoughts aloud when the team gathered for the last time following the 1998 Finals.

This poem has appeared in only two places - in Michael's book "For the Love of the Game" and on this lithograph.