1997–98 Chicago Bulls season
The 1997–98 Chicago Bulls season was the 32nd season for the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association. The Bulls entered the regular season as the two-time defending NBA champions, and in the Finals, they met the Utah Jazz in a rematch from the prior year's NBA Finals and just like that year, they would go on to defeat the Jazz in six games to win their sixth championship in eight years and complete the franchise's second "3-peat".
During the off-season, the Bulls acquired Scott Burrell from the Golden State Warriors, and signed free agent Joe Kleine. However, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen would miss the first half of the regular season due to an injured toe on his left foot sustained from the 1997 NBA playoffs.
Without Pippen, the Bulls started by winning the 1997 McDonald's Championship overseas in Paris, France in October, with Jordan being named the MVP. In the regular season, the team started with a slow 9–7 record in November, but then would go on a 15–4 run until Pippen returned in January. However, three-point specialist Steve Kerr went down with a fractured collarbone in January, and played just 50 games. Despite the injuries, the Bulls held a 34–15 record at the All-Star break.
At mid-season, the team traded Jason Caffey to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for David Vaughn. Vaughn would play just three games with the Bulls before being waived on March 2, 1998. Also in early March, the team re-signed former Bulls reserve forward Dickey Simpkins, who was previously released by the Warriors, and played in the final 21 games of the regular season. The Bulls posted a 13-game winning streak between March and April, and still finished in first place in the Central Division with a 62–20 record, earning the first seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls had the third best team defensive rating in the NBA.
Michael Jordan once again led the league in scoring averaging 28.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, as he was named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and also won his fifth and final NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year award. In addition, Pippen averaged 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game in 44 games, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and also to the All-Defensive First Team, and rebound-specialist Dennis Rodman once again led the league in rebounding with 15.0 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Toni Kukoč provided the team with 13.3 points per game, playing most of the season as the team's starting small forward in Pippen's absence, Luc Longley averaged 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, Ron Harper contributed 9.3 points and 1.3 steals per game, and Kerr contributed 7.5 points per game off the bench.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, Jordan was selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; Jordan scored 23 points along with 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals, and won his third and final NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player award, as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 135–114. Jordan also finished in fourth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, while Rodman finished tied in fifth place, and Pippen finished tied in ninth place; Pippen also finished in tenth place in Most Valuable Player voting, and head coach Phil Jackson finished tied in seventh place in Coach of the Year voting.
In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1998 NBA playoffs, the Bulls faced off against the 8th–seeded New Jersey Nets, a team that featured Sam Cassell, rookie small forward Keith Van Horn, and All-Star center Jayson Williams. The Bulls won Game 1 over the Nets at home in overtime, 96–93 at the United Center, then won Game 2, 96–91 to take a 2–0 series lead. The Bulls defeated the Nets in Game 3 on the road, 116–101 at the Continental Airlines Arena, as the team won the series in a three-game sweep.
In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 4th–seeded Charlotte Hornets, who were led by All-Star forward Glen Rice, Anthony Mason and Vlade Divac. After winning Game 1 at the United Center, 83–70, the Bulls lost Game 2 to the Hornets at home, 78–76. However, the Bulls then won the next two games on the road at the Charlotte Coliseum, before defeating the Hornets in Game 5 at home, 93–84 to win the series in five games.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls then faced off against the 3rd–seeded Indiana Pacers, a team that featured All-Star guard Reggie Miller, All-Star center Rik Smits, and Chris Mullin, and were also coached by retired All-Star forward, and former Boston Celtics legend, Larry Bird. The Bulls won the first two games at the United Center, but then lost the next two games to the Pacers on the road, as Miller hit a game-winning three-point shot in Game 4, in which the Pacers defeated the Bulls, 96–94 at the Market Square Arena to even the series. With the series tied at 3–3, the Bulls won Game 7 over the Pacers at home, 88–83, thus winning in a hard-fought seven-game series, en route to advance to the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year.
In the 1998 NBA Finals, the Bulls once again faced off against the top–seeded Utah Jazz, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Karl Malone, All-Star guard John Stockton, and Jeff Hornacek, in a rematch from the 1997 NBA Finals. Despite both teams finishing with a league-best 62–20 record, the Jazz had home-court advantage in the series, since they defeated the Bulls twice during the regular season.
With the series starting at the Delta Center, the Bulls lost Game 1 to the Jazz in overtime, 88–85, but then managed to win Game 2, 93–88 to even the series at 1–1. As the series moved to the United Center, the Bulls won Game 3 over the Jazz by a 42-point margin, 96–54, then won Game 4, 86–82 to take a 3–1 series lead; however, the Jazz won Game 5 on the road, 83–81. In Game 6 at the Delta Center, and despite Pippen hurting his back after making a dunk early into the game, Jordan scored 45 points, and hit a memorable game-winning shot over Jazz forward Bryon Russell, as the Bulls defeated the Jazz, 87–86. Just like last year's Finals, the Bulls won the series over the Jazz in six games to win their third consecutive NBA championship, and sixth overall in eight years to complete the franchise's second "3-peat"; Jordan was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player for the sixth and final time.
At an average age of 32.096 years old, the Bulls became the oldest team to win an NBA championship. The Bulls also led the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 983,444 at the United Center during the regular season.
This was Jordan's last season with the Bulls, as he announced his second retirement in January 1999; however, he did make a second comeback with the Washington Wizards in 2001. Following the season, Jackson resigned as head coach after nine seasons with the Bulls, while Pippen was traded to the Houston Rockets, Rodman signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers, Longley was dealt to the Phoenix Suns, Kerr was traded to the San Antonio Spurs, Burrell signed with the New Jersey Nets, Jud Buechler signed with the Detroit Pistons, and Kleine re-signed with the Suns, his former team.
Because of this dismantling of the team, this was the last season for the Bulls dynasty that had headlined the NBA throughout the 1990s. What followed was a long rebuilding process between 1998 and 2004, and the Bulls did not return to the postseason until 2005.
The story of this season was captured in ESPN's The Last Dance, which aired in April 2020.
Offseason
NBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 28 | Keith Booth | SF |  United StatesPlayer statsPostseasonPlayer statistics citation:NBA finals[1998 NBA Finals] RosterSeries summaryLegend: OT denotes a game decided in overtime
''Bulls win series 4-2'' Games 1 and 2This was the first time in the 1990s that the same two teams played each other in two consecutive finals. The Jazz had won both regular season match-ups, and many analysts predicted a hard-fought seven-game series. Predictions of a Jazz championship were strengthened with their game one victory in overtime in Utah. The Bulls would tie the series in game 2 putting together a fourth quarter run to silence the Delta Center and holding on to win 93–88, finally securing their first victory against Utah all season.Games 3, 4 and 5The Finals would move to Chicago with control of the series at stake in Game 3. Though anticipation was high, no one could have expected a blow-out of the proportions seen in Game 3. With a 96–54 triumph over Utah, the Bulls would help the Jazz set an embarrassing record for the lowest points scored in Finals history and biggest margin of defeat, while everyone on the Bulls scored. The Jazz would pull themselves together in Game 4 in a better attempt to tie the series, but lost 86–82.The early Jazz series-lead seemed like a distant memory, a false indication of a tough series as they hit the floor for Game 5 behind 3–1. Chicago fans prepared for the last game they would host with the Jordan-led Bulls of the 1990s. But any notions of a championship at the United Center would be snuffed out when, with 0.8 seconds on the game, Michael Jordan airballed an off-balance 3 to the right of the basket giving the Jazz a narrow 83–81 win. The play might have been for Toni Kukoč to shoot a three. With the series shifting back to Utah with a far more generous 3-2 Bulls advantage, the promise of another Chicago championship was not so certain. Game 6">Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals">Game 6The Chicago Bulls had never let a Finals series go to a Game 7.As they arrived at the Delta Center for Game 6, things didn't look good for the Bulls. Scottie Pippen's back gave out when he dunked the opening basket of the game and he was slowed down and held to just 8 points. The Jazz suffered a bad break when the referees incorrectly nullified a Howard Eisley three-pointer that, replays showed, was clearly released just before the 24-second clock expired. In the 4th quarter, the Bulls closed the gap as Michael Jordan tallied many of his 45 overall points. Then things got worse for Chicago when John Stockton hit a clutch 3 with 41.9 seconds left to give Utah an 86–83 lead as the Delta Center crowd roared happily. Down by 3, the Bulls had one last chance to stay alive. Running perilously low on energy, it would be imperative for Chicago to win the series before the game went into OT, and also for the Bulls to avoid a Game 7 on the road when Scottie Pippen was so badly injured and their entire lineup was exhausted. After Michael Jordan made a quick layup to cut the Jazz lead to one, the Bulls needed to stop the Jazz from scoring again. When John Stockton passed the ball to Karl Malone, Michael Jordan stole the ball away and dribbled to the front. Guarding him was Bryon Russell, one of the Jazz's best perimeter defenders. Jordan drove inside the 3-point line, executed a quick cross-over, and drilled a 20-ft. jump shot to give the Bulls an 87–86 lead with 5.2 seconds left. After Utah took a timeout, Stockton's 3 hit the rim and bounced away, giving the Bulls their 6th title in 8 years. The famous winning shot has been immortalized in many records, as Jordan completed a perfect sextet: 6 NBA Finals, 6 championships, and 6 NBA Finals MVP trophies. Awards and honors
NBA All-Star Game
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