1997–98 Chicago Bulls season

The 1997–98 Chicago Bulls season was the 32nd season for the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association.^[1] The Bulls entered the regular season as the 2-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 team acquired Scott Burrell from the Golden State Warriors,^[2][3][4] and signed free agent Joe Kleine.^[5]

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.^[6][7][8] Without Pippen, the Bulls started by winning the 1997 McDonald's Championship overseas in Paris, France in October, with Michael Jordan being named the Most Valuable Player.^[9] In the regular season, the team got off to a slow 8–7 start, but then won 15 of their next 18 games, including an eight-game winning streak in December, until Pippen eventually returned in January. However, three-point specialist Steve Kerr suffered a fractured collarbone in January, and only played just 50 games.^[10][11][12] Despite the injuries, the Bulls held a 34–15 record at the All-Star break.^[13]

At mid-season, the team traded Jason Caffey to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for David Vaughn.^[14][15][16] Vaughn only played just three games with the Bulls before being waived on March 2, 1998, as he later on signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Nets. 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.^[17] The Bulls posted another eight-game winning streak in February, then 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.^[18] The Bulls had the third best team defensive rating in the NBA.^[19]

Jordan once again led the league in scoring averaging 28.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game; 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.^[20][21][22] 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 NBA All-Defensive First Team, while Toni Kukoč provided the team with 13.3 points and 4.2 assists per game, playing most of the season as the team's starting small forward in Pippen's absence, and Luc Longley provided with 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Ron Harper contributed 9.3 points and 1.3 steals per game, Kerr contributed 7.5 points per game, Burrell averaged 5.2 points per game, rebound-specialist Dennis Rodman provided with 4.7 points and 15.0 rebounds per game, and Randy Brown contributed 4.1 points per game.^[23]

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.^[24][25][26] 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.^[27][28][29] 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;^[30] Pippen also finished in tenth place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[30] and head coach Phil Jackson finished tied in seventh place in Coach of the Year voting.^[30]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1998 NBA playoffs, the Bulls faced off against the 8th–seeded Nets, a team that featured Sam Cassell, rookie power forward Keith Van Horn, and All-Star center Jayson Williams. In their first two home games at the United Center, the Bulls won Game 1 over the Nets in overtime, 96–93, before winning Game 2, 96–91 to take a 2–0 series lead. The Bulls won Game 3 over the Nets on the road, 116–101 at the Continental Airlines Arena to win the series in a three-game sweep.^[31][32][33]

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. The Bulls won Game 1 over the Hornets at the United Center, 83–70, but then lost Game 2 at home, 78–76 as the Hornets evened the series.^[34][35][36] However, the Bulls won the next two games on the road at the Charlotte Coliseum, before winning Game 5 over the Hornets at the United Center, 93–84 to win the series in five games.^[37][38][39]

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 over the Pacers at the United Center to take a 2–0 series lead, before losing the next two games 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 the United Center, 88–83 to win in a hard-fought seven-game series, en route to advance to the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year.^[40][41][42]

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 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.^[43][44][45]

At an average age of 32.096 years old, the Bulls became the oldest team to win an NBA championship.^[46] The Bulls also led the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 983,444 at the United Center during the regular season.^[23][47]

This was Jordan's last season with the Bulls, as he announced his second retirement in January 1999;^[48][49][50] however, he would later on make a second comeback with the Washington Wizards in 2001.^[51][52][53] Following the season, Jackson resigned as head coach after nine seasons with the Bulls,^[54][55][56] while Pippen was traded to the Houston Rockets,^[57][58][59] Rodman signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers,^[60][61][62] Longley was dealt to the Phoenix Suns,^[59][63][64] Kerr was traded to the San Antonio Spurs,^[65][59][66] Burrell signed with the New Jersey Nets,^[67] Jud Buechler signed with the Detroit Pistons,^[68] 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.