1997–98 Utah Jazz season

During the off-season, All-Star point guard John Stockton sustained a knee injury that caused him to miss the first 18 games of the regular season.^[2][3][4] Without Stockton, the Jazz lost four of their first six games, and got off to an 11–7 start to the season. The team also changed their starting lineup, replacing Bryon Russell at small forward with Adam Keefe, and replacing Greg Ostertag at center with Greg Foster.^[5][6] However, Stockton eventually returned as the Jazz posted a seven-game winning streak between December and January, and later on held a 31–15 record at the All-Star break.^[7]

At mid-season, the team traded Foster and Chris Morris to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Rony Seikaly.^[8][9][10] However, after Seikaly failed to report within the mandated 48 hours required by NBA rules because of a foot injury, the trade was called off as the Jazz took Foster and Morris back;^[11][12][13] the Magic then traded Seikaly to the New Jersey Nets.^[14][15][16] The Jazz won 31 of their final 36 games after the All-Star break, including an 11-game winning streak between February and March. The team finished in first place in the Midwest Division with a league-best 62–20 record, and earned the first seed in the Western Conference; their record was also tied with the Bulls as the league's best record.^[17] The Jazz also made their 15th consecutive trip to the NBA playoffs.^[18]

Karl Malone averaged 27.0 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, while Jeff Hornacek averaged 14.2 points, 4.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and Stockton provided the team with 12.0 points, 8.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game. In addition, Russell played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 9.0 points per game, while second-year guard Shandon Anderson contributed 8.3 points per game, and Howard Eisley, who started at point guard for the first 18 games in Stockton's absence, provided with 7.7 points and 4.2 assists per game. On the defensive side, Keefe averaged 7.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while Foster provided with 5.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, Antoine Carr contributed 5.7 points per game, and Ostertag averaged 4.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.^[19]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, Malone was selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team.^[20][21][22] In addition, Malone also participated in the inaugural NBA 2Ball Competition, along with Tammi Reiss of the WNBA's Utah Starzz,^[23][24] and Hornacek won the NBA Three-Point Shootout.^[23][21][25] Malone finished in second place in Most Valuable Player voting behind Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls, who won his fifth MVP award with 92 first-place votes, while Malone had 20 first-place votes, while Stockton finished tied in 13th place;^[26][27] Malone also finished tied in 13th place in Most Improved Player voting,^[27] and head coach Jerry Sloan finished in second place in Coach of the Year voting, behind Larry Bird of the Indiana Pacers.^[28][27]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1998 NBA playoffs, and for the second consecutive year, the Jazz faced off against the 8th–seeded Houston Rockets, a team that featured the All-Star trio of Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Charles Barkley. With the series tied at 1–1, the Jazz struggled and faced elimination after losing Game 3 to the Rockets on the road, 89–85 at The Summit as the Rockets took a 2–1 series lead.^[29][30][31] However, the Jazz managed to win Game 4 on the road, 93–71 to even the series,^[32][33][34] before winning Game 5 over the Rockets at home, 84–70 at the Delta Center, thus winning in a hard-fought five-game series.^[35][36][37]

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 5th–seeded San Antonio Spurs, who were led by All-Star center David Robinson, All-Star forward and Rookie of the Year, Tim Duncan, and Avery Johnson. The Jazz took a 2–0 series lead before losing Game 3 to the Spurs on the road, 86–64 at the Alamodome; the Jazz struggled only shooting .286 in field-goal percentage in Game 3.^[38] However, the Jazz won the next two games, including a Game 5 home win over the Spurs at the Delta Center, 87–77 to win the series in five games.^[39][40][41]

In the Western Conference Finals, and also for the second consecutive year, the Jazz faced off against the 3rd–seeded Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by the All-Star quartet of Shaquille O'Neal, Eddie Jones, second-year star Kobe Bryant, and Nick Van Exel. The Jazz won the first two games at the Delta Center, which included a Game 1 win over the Lakers by a 35-point margin, 112–77.^[42] The Jazz won the next two games on the road, including a Game 4 win over the Lakers at the Great Western Forum, 96–92 to win the series in a four-game sweep, and advance to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year.^[43][44][45]

In the 1998 NBA Finals, and in a rematch of last year's Finals, the Jazz once again faced off against the top–seeded, and 2-time defending NBA champion Bulls, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard, and Most Valuable Player of the Year, Michael Jordan, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, and rebound-specialist Dennis Rodman. The Jazz had home-court advantage in the series after winning the regular-season series over the Bulls in two games. The Jazz won Game 1 over the Bulls at the Delta Center in overtime, 88–85, but then lost the next three games as the Bulls took a 3–1 series lead. The Jazz managed to win Game 5 over the Bulls on the road, 83–81 at the United Center. However, the Jazz lost Game 6 to the Bulls at the Delta Center, 87–86, with Jordan making the game-winning shot over Russell. The Jazz lost the series in six games, as the Bulls won their third consecutive NBA championship and sixth overall in eight years.^[46][47][48]

Game 3 of the NBA Finals would especially be infamous for the Jazz by it being the lowest-scoring effort by a team not just in a playoff match, but in an NBA Finals match in general with only 54 total points scored by them in a blowout 96–54 defeat that night.^[49][50][51] Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals is known for a notable moment in NBA history, as it featured the last shot that Jordan would ever make while playing for the Bulls. To date, this is the last NBA Finals appearance for the Jazz (or the Bulls).

The Jazz finished fourth in the NBA in home-game attendance with an attendance of 815,889 at the Delta Center during the regular season.^[19][52]

• Karl Malone, All-NBA First Team
• Karl Malone, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Karl Malone, NBA Leader, Free Throw Attempts (825) ^[57]

• 1997–98 NBA season