1997–98 Chicago Bulls season
"The Last Dance" The 1997–98 NBA season was the Bulls' 32nd season in the National Basketball Association. The Bulls entered the season as the two-time defending NBA champions, where they defeated the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals in six games, winning their fifth NBA championship. During the off-season, the Bulls acquired Scott Burrell from the Golden State Warriors. However, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen would miss the first half of the season due to a foot injury sustained from the 1997 NBA Playoffs. Without Pippen, the Bulls started with a rough 9–7  record in November, but then would go on a 15–4 record until he returned in January. However, three-point specialist Steve Kerr went down with a knee injury in January, and played just 50 games. At midseason, the team traded Jason Caffey to the Golden State Warriors for David Vaughn. Vaughn would only play just three games with the Bulls before being waived on March 2. 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. Despite the  slow start, with the help of Scottie's return which was limited to just 44 games, the Bulls would post a 13-game winning streak between March and April, and still finish first place in the Central Division and Eastern Conference with a 62–20 record. The Bulls had the third best team defensive rating in the NBA. In the playoffs, the Bulls swept the New Jersey Nets 3–0 in the Eastern Conference First Round, defeated the Charlotte Hornets 4–1 in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, despite losing Game 2 at the United Center 78–76, and then the Indiana Pacers 4–3  in the Eastern Conference Finals en route to advance to the NBA Finals. In the Finals, they met the Utah Jazz in a rematch from the prior year's NBA Finals and just like last year, they would go on to defeat the Jazz in six games to win the championship. The championship was their sixth in eight years and completed the franchise's second "3-peat". The season also saw Michael Jordan earn his fifth and final NBA Most Valuable Player Award, while being selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, where he also won his third and  final All-Star Game MVP Award. He once again led the league in scoring averaging 28.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, while being named to the All-NBA First Team, and NBA All-Defensive First Team, and also finished in fourth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting. In addition, Pippen averaged 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and was selected to the All-NBA Third Team, and also to the All-Defensive First Team, while finishing in tenth place in Most Valuable Player voting, and rebound-specialist Dennis Rodman once  again led the league in rebounding with 15.0 rebounds per game. 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, while Luc Longley averaged 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, and Ron Harper contributed 9.3 points and 1.3 steals per game. This was Jordan's last season as a Bull, as he announced his second retirement after it was over. However, he did make a second comeback with the Washington Wizards in 2001. Following the season, Phil Jackson resigned as head coach , while Pippen was traded to the Houston Rockets, Rodman left for the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent, Longley was dealt to the Phoenix Suns, Kerr signed with the San Antonio Spurs, Burrell signed with the New Jersey Nets, and Jud Buechler signed with the Detroit Pistons. 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". It aired in April 2020, expedited due to the COVID-19 pandemic. NBA finals. Series summary. "Legend: OT denotes a game decided in overtime" "Bulls win series 4-2" Games 1 and 2. This 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 5. The 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. The 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.