1997–98 NBA season

The 1997–98 NBA season was the 52nd season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Chicago Bulls winning their third straight championship and sixth in the last eight years, beating the Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 in the 1998 NBA Finals. It also marked the departure of Michael Jordan and the end of the dynasty for the Chicago Bulls.

1997-98 NBA Season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
Duration
  • October 31, 1997 – April 19, 1998
  • April 23 – May 31, 1998 (Playoffs)
  • June 3 – 14, 1998 (Finals)
Number of teams29
TV partner(s)NBC, TBS, TNT
Draft
Top draft pickTim Duncan
Picked bySan Antonio Spurs
Regular season
Top seedUtah Jazz
Season MVPMichael Jordan (Chicago)
Top scorerMichael Jordan (Chicago)
Playoffs
Eastern championsChicago Bulls
  Eastern runners-upIndiana Pacers
Western championsUtah Jazz
  Western runners-upLos Angeles Lakers
Finals
ChampionsChicago Bulls
  Runners-upUtah Jazz
Finals MVPMichael Jordan (Chicago)

This was the last time that both NBA and NHL regular seasons ended on the same day.

Notable occurrences

Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 1996–97 coach 1997–98 coach
Boston Celtics M. L. Carr Rick Pitino
Denver Nuggets Dick Motta Bill Hanzlik
Golden State Warriors Rick Adelman P. J. Carlesimo
Indiana Pacers Larry Brown Larry Bird
Orlando Magic Richie Adubato Chuck Daly
Philadelphia 76ers Johnny Davis Larry Brown
Portland Trail Blazers P. J. Carlesimo Mike Dunleavy Sr.
Vancouver Grizzlies Stu Jackson Brian Hill
In-season
Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach
Dallas Mavericks Jim Cleamons Don Nelson
Detroit Pistons Doug Collins Alvin Gentry
Toronto Raptors Darrell Walker Butch Carter

1997–98 NBA changes

  • The Atlanta Hawks split their home games playing in the Alexander Memorial Coliseum and the Georgia Dome, due to the demolition of The Omni.
  • The Charlotte Hornets changed their uniforms adding teal (home), and purple (road) to the side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
  • The Chicago Bulls removed the pinstripes from their black alternate uniforms.
  • The Cleveland Cavaliers slightly changed their uniforms.
  • The Golden State Warriors changed their logo and uniforms, changing their colors to navy, orange and gold.
  • The Indiana Pacers changed their uniforms adding pinstripes with side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
  • The New Jersey Nets changed their logo and uniforms, replacing blue with navy to go with red and grey to their color scheme, added side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
  • The New York Knicks changed their home uniforms, adding blue side panels to their jerseys and shorts. Meanwhile, the blue alternate road uniforms with black side panels to their jerseys and shorts they wore for the past two seasons became their primary road jersey.
  • The Philadelphia 76ers changed their logo and uniforms, replacing their red, white and blue colors with black and gold.
  • The Vancouver Grizzlies added new black road alternate uniforms.
  • The Washington Bullets changed their name to the Washington Wizards, and got a new logo and new uniforms. They scrap the red, white and blue colors to blue, old gold and black. Also in December that season, they moved into their new home arena called the MCI Center (later the Verizon Center, now Capital One Arena).

Final standings

By division

By conference

Notes

  • z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
  • c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
  • y – Clinched division title
  • x – Clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.

First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals
            
E1 Chicago* 3
E8 New Jersey 0
E1 Chicago* 4
E4 Charlotte 1
E4 Charlotte 3
E5 Atlanta 1
E1 Chicago* 4
Eastern Conference
E3 Indiana 3
E3 Indiana 3
E6 Cleveland 1
E3 Indiana 4
E7 New York 1
E2 Miami* 2
E7 New York 3
E1 Chicago* 4
W1 Utah* 2
W1 Utah* 3
W8 Houston 2
W1 Utah* 4
W5 San Antonio 1
W4 Phoenix 1
W5 San Antonio 3
W1 Utah* 4
Western Conference
W3 LA Lakers 0
W3 LA Lakers 3
W6 Portland 1
W3 LA Lakers 4
W2 Seattle* 1
W2 Seattle* 3
W7 Minnesota 2
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage

Statistics leaders

CategoryPlayerTeamStat
Points per gameMichael JordanChicago Bulls28.7
Rebounds per gameDennis RodmanChicago Bulls15.0
Assists per gameRod StricklandWashington Wizards10.5
Steals per gameMookie BlaylockAtlanta Hawks2.61
Blocks per gameMarcus CambyToronto Raptors3.65
FG%Shaquille O'NealLos Angeles Lakers.584
FT%Chris MullinIndiana Pacers.939
3FG%Dale EllisSeattle SuperSonics.464

NBA awards

Yearly awards

Player of the week

The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.

Week Player
Oct. 31 – Nov. 8 Dikembe Mutombo (Atlanta Hawks)
Nov. 9 – Nov. 15 Shaquille O'Neal (Los Angeles Lakers)
Nov. 16 – Nov. 22 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Nov. 23 – Nov. 29 Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
Nov. 30 – Dec. 6 Wesley Person (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Dec. 7 – Dec. 13 Glen Rice (Charlotte Hornets)
Dec. 14 – Dec. 20 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Dec. 21 – Dec. 27 David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
Dec. 28 – Jan. 3 Rik Smits (Indiana Pacers)
Jan. 4 – Jan. 10 Steve Smith (Atlanta Hawks)
Jan. 11 – Jan. 17 Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers)
Jan. 18 – Jan. 24 Jayson Williams (New Jersey Nets)
Jan. 25 – Jan. 31 David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
Feb. 10 – Feb. 14 Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
Feb. 15 – Feb. 21 Nick Anderson (Orlando Magic)
Feb. 22 – Feb. 28 Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
Mar. 1 – Mar. 7 Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
Mar. 8 – Mar. 14 Jason Kidd (Phoenix Suns)
Mar. 15 – Mar. 21 Shaquille O'Neal (Los Angeles Lakers)
Mar. 22 – Mar. 28 Alonzo Mourning (Miami Heat)
Mar. 29 – Apr. 4 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Apr. 5 – Apr. 11 Sam Cassell (New Jersey Nets)
Apr. 12 – Apr. 18 Jason Kidd (Phoenix Suns)

Player of the month

The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.

Month Player
November Eddie Jones (Los Angeles Lakers)
December Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
January Shaquille O'Neal (Los Angeles Lakers)
February Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
March Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
April Shaquille O'Neal (Los Angeles Lakers)

Rookie of the month

The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.

Month Rookie
November Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
December Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
January Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
February Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
March Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
April Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)

Coach of the month

The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.

Month Coach
November Lenny Wilkens (Atlanta Hawks)
December George Karl (Seattle SuperSonics)
January Larry Bird (Indiana Pacers)
February Pat Riley (Miami Heat)
March Jerry Sloan (Utah Jazz)
April Del Harris (Los Angeles Lakers)

References

  1. "NBA Gets Rid of Dunk Contest". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. December 16, 1997. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  2. Roberts, Selena (February 9, 1998). "N.B.A. ALL-STAR GAME; Jordan Stars One Last Time (Probably)". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  3. "1998 NBA All-Star Game: East 135, West 114". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  4. "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Bullets Will Be Wizards". The New York Times. February 23, 1996. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  5. Justice, Richard (February 23, 1996). "For Bullets, 'Wizards' Casts Magic Spell". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  6. Adande, J.A. (May 16, 1997). "They're the Wizards of Ahhhhs". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  7. Hill, Karen (July 22, 1997). "Demolition Experts Place Explosives Around Omni". Associated Press. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  8. Wise, Mike (December 3, 1997). "BASKETBALL; Sprewell Attack Stuns League". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  9. Heisler, Mark (December 5, 1997). "Sprewell Is Suspended by the NBA". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  10. Bucher, Ric (December 5, 1997). "Sprewell Is Given One-Year Suspension by NBA". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  11. Drape, Tom (May 4, 1998). "THE N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Youthful Sprint Wears Out Houston". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  12. White, Lonnie (November 29, 1998). "Shifting Into Overglide". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  13. "They're Iron Men at Heart". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. November 21, 1997. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  14. "N.B.A.: LAST NIGHT; Pacers Make History in Doubling Portland". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 28, 1998. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  15. "Indiana Doubles Its Pleasure in Victory". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 28, 1998. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
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