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 of their jerseys.
  • The Chicago Bulls removed the pinstripes from their 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 to their jerseys.
  • The New Jersey Nets changed their logo and uniforms, replacing blue with navy to go with red in their color scheme.
  • The New York Knicks changed their home uniforms, adding blue to the side of their jerseys. Meanwhile, the alternate uniforms they wore for the past two seasons became their primary road jersey.
  • The Philadelphia 76ers changed their logo and uniforms, replacing their red and blue colors with black and gold.
  • The Vancouver Grizzlies added new black 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 & 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

Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com

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)

Notables

First games

The following is a list of notable players who played their first NBA game during the 1997–98 season, listed with their first team.

* Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
PlayerTeamNotability
Tim Duncan*San Antonio SpursFirst overall pick in the 1997 Draft
1997–98 NBA Rookie of the Year winner
15-time NBA All-Star
15-time All-NBA Team
15-time All-Defensive Team
Two-time NBA MVP
Three-time NBA Finals MVP
One-time NBA All-Star Game MVP
Five-time NBA champion
1997–98 All-Rookie Team
Tracy McGrady*Toronto RaptorsSeven-time NBA All-Star
Seven-time All-NBA Team
2000–01 Most Improved Player
Chauncey BillupsBoston CelticsFive-time NBA All-Star
Three-time All-NBA Team
Two-time All-Defensive Team
One-time NBA Finals MVP
One-time NBA champion
Zydrunas IlgauskasCleveland CavaliersTwo-time NBA All-Star
1997–98 All-Rookie Team
Bobby JacksonDenver NuggetsOne-time Sixth Man of the Year
1997–98 All-Rookie Team
Derek AndersonCleveland CavaliersOne-time NBA champion
1997–98 All-Rookie Team
Cedric HendersonCleveland Cavaliers1997–98 All-Rookie Team
Brevin KnightCleveland Cavaliers1997–98 All-Rookie Team
Ron MercerBoston Celtics1997–98 All-Rookie Team
Maurice TaylorLos Angeles Clippers1997–98 All-Rookie Team
Tim ThomasPhiladelphia 76ers1997–98 All-Rookie Team
Keith Van HornNew Jersey Nets1997–98 All-Rookie Team

Last games

PlayerTeamNotability
Scott BrooksCleveland CavaliersOne-time NBA champion (as player)
One-time Coach of the Year (as coach)
Tom ChambersPhiladelphia 76ersFour-time NBA All-Star
Two-time All-NBA Team
One-time NBA All-Star Game MVP
Clyde Drexler*Houston Rockets10-time NBA All-Star
Five-time All-NBA Team
One-time NBA champion
Xavier McDanielNew Jersey NetsOne-time NBA All-Star
1985–86 All-Rookie Team
Nate McMillanSeattle SuperSonicsTwo-time All-Defensive Team
Ricky PierceMilwaukee BucksOne-time NBA All-Star
Two-time Sixth Man of the Year
Mark PriceOrlando MagicFour-time NBA All-Star
Four-time All-NBA Team
Spud WebbOrlando MagicShortest winner of the Slam Dunk Contest
Buck WilliamsNew York Knicks1981–82 NBA Rookie of the Year winner
Three-time NBA All-Star
One-time All-NBA Team
Four-time All-Defensive Team
1981–82 All-Rookie Team

References

  1. "Portland Trail Blazers at Indiana Pacers Box Score, February 27, 1998". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
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