NBA 1997/98

National Basketball Association
◄ previous	1997/98 season		next ►
Duration		October 1997 - June 1998
Season games per team		82
Number of teams		29
Regular season
Best record		United States Chicago Bulls Utah Jazz United States
Season MVP		United States Michael Jordan
Top scorer		United States Michael Jordan
Playoffs
Eastern - Champion		United States Chicago Bulls
Runner-up team		United States Indiana Pacers
Western - Champion		United States Utah Jazz
Runner-up team		United States Los Angeles Lakers
Finals
NBA champions		United States Chicago Bulls
Runner-up		United States Utah Jazz
Finals MVP		United States Michael Jordan

The 1997–98 NBA season was the National Basketball Association's 52nd season .

A total of 29 teams took part in the regular season. Each team played 82 games. The eight best in each conference qualified for the NBA playoffs .

The Chicago Bulls defeated Utah Jazz 4-2 in the NBA Finals , becoming NBA champions for the third time in a row and for the sixth time in eight years. With this season and the resignation of Michael Jordan and the departure of Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman , the dominance of the Bulls and, in the eyes of many observers, ended a golden era of basketball.

Season Notes

The NBA All-Star Game took place in Madison Square Garden , home of the New York Knicks . The Eastern Conference won 135-114. Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls has been voted MVP. Kobe Bryant was the youngest all-star in NBA history at the age of 19.
The Washington Bullets renamed themselves Washington Wizards.
To make the game more spectacular, the "restricted area" was introduced under the basket, in which an offensive foul is only punished under special circumstances.

Final results

S = wins, N = defeats, PCT = percentage of wins, P = deficit on division leaders

The placements in the seed lists of the respective conference playoffs are listed in brackets.

#	team	S.	N	PCT	P
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
1	Miami Heat (2)	55	27	.671	-
2	New York Knicks (7)	43	39	.524	12
3	New Jersey Nets (8)	43	39	.524	12
4th	Washington Wizards	42	40	.512	13
5	Orlando Magic	41	41	.500	14th
6th	Boston Celtics	36	46	.430	19th
7th	Philadelphia 76ers	31	51	.378	24
Central Division
#	team	S.	N	PCT	P
1	Chicago Bulls (1)	62	20th	.756	-
2	Indiana Pacers (3)	58	24	.707	4th
3	Charlotte Hornets (4)	51	31	.622	11
4th	Atlanta Hawks (5)	50	32	.610	12
5	Cleveland Cavaliers (6)	47	35	.573	15th
6th	Detroit Pistons	37	45	.451	25th
7th	Milwaukee Bucks	36	46	.439	26th
8th	Toronto Raptors	16	66	.195	46

#	team	S.	N	PCT	P
Western Conference
Midwest Division
1	Utah Jazz (1)	62	20th	.756	-
2	San Antonio Spurs (5)	56	26th	.683	6th
3	Minnesota Timberwolves (7)	45	37	.549	17th
4th	Houston Rockets (8)	41	41	.500	20th
5	Dallas Mavericks	20th	62	.244	42
6th	Vancouver grizzlies	19th	63	.232	43
7th	Denver nuggets	11	71	.134	51
Pacific Division
#	team	S.	N	PCT	P
1	Seattle SuperSonics (2)	61	21st	.744	-
2	Los Angeles Lakers (3)	61	21st	.744	-
3	Phoenix Suns (4)	56	26th	.683	5
4th	Portland Trail Blazers (6)	46	36	.561	15th
5	Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	34
6th	Golden State Warriors	19th	63	.232	42
7th	Los Angeles Clippers	17th	65	.207	44

Honors

Most Valuable Player : Michael Jordan , Chicago Bulls
Rookie of the Year : Tim Duncan , San Antonio Spurs
Defensive Player of the Year : Dikembe Mutombo , Atlanta Hawks
Sixth Man of the Year : Danny Manning , Phoenix Suns
Most Improved Player : Alan Henderson , Atlanta Hawks
Coach of the Year : Larry Bird , Indiana Pacers
All-NBA First Team :
- F - Tim Duncan , San Antonio Spurs
- F - Karl Malone , Utah Jazz
- C - Shaquille O'Neal , Los Angeles Lakers
- G - Gary Payton , Seattle SuperSonics
- G - Michael Jordan , Chicago Bulls
All-NBA Second Team:
- F - Vin Baker , Seattle SuperSonics
- F - Grant Hill , Detroit Pistons
- C - David Robinson , San Antonio Spurs
- G - Tim Hardaway , Miami Heat
- G - Rod Strickland , Washington Wizards
All-NBA Third Team:
- F - Scottie Pippen , Chicago Bulls
- F - Glen Rice , Charlotte Hornets
- C - Dikembe Mutombo , Atlanta Hawks
- G - Mitch Richmond , Sacramento Kings
- G - Reggie Miller , Indiana Pacers
NBA All-Defensive First Team :
- F - Scottie Pippen , Chicago Bulls
- F - Karl Malone , Utah Jazz
- C - Dikembe Mutombo , Atlanta Hawks
- G - Gary Payton , Seattle SuperSonics
- G - Michael Jordan , Chicago Bulls
NBA All-Defensive Second Team:
- F - Charles Oakley , New York Knicks
- F - Tim Duncan , San Antonio Spurs
- C - David Robinson , San Antonio Spurs
- G - Eddie Jones , Los Angeles Lakers
- G - Mookie Blaylock , Atlanta Hawks
All-NBA Rookie First Team :
All-NBA Rookie Second Team:

Play-offs 1998

The first play-off round was played in the best-of-five format. All other rounds were best-of-seven series.

First round			Conference semifinals			Conference Finals			NBA finals

1	Utah	3
8th	Houston	2
			1	Utah	4th

			5	San Antonio	1
4th	Phoenix	1

5	San Antonio	3
						1	Utah	4th
Western Conference
						3	LA Lakers	0
3	LA Lakers	3

6th	Portland	1
			3	LA Lakers	4th

			2	Seattle	1
2	Seattle	3

7th	Minnesota	2
									W1	Utah	2

									E1	Chicago	4th
1	Chicago	3

8th	New Jersey	0
			1	Chicago	4th

			4th	Charlotte	1
4th	Charlotte	3

5	Atlanta	1
						1	Chicago	4th
Eastern Conference
						3	Indiana	3
3	Indiana	3

6th	Cleveland	1
			3	Indiana	4th

			7th	new York	1
2	Miami	2

7th	new York	3

1998 NBA Finals


game	date	Home team	Away team	Result	was standing
1	3rd of June	Utah	Chicago	88:85 (n.V.)	1-0
2	June 5th	Utah	Chicago	88:93	1: 1
3	June 7th	Chicago	Utah	96:54	2: 1
4th	June 10th	Chicago	Utah	86:82	3: 1
5	June 12	Chicago	Utah	81:83	3: 2
6th	14th June	Utah	Chicago	86:87	2: 4

Michael Jordan was elected Finals MVP .

Web links

Official site of the NBA