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1997–98 NBA season

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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)
NBA seasons

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.

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

Notable occurrences

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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

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  • 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).

Teams

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1997-98 National Basketball Association
Eastern Conference
Division Team City Arena Capacity
Atlantic Boston Celtics Boston, Massachusetts FleetCenter 19,156
Miami Heat Miami, Florida Miami Arena 15,200
New Jersey Nets East Rutherford, New Jersey Continental Airlines Arena 20,049
New York Knicks New York, New York Madison Square Garden 19,812
Orlando Magic Orlando, Florida Orlando Arena 17,283
Philadelphia 76ers Philadelphia, Pennsylvania CoreStates Center 20,338
Washington Wizards Landover, Maryland
Washington, District of Columbia
Capital Centre
MCI Center
18,756
20,356
Central Atlanta Hawks Atlanta, Georgia Georgia Dome 71,000
Charlotte Hornets Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte Coliseum 24,042
Chicago Bulls Chicago, Illinois United Center 21,711
Cleveland Cavaliers Cleveland, Ohio Gund Arena 19,432
Detroit Pistons Auburn Hills, Michigan The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076
Indiana Pacers Indianapolis, Indiana Market Square Arena 17,171
Milwaukee Bucks Milwaukee, Wisconsin Bradley Center 18,717
Toronto Raptors Toronto, Ontario SkyDome 28,708
Western Conference
Midwest Dallas Mavericks Dallas, Texas Reunion Arena 18,293
Denver Nuggets Denver, Colorado McNichols Sports Arena 17,171
Houston Rockets Houston, Texas The Summit 16,285
Minnesota Timberwolves Minneapolis, Minnesota Target Center 18,798
San Antonio Spurs San Antonio, Texas Alamodome 20,557
Utah Jazz Salt Lake City, Utah Delta Center 18,306
Vancouver Grizzlies Vancouver, British Columbia General Motors Place 19,193
Pacific Golden State Warriors Oakland, California The Arena in Oakland 19,596
Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles, California Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 16,161
Los Angeles Lakers Inglewood, California Great Western Forum 17,505
Phoenix Suns Phoenix, Arizona America West Arena 19,023
Portland Trail Blazers Portland, Oregon Rose Garden 21,401
Sacramento Kings Sacramento, California ARCO Arena 17,317
Seattle SuperSonics Seattle, Washington Key Arena 17,072

Map of teams

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Atlantic Division Central Division Midwest Division Pacific Division

Final standings

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By division

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Eastern Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Miami Heat 55 27 .671 30-11 25–16 18–6
x-New York Knicks 43 39 .524 12 28–13 15–26 13–11
x-New Jersey Nets 43 39 .524 12 26–15 17–24 12–12
Washington Wizards 42 40 .512 13 24–17 18–23 12–13
Orlando Magic 41 41 .500 14 24–17 17–24 11–13
Boston Celtics 36 46 .439 19 24–17 12–29 12–12
Philadelphia 76ers 31 51 .378 24 19–22 12–29 7–17
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Chicago Bulls 62 20 .756 37–4 25–16 21–7
x-Indiana Pacers 58 24 .707 4 32–9 26–15 19–9
x-Charlotte Hornets 51 31 .622 11 32–9 19–22 16–12
x-Atlanta Hawks 50 32 .610 12 29–12 21–20 19–9
x-Cleveland Cavaliers 47 35 .573 15 27–14 20–21 14–14
Detroit Pistons 37 45 .451 25 25–16 12–29 12–16
Milwaukee Bucks 36 46 .439 26 21–20 15–26 9–19
Toronto Raptors 16 66 .195 46 9–32 7–34 2–26
Western Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
z-Utah Jazz 62 20 .756 36–5 26–15 22–2
x-San Antonio Spurs 56 26 .683 6 31–10 25–16 18–6
x-Minnesota Timberwolves 45 37 .549 17 26–15 19–22 14–10
x-Houston Rockets 41 41 .500 21 24–17 17–24 14–10
Dallas Mavericks 20 62 .244 42 13–28 7–34 9–15
Vancouver Grizzlies 19 63 .232 43 14–27 5–36 4–20
Denver Nuggets 11 71 .134 51 9–32 2–39 3–21
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics 61 21 .744 35–6 26–15 19–5
x-Los Angeles Lakers 61 21 .744  – 33–8 28–13 16–8
x-Phoenix Suns 56 26 .683 5 30–11 26–15 17–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers 46 36 .561 15 26–15 20–21 14–10
Sacramento Kings 27 55 .329 34 21–20 6–35 6–18
Golden State Warriors 19 63 .232 42 12–29 7–34 6–18
Los Angeles Clippers 17 65 .207 44 11–30 6–35 6–18

By conference

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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

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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

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Category Player Team Stat
Points per game Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls 28.7
Rebounds per game Dennis Rodman Chicago Bulls 15.0
Assists per game Rod Strickland Washington Wizards 10.5
Steals per game Mookie Blaylock Atlanta Hawks 2.61
Blocks per game Marcus Camby Toronto Raptors 3.65
FG% Shaquille O'Neal Los Angeles Lakers .584
FT% Chris Mullin Indiana Pacers .939
3FG% Dale Ellis Seattle SuperSonics .464

NBA awards

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Yearly awards

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Player of the week

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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

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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

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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

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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)

See also

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References

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  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.