The 1997 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1996–97 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Utah Jazz took on the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls for the title, with the Bulls holding home court advantage. The series was played under a best-of-seven format, with the first 2 games in Chicago, the next 3 games in Salt Lake City, and the last 2 games in Chicago.
The Bulls won the series 4 games to 2. For the fifth time in as many Finals appearances, Michael Jordan was named NBA Finals MVP.
The Bulls and Jazz won a combined 133 regular season games, the second most in Finals history behind the previous year's 136. Until 2016, the 1997 NBA Finals was the last to feature teams that won a total of at least 130 regular season games.
Background
Chicago Bulls
For the Chicago Bulls, the campaign was almost identical to their record-breaking 1995–96 season. They began the season 12–0, and by the All-Star break, were 42–6, putting them on pace to win 70 games for a second year in a row. But some late-season injuries and poor play, including Scottie Pippen's failed attempt at a game-winning three-pointer in the Bulls' final regular season game against the New York Knicks, and the Bulls settled for a league-best 69–13 record. This tied the 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers for the second-best regular season, only behind the 1995–96 Bulls (72–10) at the time. 19 years later, the 2015–16 Golden State Warriors (73–9) would break the wins record.
In the playoffs, the Bulls swept the Washington Bullets in the first round, dispatched the Atlanta Hawks in five games in the second round, then defeated the Miami Heat in five games in the Eastern Conference finals.
Utah Jazz
The Jazz emerged as a force in the Western Conference as far back as the mid-1980s, powered by its All-Star duo of point guard John Stockton and power forward Karl Malone. They advanced to the Western Conference finals three times between 1992 and 1996 (1992, 1994 and 1996), but lost on each occasion.
However, a different story was written for the 1996–97 season. Powered by league MVP Karl Malone, along with the talented John Stockton, the Jazz finally asserted themselves atop the Western Conference, finishing with a franchise-record 64 wins. Also notable on the season was Utah's complete rebrand, as they replaced their classic "J-Note" logo and Mardi Gras colors with a bold, gradient "Purple Mountain" motif.
In the playoffs, Utah swept the Los Angeles Clippers in the opening round and eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the second round. Utah then eliminated the Houston Rockets to advance to their first NBA Finals in franchise history, thanks to John Stockton's buzzer-beating, three-point shot in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals.
Another storyline heading into the Finals was Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan coaching against his former team as a player. Sloan made the All-Star game twice with the Bulls and was a key player on Dick Motta’s defensive-minded teams throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
Road to the Finals
Utah Jazz (Western Conference champion) Chicago Bulls (Eastern Conference champion)1st seed in the West, 2nd-best league recordRegular season1st seed in the East, best league recordDefeated the (8) Los Angeles Clippers, 3–0First roundDefeated the (8) Washington Bullets, 3–0Defeated the (4) Los Angeles Lakers, 4–1Conference semifinalsDefeated the (4) Atlanta Hawks, 4–1Defeated the (3) Houston Rockets, 4–2Conference finalsDefeated the (2) Miami Heat, 4–1
Regular season series Both teams split the two meetings, each won by the home team:
Despite Michael Jordan scoring a game-high 44 points, the Jazz rallied with strong performances from Karl Malone (36 points, 15 rebounds) and John Stockton (12 points, 13 assists) and gave the Bulls' their first loss of the season on November 23 at the Delta Center.
1997 NBA Finals rosters
Chicago Bulls
Utah Jazz
Series summary Game Date Road team Result Home team Game 1 June 1 Utah Jazz 82–84 (0–1) Chicago Bulls Game 2 June 4 Utah Jazz 85–97 (0–2) Chicago Bulls Game 3 June 6 Chicago Bulls 93–104 (2–1) Utah Jazz Game 4 June 8 Chicago Bulls 73–78 (2–2) Utah Jazz Game 5 June 11 Chicago Bulls 90–88 (3–2) Utah Jazz Game 6 June 13 Utah Jazz 86–90 (2–4) Chicago Bulls
The Finals were played using a 2–3–2 site format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team with home court advantage's (Chicago's) home court (United Center).
Had the Western Conference finals between the Jazz and the Houston Rockets reached a game 7, the Finals would have started on Wednesday, June 4 and followed the similar Wednesday-Friday-Sunday rotation.
All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4).
Game 1
Despite injuring his foot in the Eastern Conference finals against Miami, Scottie Pippen helped the Bulls to an 84–82 victory over Utah on Sunday. He scored 27 points while Jordan scored 31. The Bulls trailed by one in the 4th, yet were able to grab an 81–79 lead after Pippen blocked Antoine Carr, then made his third 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining. However, John Stockton answered with a 3 of his own with 51.7 seconds left to give Utah an 82–81 lead. Michael Jordan made 1 of 2 free throws with 35.8 seconds left to tie it at 82. Then, Karl Malone was fouled by Rodman with 9.2 seconds left and had a chance to give Utah the lead. Scottie famously psyched him out, saying, "Just remember, the mailman doesn't deliver on Sundays, Karl", before he stepped up to the line. He missed them both. Jordan got the rebound and quickly called a time-out with 7.5 seconds left. With the game on the line, the Bulls put the ball in Jordan's hands. He dribbled out most of the waning seconds, then launched a 20-footer (game-winning shot) that went in at the buzzer to give Chicago a 1–0 series lead, after which he pumped his fist in triumph. The fist-pumping often draws comparisons to another famous Jordan reaction to a buzzer-beater, when he leaped into the air after hitting The Shot that eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of the 1989 Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
Jordan joined Cliff Hagan in Game 6 in 1957, Jerry West in Game 3 in 1962, Larry Wright in Game 1 in 1979, and Dennis Johnson in Game 4 in 1985 as the only NBA Finals buzzer-beaters. To date, there has not been another buzzer-beating shot to win a Finals game.
Game 2
The Bulls simply dominated Game 2. After a hard-fought first quarter, the Bulls took control of the game with a 12–0 second-quarter run. Utah's 31 points in the first half was only one point above an NBA low. Karl Malone, who missed those two key free throws in Game 1, had another bad night, making only 6 of 20 field goals. Dennis Rodman nailed a late 3-pointer to put the Bulls up 97–85.
Game 3
Utah's fans welcomed their proud Western Conference champs with force. During the introductions of the Jazz's starting lineups, the Bulls players plugged their ears, due to the loud cheers and fireworks within the Delta Center. The Chicago Bulls started off the first three quarters with mediocre play, despite Scottie Pippen tying a then-Finals record with seven 3-pointers. Utah was led by Karl Malone, who scored 37 points and had 10 rebounds. Chicago attempted a 4th-quarter comeback, cutting a 24-point deficit down to 7, but Utah ultimately won its first game of the series. With the Bulls trailing by 18 points in the second quarter, Michael Jordan threw down an alley-oop slam which drew loud boos from the crowd. Dennis Rodman defended his poor performance in Game 3 with a vulgar remark denigrating Mormons and was fined a then record $50,000 for this remark and CKE Restaurants dropped his television commercials permanently. He apologized, claiming he was not aware that Mormon referred to a religion and intended his remark at obnoxious Jazz fans.
Game 4
Due to the extremely loud Jazz fans in Game 3, Bulls coach Phil Jackson wore a pair of ear plugs. A tight game with many lead changes throughout, the Jazz led by five after the first quarter, but trailed by five at halftime. The score was tied going into the fourth quarter. Late in the game, Michael Jordan made a fast break dunk to give the Bulls a 71–66 lead, but John Stockton buried a momentum-shifting three-pointer at the top of the key to cut the deficit to 71–69. Jordan made a jumper to give the Bulls a 73–69 lead with 2:01 remaining, but the Bulls would not score again. The Jazz pulled to within one when Stockton stole the ball from Jordan and made two free throws at the other end. On the next possession, Stockton grabbed a rebound from a Jordan miss and threw a full-court pass to Karl Malone for a layup with 44.5 seconds left that put Utah in front for good, 74–73. After Stockton made the assist, he jumped up into the air several times pumping his fist. After some Bulls misses, Karl Malone made two free throws with 17 seconds left to put the Jazz up by three. On the next possession, Michael Jordan's potential game-tying three-pointer with less than 10 seconds left rattled out; Stockton grabbed the rebound and threw another full-court pass to Bryon Russell, who escaped the intentional foul and dunked with five seconds left in the game to seal it, drawing a huge roar from the crowd. The Jazz's 12–2 run tied the series at two games apiece. The Delta Center grew so loud that during the final moments of the game when Bryon Russell made the dunk that iced the game, Marv Albert was unable to be clearly heard. The 78–73 score was one of the lowest scores in NBA Finals history. Jackson later wrote that the team's equipment manager "had mistakenly served our players Gaterlode, a high-carbohydrate drink, instead of Gatorade," making the team "sluggish... Each of the players, it was estimated, had ingested the equivalent of about twenty baked potatoes."
Game 5
Game 5, known as "The Flu Game", was one of Michael Jordan's most memorable games. At 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, Jordan woke up and began to experience vomiting and diarrhea, and called his personal trainer to his hotel room, where he was found lying curled up in the fetal position, shaking, and sweating profusely. He hardly had the strength to sit up in bed and requested a doctor. He was diagnosed with a stomach virus or food poisoning, likely caused by a pizza ordered the night before. Jordan eventually claimed it was food poisoning in the 2020 docuseries The Last Dance. The Bulls' athletic trainers told Jordan that there was no way he could play the next day, but Jordan insisted that he play. The Jazz were a perfect 10–0 at home in the postseason up until that point, and a third consecutive win would give them the series lead. The Bulls needed Jordan to assist them, as it was a critical game, and despite his sickness, Jordan got out of bed at 5:50 p.m. on Wednesday, just in time for the 7 o'clock tip-off at the Delta Center.