Revisionist History — Chicago Bulls, Part 1: The Last Dance (1997–98 Season)
As the Bulls embark on their “Last Dance,” age rears its ugly head to create some obstacles along the way, but the 1997–98 squad is still the team to beat in the Eastern Conference, and the NBA.
The 1996–97 Chicago Bulls were one of the greatest teams in NBA history, going 69–13 on the regular season and defeating the Utah Jazz in six NBA Finals games en route to their fifth Larry O’Brien trophy in seven years.
By this point, Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan and Company had done it all as members of the Bulls, and they knew it entering the next season: both men declared the 1997–98 campaign as their last in Chicago. Sure, anything could change in the 12 months between offseasons, but with Jackson referring to the season to his team as “the Last Dance,” there was little room for doubt.
This was a little concerning: if Jackson and Jordan leave, there’s little chance Pippen stays on board for a rebuild, especially at his age. This leaves a core of Ron Harper, Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, Scott Burrell, Bill Wennington and Randy Brown for 1998–99 which… yeah. It wasn’t pretty.
One of the core concepts of Zen is to live in the moment and not fear what hasn’t happened yet, and Jackson conditioned his core to know this. The only thing that mattered was the upcoming 1997–98 season, and the Bulls kicked it off doing what they did best: winning.
Chicago Bulls 1997–98 Roster
Starting Five
#9 - Ron Harper, PG
#23 - Michael Jordan, SG
#33 - Scottie Pippen, SF
#91 - Dennis Rodman, PF
#13 - Luc Longley, C
Bench
#7 - Toni Kukoc, SF/PF
#25 - Steve Kerr, PG
#24 - Scott Burrell, SF/SG
#34 - Bill Wennington, C
#30 - Jud Buechler, SG/SF
#0 - Randy Brown, PG/SG
#8 - Dickey Simpkins, PF/C
#25 - Rusty LaRue, PG/SG
#53 - Joe Kleine, C/PF
October 19 — December 15, 1997 (20–8)
The Bulls wasted no time building a gap between themselves and the East, winning their opening night contest against the Toronto Raptors at Skydome and going 8–2 in their first ten games.
Despite close losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks, the Bulls were once again proving to be the elite class of the Eastern Conference. The New York Knicks, however, were off to an impressive 7–2 start of their own, giving the Bulls some competition for the throne early on.
Jordan, Pippen and Company picked up exactly where they left off in their spectacular 1996–97 season, reminding every opponent they were the team to beat through dominant double-digit victories. Their balance of size, skill and experience was little match for just about any adversary.
At 14–3 with a comfortable four-game lead in the East, the Bulls would endure a setback on November 26. Dennis Rodman tore his hamstring on a rebound attempt in a loss to the Heat, sidelining him for 4–6 weeks. This forced Toni Kukoc into the starting power forward position and severely hampered the Bulls’ depth.
Losing Dennis Rodman won’t hurt you too much when Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen lead the way, but it did hurt: the Bulls would only go 6–5 in the games following the injury, which allowed the Knicks, Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers to gain ground and makes things interesting in the East.
This would force the Bulls into their first major marquee matchup of the 1997–98 season: a Saturday night battle against the Knicks on December 9. At the time, the Knicks were 18–8, a half-game ahead in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls disposed of them in the thrilling contest, headlined by a Toni Kukoc double-double, by a final of 93–88.
Highlights
October 19, 1997: 98–87 win over Toronto to start the season.
October 28, 1997: 103–99 OT win over Seattle. Scottie Pippen nailed the game-tying buzzer beater in the fourth to send it to overtime.
November 1, 1997: 99–94 win over Miami, one of the Bulls’ greatest threats to their Eastern Conference supremacy. Jordan goes 38/8/7.
November 19, 1997: Matchup between the NBA’s two best teams: the Bulls (11–2) and the Suns (12–2). The Suns continued their hot streak, defeating the Bulls 121–119 in a triple-overtime, Sunday night thriller.
November 26, 1997: 87–81 loss to Miami in Chicago, Dennis Rodman tears his hamstring and will miss 4–6 weeks of play.
December 9, 1997: First meeting of the season between the first place New York Knicks (18–8) and second place Chicago Bulls (17–8). Bulls win 93–88.
December 18, 1997 — February 14, 1998 (20–9)
Still plagued with the absence of Dennis Rodman for at least three more weeks, the Bulls would continue to hover around the .500 mark during that time. All the while, the Indiana Pacers were storming, eventually taking on first place in the East by the end of December.
The Bulls had set up enough space at the top of the conference where .500 play wouldn’t drop them too far back, but they entered the 1998 calendar year two-and-a-half games behind the Pacers. Under head coach Larry Bird, the Pacers seemed destined to dethrone the champions.
Second in the East with a record of 27–14 on January 10, the Bulls had already lost more games in the 1997–98 season than in either of their prior two championship seasons. Rodman returned in a Wednesday night thriller against the fourth-seeded Knicks, who had crashed back to Earth as the Pacers ascended.
From then on, the Bulls locked into familiar form and never looked back.
The Bulls would finish January and surge into February with a dominant 13–3 record, now playing tug-of-war with the Pacers who refuse to relinquish first place in the Eastern Conference. Heading to All-Star Weekend, the Bulls had recorded a 40–17 mark for the season, making them one of the NBA’s top four teams down the stretch (alongside the Pacers, Suns and Houston Rockets).
Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Toni Kukoc were selected as all-stars for the Eastern Conference in 1998.
Highlights
December 29, 1997: The Bulls face the Pacers for the third time in the season, but the first time looking up: they entered play one game behind their division rivals from Indianapolis. This 105–102 overtime loss didn’t help.
January 6, 1998: Another loss to the Pacers — this time a Saturday afternoon at Market Square Arena — sets the Bulls three games behind them in the East.
January 10, 1998: Dennis Rodman scores 11 and grabs 14 boards in his return from injured reserve; the Bulls would beat the Knicks, 98–91.
February 12, 1998: In the midst of an eight-game winning streak, Michael Jordan scores 48 points, while logging nine rebounds, seven assists and four blocks (three on Penny Hardaway) in a 117–91 onslaught of the Magic.
February 22 — April 11, 1998 (19–6)
The Bulls were playing to their earlier standard, when they went 14–3 to begin the season. By the beginning of March, the Bulls continued to perform well, and a seven-game winning streak allowed them to leap over the Pacers for the first seed in the East, not to be relinquished for the rest of the season.
En route to their third consecutive 60-win season, the Bulls once again lost Rodman on March 23 with a torn hamstring, again setting him back for a 4–6 week period. With a playoff berth already clinched, the loss would only affect the Bulls during the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, and Toni Kukoc isn’t the worst contingency plan to have in the short-term.
Despite going only 13–11 during the season without Rodman, the Bulls would keep their hot streak going to end the season 8–4.
Even with persistent injuries to Dennis Rodman forcing him to miss 36 games at various points in the season the Bulls surged to an impressive 59–23 record to end the 1997–98 season atop the Eastern Conference, and the NBA.
It was a ten-loss regression for the Bulls from the 1996–97 season, indicating age and the ailments coming along with it were becoming a factor for them. If there was ever a sign the 1997–98 season would be the “Last Dance,” it was this. But before calling it quits, this group had one more title to win.
Highlights
March 9, 1998: Michael Jordan and Grant Hill each record double-doubles, highlighted by Jordan’s 47 points and Hill’s 44 on the night. It would prove to be one of the Bulls’ few losses here, as Hill nailed a buzzer-beater to win.
March 23, 1998: The Bulls once again lose Rodman to injury, but defeat the Bucks 95–82 thanks to a 39-point performance from Jordan.
March 29, 1998: In the Bulls’ final visit to Miami for the regular season and up 2–1 on the season series, Jordan and the Bulls made one final statement to Pat Riley, routing them in a 106–83 victory.
April 11, 1998: With hopes of a marquee rematch between Jordan and Hill to end the season, Hill experienced back tightness and took the night off to prep for the playoffs. The Bulls won handily, 96–78.
Author’s Note: With Rodman, the Bulls were 38–8. Without him? 21–15. Never underestimate the value and impact of a dominant four.
1997–98 Team Leaders
Points Per Game (PPG)
Michael Jordan (28.7)
Scottie Pippen (20.1)
Toni Kukoc (11.9)
Steve Kerr (10.6)
Ron Harper (9.9)
Rebounds Per Game (RPG)
Dennis Rodman (13.6)
Luc Longley (6.0)
Michael Jordan (5.8)
Scottie Pippen (5.6)
Toni Kukoc (4.9)
Assists Per Game (APG)
Scottie Pippen (5.8)
Ron Harper (4.8)
Toni Kukoc (4.7)
Michael Jordan (4.4)
Randy Brown (3.5)
Field Goal Percentage (FG%)
Michael Jordan (.545)
Scottie Pippen (.478)
Dennis Rodman (.459)
Luc Longley (.447)
Toni Kukoc (.439)
Three-Point Percentage (3P%)
Michael Jordan (.488)
Scottie Pippen (.425)
Steve Kerr (.406)
Toni Kukoc (.389)
Ron Harper (.384)
1997–98 Transactions
No transactions were completed by the Bulls during the 1997–98 season.
1997–98 NBA Season Information
Eastern Conference Standings (Top 8)
Chicago Bulls (59–23)
Indiana Pacers (57–25)
Miami Heat (54–28)
New York Knicks (50–32)
Detroit Pistons (49–33)
Philadelphia 76ers (46–36)
Orlando Magic (46–36)
New Jersey Nets (45–37)
Western Conference Standings (Top 8)
Phoenix Suns (57–25)
Houston Rockets (55–27)
Seattle Supersonics (52–30)
Minnesota Timberwolves (47–35)
Sacramento Kings (45–37)
Los Angeles Lakers (44–38)
Portland Trailblazers (42–40)
Dallas Mavericks (41–41)
Most Valuable Player: Grant Hill, Detroit Pistons
Rookie of the Year: Chauncey Billups, Toronto Raptors
Sixth Man of the Year: Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
Defensive Player of the Year: Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves
Coach of the Year: Danny Ainge, Phoenix Suns (57–25)
All NBA First Team
Gary Payton - Seattle Supersonics
Michael Jordan - Chicago Bulls
Grant Hill - Detroit Pistons
Scottie Pippen - Chicago Bulls
Shaquille O’Neal - Los Angeles Lakers
All NBA Second Team
Allen Iverson - Philadelphia 76ers
Kobe Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers
Kevin Garnett - Minnesota Timberwolves
Karl Malone - Utah Jazz
Hakeem Olajuwon - Houston Rockets
All NBA Rookie Team
Chauncey Billups - Toronto Raptors
Ron Mercer - Boston Celtics
Keith Van Horn - New Jersey Nets
Tim Duncan - San Antonio Spurs
Adonal Foyle - Golden State Warriors
All NBA Defensive Team
Gary Payton - Seattle Supersonics
Scottie Pippen - Chicago Bulls
Kevin Garnett - Minnesota Timberwolves
Karl Malone - Utah Jazz
Dikembe Mutombo - Atlanta Hawks
