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| Dates | June 3–14 | |||||||||
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| MVP | Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) | |||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Bulls: Michael Jordan (2009) Toni Kukoc (2021) Scottie Pippen (2010) Dennis Rodman (2011) Jazz: Karl Malone (2010) John Stockton (2009) Coaches: Phil Jackson (2007) Jerry Sloan (2009) Tex Winter (2011) Officials: Dick Bavetta (2015) Hugh Evans (2022) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Bulls defeated Pacers, 4–3 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Jazz defeated Lakers, 4–0 | |||||||||
The 1998 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1997–98 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The two-time defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls played against the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz, with the Jazz holding home-court advantage for the first 2 games in Salt Lake City. In a repeat of the previous year's Finals, the Bulls won the series 4 games to 2 for their third consecutive NBA title and their sixth in eight seasons.
Michael Jordan was voted the NBA Finals MVP of the series (he also had won the award the last five times the Bulls won the Finals: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, and 1997). This would be his sixth NBA championship and sixth Finals MVP award in six full basketball seasons. This would be his final season of winning the NBA championship and Finals MVP.
The 1998 Finals garnered the highest Nielsen TV ratings in NBA history at 18.7, and even surpassed the Nielsen ratings for the 1998 World Series, marking the first time the NBA had a higher rating in its championship round than of Major League Baseball's championship round.
The Bulls headed into the series as the underdogs. Bulls' small forward Scottie Pippen stated, "It's a different feeling. We’ve never been in this situation where we’ve sort of been written off. It’s a great feeling being the underdog because you want to go out now and prove everybody wrong."[1]
- ^ Terry Armour (June 3, 1998). "Chicago Bulls head into the 1998 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz as underdogs: 'You want to go out now and prove everybody wrong'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 20, 2021.