Who Won the 1998 NBA Finals?

The 1998 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1998 NBA Playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls defeated the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz 4 games to 2. Michael Jordan was named the NBA Finals MVP of the series.

The 1998 NBA Finals

The 1998 NBA Finals were the championship rounds of the 1998 NBA Playoffs that determined the champion of the 1997-98 NBA season. The Eastern Conference champions, the Chicago Bulls, took on the defending Western Conference champions, the Utah Jazz. The Jazz won the series 4-2.

The teams

The 1998 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1998 NBA Playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls faced the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz, with the Jazz holding home court advantage. In a rematch of the previous year’s Finals, the two teams met for a fourth consecutive time. The Jazz were also trying to exact revenge after losing in six games to the Bulls two years earlier. Michael Jordan returned to form in leading the Bulls to victory with his sixth NBA Finals MVP Award, winning his sixth championship ring overall.

The players

The 1998 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1998 NBA Playoffs, which concluded the 1997–98 NBA season. The Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls played against the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz, with the Jazz holding home-court advantage with the first two games in Salt Lake City. The series was played under a best-of-seven format, with the first team to win four games winning the series.

The Jazz eventually prevailed in six games to capture their second title in franchise history (and first since moving to Salt Lake City from New Orleans in 1979), making them only the fourth team in NBA history to win back-to-back championships. Michael Jordan scored 45 points in Game 6 to clinch his sixth NBA championship and sixth Finals MVP award. As of 2020, this is still the most recent Finals appearance for the Jazz.

The outcome

In the end, the Chicago Bulls won the 1998 NBA Finals by a score of 87-86. This was the sixth championship for the Bulls, and it capped off an incredible season in which they posted a 62-20 regular season record. Michael Jordan was named the Finals MVP for his performance, which included a game-winning shot in the final seconds of Game 6.

The 1998 NBA Finals: A Recap

In 1998, the Chicago Bulls took on the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals. The Bulls had won the championship the previous year and were looking to repeat. The Jazz had other ideas, however, and the series went to six games. In the end, the Bulls emerged victorious, winning their sixth NBA championship.

The teams

The 1998 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 1998 NBA Playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls defeated the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz four games to two. The series was played from June 5 to June 14, 1998, and was broadcast on television in the United States on NBC. Michael Jordan was named NBA Finals MVP for the sixth time in his career.

The two teams met again in the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998. In both years, the team with home-court advantage (Utah in 1997 and Chicago in 1998) won each of their games at home and then won Game 7 on their opponent’s court to take the NBA Championship. Utah lost to Chicago 87–86 in Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals after Karl Malone missed a last second shot that would have tied the game. Chicago then won Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals 90–86, completing a sweep of the Jazz. It was also their second consecutive title, sixth overall, and first since 1991. They would later win three more consecutive titles between 2000 and 2002 for a total of six championships in eight seasons, making them one of only five teams (as of 2020) to achieve this feat since 1967 when the league expanded to its current thirty franchises!

The stare-down between Michael Jordan and Bryon Russell prior to Russell’s fouling out near the end of Game 6 has become an iconic image associated with Jordan’s career

The players

The 1998 NBA Finals was the conclusion of the 1998 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls defeated the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 in a best-of-seven series for their sixth NBA Championship. The Jazz were unable to win a game on their home court during the series, which was also the first time since 1985 that an NBA team never won on its home court during an entire playoff series. Michael Jordan scored 28 points in Game 6 to clinch the championship for the Bulls, who were led in scoring by Scottie Pippen with 21.6 points per game throughout the playoffs. Jazz All-Star center Karl Malone averaged 26 points and 10 rebounds per game during his first Finals appearance, but suffered from food poisoning in Game 4, leading to his disappointing performance for much of the series.

The outcome

In 1998, the Chicago Bulls won their sixth NBA Championship in eight years, defeating the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals. This was the second time that these two teams had met in the Finals, with the Bulls winning in six games. Michael Jordan was named Finals MVP for the fifth time in his career.