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| Dates: | June 1–13 | |||||||||
| MVP: | Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) | |||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Bulls: Robert Parish (2003) Michael Jordan (2009) Scottie Pippen (2010) Dennis Rodman (2011) Toni Kukoc (2021) Jazz: John Stockton (2009) Karl Malone (2010) Coaches: Phil Jackson (2007) Jerry Sloan (2009) Tex Winter (2011) Officials: Dick Bavetta (2015) Hugh Evans (2022) | |||||||||
| Eastern Finals: | Bulls defeated Heat, 4–1 | |||||||||
| Western Finals: | Jazz defeated Rockets, 4–2 | |||||||||
| NBA Finals | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ← 1996 | ||||||||||
| 1998 → | ||||||||||
The 1997 NBA Finals was the concluding series of the 1997 NBA Playoffs of the National Basketball Association (NBA) that determined the champion of the 1996–97 NBA season.
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 were 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, second most in Finals history. Until 2016, the 1997 NBA Finals was the last to feature teams that won a total of at least 130 regular season games.
1997 NBA Playoffs[]
| Utah Jazz (Western Conference Champion) | Chicago Bulls (Eastern Conference Champion) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64–18 (.780)
1st Midwest, 1st West, 2nd Overall |
Regular season | 69–13 (.841)
1st Central, 1st East, 1st Overall | ||
| Defeated the (8) Los Angeles Clippers, 3–0 | First Round | Defeated the (8) Washington Bullets, 3–0 | ||
| Defeated the (4) Los Angeles Lakers, 4–1 |
Conference Semifinals | Defeated the (4) Atlanta Hawks, 4–1 | ||
| Defeated the (3) Houston Rockets, 4–2 | Conference Finals | Defeated the (2) Miami Heat, 4–1 | ||
Series summary[]
| Game | Date | Home Team | Result | Road Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | June 1 | Chicago | 84–82 | Utah |
| Game 2 | June 4 | Chicago | 97–85 | Utah |
| Game 3 | June 6 | Utah | 104–93 | Chicago |
| Game 4 | June 8 | Utah | 78–73 | Chicago |
| Game 5 | June 11 | Utah | 88–90 | Chicago |
| Game 6 | June 13 | Chicago | 90–86 | Utah |
| Preceded by 1996 |
NBA Finals 1997 |
Succeeded by 1998 |