The 1996–97 NBA season was the Bulls' 31st season in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

. The Bulls entered the season as defending NBA champions, having defeated the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

in the

1996 NBA Finals The 1996 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1995–96 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics (64–18) played the Eastern Con ...

in six games, winning their fourth NBA championship. During the off-season, the Bulls signed 43-year old free agent All-Star center

Robert Parish Robert Lee Parish (born August 30, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player who played 21 seasons as a center in the National Basketball Association (NBA), tied for second most in league history. He played an NBA-record 1,61 ...

, who won three championships with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

in the 1980s. Coming off of one of the greatest seasons in NBA history, the Bulls, on the backs of recording another first-place finish in their division and conference, repeated as NBA champions. The Bulls were led by

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

, perennial All-Star small forward

Scottie Pippen Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr. (born September 25, 1965), usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the ...

, and rebound ace

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding ...

, with the former two (Jordan and Pippen) both being selected for the

1997 NBA All-Star Game The 1997 NBA All-Star Game was the 47th edition of the All-Star Game and commemorated the 50th anniversary of NBA. The game was played on February 9, 1997, at Gund Arena (now known as Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse) in Cleveland. The winner of the M ...

, in which Jordan recorded the first triple-double in an All-Star Game (14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists). Other notable players on the club's roster that year were clutch-specialist Croatian

Toni Kukoč Toni Kukoč, nicknamed ''“The Waiter”'' (; born September 18, 1968) is a Croatian-American former professional basketball player who serves as Special Advisor to Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago Bulls. After a highly successful perio ...

, and sharp-shooting point guard

Steve Kerr Stephen Douglas Kerr (born September 27, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a nine-time NBA champion, havi ...

. The Bulls got off to a fast start winning their first twelve games, while posting a 42–6 record before the All-Star break. During the final month of the regular season in early April, the team signed free agent

Brian Williams Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is an American retired journalist and television news anchor. He was a reporter for ''NBC Nightly News'' starting in 1993, before his promotion to anchor and managing editor of the broadcast in 2004. ...

, who previously played for the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

last season, and spent most of the 1996–97 season as a free agent. Williams played in the final nine games of the season as a backup center for the Bulls. Though, the Bulls look to make history against the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

in their final regular season game of the year, Pippen missed a game-winning 3 and they finished with a 69–13 record, just missing out on becoming the first team in NBA history to have back-to-back 70 wins seasons. The Bulls had the fourth best team defensive rating in the NBA. Jordan led the league in scoring once again, averaging 29.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game, while being named to the All-NBA First Team, and NBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition, Pippen averaged 20.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game, while Rodman led the league with 16.1 rebounds per game, but only played 55 games due to suspensions and injuries, such as serving an 11-game suspension for kicking a cameraman during a road game against the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

on January 15, 1997, and a knee injury which cost him to miss the final 13 games of the regular season. Kukoč provided scoring off the bench, averaging 13.2 points per game, but only played 57 games due to a foot injury, while

Luc Longley Lucien James Longley (born 19 January 1969) is an Australian professional basketball coach and former player. He was the first Australian to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he played for four teams over 10 seasons. Long ...

provided the team with 9.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, Kerr contributed 8.1 points per game off the bench, while shooting .464 in three-point field goal percentage, second-year forward

Jason Caffey Jason Andre Caffey (born June 12, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who won two championship rings with the Chicago Bulls in the late 1990s. He later became the head coach of the American Basketball Association's Mobile ...

averaged 7.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, starting at power forward in a few games during Rodman's suspension, and

Ron Harper Ronald Harper (born January 20, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 1986 and 2001 and is a five-time NBA champion. Early life Harper was born ...

contributed 6.3 points and 2.5 assists per game. Jordan also finished in second place in

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

voting, while Pippen finished in fourth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, while Jordan finished in fifth place, and Kukoč finished in second place in

Sixth Man of the Year The National Basketball Association's Sixth Man of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the league's best performing player for his team coming off the bench as a substitu ...

voting. Kerr also won the Three-Point Shootout during the All-Star Weekend in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. In the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, the Bulls would sweep the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

in three straight games in the Eastern Conference First Round. In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, they defeated the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

in five games, despite losing Game 2 at the

United Center United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is named ...

, 103–95. In the Eastern Conference Finals, they defeated the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

in five games to advance to the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

, where they defeated regular season MVP

Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spen ...

John Stockton John Houston Stockton (born March 26, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player. Regarded as one of the greatest point guards, players and passers of all time, he spent his entire NBA career (1984–2003) with the Utah Jazz, ...

and the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

in six games for their fifth title in seven years. Following the season, Parish retired after 21 seasons in the NBA, while Williams signed as a free agent with the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

, and

Dickey Simpkins LuBara Dixon "Dickey" Simpkins (born April 6, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player best known for his tenure with the Chicago Bulls in the late 1990s. He is currently a scout for the Washington Wizards. A 6' 9" forward/ce ...

was traded to the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

Offseason

NBA draft

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Regular season

, - style="background:#cfc;" , 1 , November 1 , @

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

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Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

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Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

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Miami Arena Miami Arena was an indoor arena located in Miami, Florida. The venue served as the home of the NBA's Miami Heat, and the NHL's Florida Panthers. From 1988 until 1999, it also was the indoor arena for the Miami Hurricanes. History Completed in 1 ...

15,200 , 4–0 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 5 , November 8 , @

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

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The Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly referred to as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena built in 1988 and located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shoc ...

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Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

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Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

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Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

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Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte Coliseum was a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was operated by the Charlotte Coliseum Authority, which also oversees the operation of Bojangles' Coliseum (which was called Charlott ...

24,042 , 9–0 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 10 , November 16 ,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

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Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

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America West Arena Footprint Center (formerly known as America West Arena, US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena and Phoenix Suns Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Built in the regional population center of the southwestern United Sta ...

19,023 , 11–0 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 12 , November 21 , @

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

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McNichols Sports Arena McNichols Sports Arena was an indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado. Located adjacent to Mile High Stadium and completed in 1975, at a cost of $16 million, it seated 16,061 for hockey games and 17,171 for basketball games. Sports use It was ...

17,171 , 12–0 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 13 , November 23 , @

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

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Delta Center Vivint Arena (stylized as vivint arena), formerly known as Delta Center, EnergySolutions Arena and Vivint Smart Home Arena, is an indoor arena located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Assoc ...

19,911 , 12–1 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 14 , November 25 , @ L.A. Clippers
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Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was a multi-purpose arena at Exposition Park (Los Angeles), Exposition Park, in the University Park, Los Angeles, University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was located next to the Los Angeles Memorial ...

16,144 , 13–1 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 15 , November 29 , @

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

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Reunion Arena Reunion Arena was an indoor arena located in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena served as the primary home of the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars and the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks. The venu ...

18,042 , 14–1 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 16 , November 30 , @

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

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Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 milli ...

37,058 , 15–1 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 17 , December 3 , @

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

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Bradley Center The Bradley Center (also known as the BMO Harris Bradley Center under sponsorship agreements) was a multi-purpose arena located on the northwest corner of North Vel R. Phillips Ave. and West State Streets in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United ...

18,717 , 16–1 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 18 , December 5 , L.A. Clippers
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Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

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SkyDome Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, i ...

33,385 , 17–3 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 21 , December 11 ,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

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New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

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Bill Wennington William Percey Wennington (born April 26, 1963) is a Canadian former professional basketball player who won three National Basketball Association (NBA) championships with the Chicago Bulls. A center, he represented Canada in the 1984 Olympics and ...

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Continental Airlines Arena Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor arena facility located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The arena is located on N ...

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L.A. Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

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CoreStates Center The Wells Fargo Center is a multi-purpose List of indoor arenas, indoor arena located in Philadelphia. It serves as the home of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Assoc ...

20,918 , 23–3 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 27 , December 23 ,

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Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

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Omni Coliseum Omni Coliseum (often called The Omni) was an indoor arena in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Completed in 1972, the arena seated 16,378 for basketball and 15,278 for ice hockey, hockey. It was part of the CNN Center, Omni ...

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Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

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Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

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Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

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Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

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Target Center Target Center is a multi-purpose arena located in Minneapolis that opened in 1990. It hosts major family shows, concerts, sporting events, graduations and private events. Target Corporation, founded and headquartered in Minneapolis since 1902, ...

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

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Gund Arena Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is a multi-purpose arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The building is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL). It also serv ...

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General Motors Place Rogers Arena is a multi-purpose arena located at 800 Griffiths Way in the downtown area of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, the arena was known as General Motors Place (GM Place) from its opening until July 6, 2010, when Ge ...

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San Jose Arena The SAP Center at San Jose (originally known as San Jose Arena and the HP Pavilion at San Jose) is an indoor arena located in San Jose, California. Its primary tenant is the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League, for which the arena has ...

18,748 , 40–5 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 46 , February 2 , @

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

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KeyArena Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of Downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was or ...

17,072 , 41–5 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 47 , February 4 , @

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

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Rose Garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Most often it is a section of a larger garden. Designs vary tremendously and roses m ...

21,538 , 42–5 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 48 , February 5 , @

L 90–106
,

(27) ,

(6) ,

(9) ,

Great Western Forum Kia Forum (formerly The Forum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located between West Manchester Boulevard, across Pincay Drive and Kareem Court, it is north of SoFi Stadium and t ...

17,505 , 42–6 , - align="center" , colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff", All-Star Break , - style="background:#cfc;" , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , - style="background:#cfc;" , 49 , February 11 ,

W 103–100
,

(43) ,

(14) ,

(7) ,

23,884 , 43–6 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 50 , February 14 , @

W 89–88
,

(30) ,

(12) ,

& Pippen (4) ,

16,378 , 44–6 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 51 , February 16 ,

W 110–89
,

(22) ,

(13) ,

(11) ,

23,919 , 45–6 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 52 , February 18 ,

W 134–123
,

(47) ,

(13) ,

(12) ,

23,874 , 46–6 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 53 , February 21 , @

W 103–99
,

(36) ,

(12) ,

(7) , US Airways Arena
18,756 , 47–6 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 54 , February 22 , Golden State
W 120–87
,

(34) ,

(12) ,

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut *Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County * Harper, Il ...

Kerr Kerr may refer to: People *Kerr (surname) *Kerr (given name) Places ;United States *Kerr Township, Champaign County, Illinois *Kerr, Montana, A US census-designated place *Kerr, Ohio, an unincorporated community *Kerr County, Texas Other uses ...

(7) ,

23,917 , 48–6 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 55 , February 24 ,

W 116–89
,

(37) ,

(15) ,

(11) ,

23,841 , 49–6 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 56 , February 27 , @

L 70–73
,

(23) ,

(16) ,

(4) ,

20,562 , 49–7 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 57 , February 28 ,

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

W 126–108
,

(35) ,

(11) ,

(6) ,

23,836 , 50–7 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 58 , March 3 ,

W 108–90
,

(31) ,

(11) ,

(7) ,

23,894 , 51–7 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 59 , March 5 ,

W 111–69
,

(19) , Caffey & Longley (10) , Randy Brown (8) ,

23,841 , 52–7 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 60 , March 7 ,

W 104–96
,

(38) ,

(18) ,

(9) ,

23,902 , 53–7 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 61 , March 9 , @

L 93–97
,

(36) ,

(19) ,

& Pippen (4) ,

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

19,763 , 53–8 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 62 , March 11 , @

W 117–106
,

(32) ,

(16) ,

(9) , FleetCenter
18,624 , 54–8 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 63 , March 12 , @

W 108–104
,

(31) ,

(17) ,

(8) ,

21,061 , 55–8 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 64 , March 14 , @

L 98–99
,

(36) ,

(17) ,

(9) ,

20,049 , 55–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 65 , March 15 ,

W 99–79
,

(17) ,

(14) , Longley & Pippen (7) ,

23,984 , 56–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 66 , March 18 ,

W 89–87 (OT)
,

(32) ,

(18) ,

(7) ,

23,989 , 57–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 67 , March 21 , @

W 117–98
,

(36) ,

(19) ,

(8) ,

Market Square Arena Market Square Arena was an indoor arena in Indianapolis. Completed in 1974, at a cost of $23 million, it seated 16,530 for basketball and 15,993 for ice hockey. Seating capacity for concerts and other events was adjusted by the use of large cu ...

16,759 , 58–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 68 , March 22 ,

W 103–88
,

(26) ,

(18) ,

(7) ,

23,896 , 59–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 69 , March 25 ,

W 94–92
,

(20) ,

(21) ,

(6) ,

23,854 , 60–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 70 , March 27 , @

W 96–83
, Longley & Pippen (16) ,

(10) ,

(7) ,

34,104 , 61–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 71 , March 29 ,

W 111–101
,

(31) ,

(8) ,

(10) ,

23,916 , 62–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 72 , April 1 ,

W 111–106
,

(21) ,

(9) ,

(7) ,

23,906 , 63–9 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 73 , April 3 , @

L 102–110
,

(34) , Caffey & Kukoč (8) ,

(6) , US Airways Arena
18,756 , 63–10 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 74 , April 4 ,

W 84–71
,

(22) ,

(7) ,

(6) ,

23,955 , 64–10 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 75 , April 6 , @

W 110–94
,

(37) , Caffey &

(8) ,

(5) ,

Orlando Arena Amway Arena (originally known as Orlando Arena and later TD Waterhouse Centre) was an indoor arena located in Orlando, Florida. It was part of the Orlando Centroplex, a sports and entertainment complex located in Downtown Orlando. The arena was ...

17,248 , 65–10 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 76 , April 7 ,

W 128–102
,

(30) ,

(11) ,

(7) ,

23,618 , 66–10 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 77 , April 9 , @

W 86–80
,

(23) ,

(16) ,

(3) ,

16,760 , 67–10 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 78 , April 10 , @

W 105–103
,

(34) , Caffey &

(8) ,

(6) ,

19,763 , 68–10 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 79 , April 13 , @

L 91–108
,

(21) ,

(10) ,

(7) ,

21,454 , 68–11 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 80 , April 14 ,

W 117–100
,

(30) ,

(11) ,

(10) ,

23,896 , 69–11 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 81 , April 16 , @

L 92–102
,

(28) ,

(8) ,

(5) ,

15,200 , 69–12 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 82 , April 19 ,

L 101–103
,

(33) , 3 players tied (6) ,

(12) ,

24,161 , 69–13

Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 1 , April 25 ,

W 98–86
,

(29) ,

(10) ,

(8) ,

24,122 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 2 , April 27 ,

W 109–104
,

(55) ,

(9) ,

(6) ,

24,267 , 2–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , April 30 , @

W 96–95
,

(28) ,

(10) ,

(6) , US Airways Arena
18,756 , 3–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 1 , May 6 ,

W 100–97
,

(34) ,

(11) ,

(6) ,

24,397 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , May 8 ,

L 95–103
,

(27) ,

(16) ,

(9) ,

24,544 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , May 10 , @

W 100–80
,

(21) ,

(11) , Kukoč & Pippen (5) ,

16,378 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 4 , May 11 , @

W 89–80
,

(27) ,

& Pippen (8) , 3 players tied (4) ,

16,378 , 3–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 5 , May 13 ,

W 107–92
,

(24) ,

Dele The ''Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera'' ( en, Diplomas of Spanish as a Foreign Language), or DELE, are official diplomas issued by the Spanish Instituto Cervantes on behalf of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science to participa ...

& Longley (10) ,

& Pippen (7) ,

24,544 , 4–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 1 , May 20 ,

W 84–77
,

(37) ,

(19) ,

& Pippen (4) ,

24,544 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 2 , May 22 ,

W 75–68
,

& Pippen (23) ,

(10) ,

(6) ,

24,544 , 2–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , May 24 , @

W 98–74
,

(34) ,

(9) ,

(6) ,

14,720 , 3–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , May 26 , @

L 80–87
,

(29) ,

(11) ,

(5) ,

14,720 , 3–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 5 , May 28 ,

W 100–87
,

(28) ,

(13) ,

(7) ,

24,544 , 4–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 1 , June 1 ,

W 84–82
,

(31) ,

(12) ,

(8) ,

24,544 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 2 , June 4 ,

W 97–85
,

(38) ,

(13) ,

(9) ,

24,544 , 2–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , June 6 , @

L 93–104
,

(27) ,

(7) ,

(6) ,

19,911 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , June 8 , @

L 73–78
,

(22) ,

(12) , 3 players tied (4) ,

19,911 , 2–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 5 , June 11 , @

W 90–88
,

(38) ,

(10) ,

& Pippen (5) ,

19,911 , 3–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 6 , June 13 ,

W 90–86
,

(39) ,

& Rodman (11) ,

(4) ,

24,544 , 4–2

Player stats

Regular season

Playoffs

NBA finals

Schedule

* Game 1 – June 1, Sunday @Chicago, Chicago 84, Utah 82: ''Chicago leads series 1-0'' * Game 2 – June 4, Wednesday @Chicago, Chicago 97, Utah 85: ''Chicago leads series 2-0'' * Game 3 – June 6, Friday @Utah, Utah 104, Chicago 93: ''Chicago leads series 2-1'' * Game 4 – June 8, Sunday @Utah, Utah 78, Chicago 73: ''Series tied 2-2'' * Game 5 – June 11, Wednesday @Utah, Chicago 90, Utah 88: ''Chicago leads series 3-2'' * Game 6 – June 13, Friday @Chicago, Chicago 90, Utah 86: ''Chicago wins series 4-2'' 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 (

Game 1

''Sunday, June 1, at the

Game 2

''Wednesday, June 4, at the United Center''

Game 3

''Friday, June 6, at the

Game 4

''Sunday, June 8, at the Delta Center''

Game 5: The Flu Game

''Wednesday, June 11, at the Delta Center'' Game 5, often referred to as "The Flu Game", was one of

's most memorable. Just 24 hours earlier, on June 10, 1997,

woke up nauseated and sweating profusely. He hardly had the strength to sit up in bed and was diagnosed with a stomach virus or

food poisoning Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the spoilage of contaminated food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food, as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease) ...

. The Bulls trainers told Jordan that there was no way he could play in the game. The Jazz had just won two in a row to tie the series, and Chicago needed their leader in this critical swing game. Against all odds, Jordan rose from bed at 3:00 p.m., just in time for the 6:00 tip-off at the

. Jordan was visibly weak and pale as he stepped onto the court for Game Five. At first, he displayed no energy whatsoever, and

, along with reigning MVP

, quickly led the Jazz to a 16-point lead. But in the second quarter, Jordan started to sink shots despite lacking his usual explosive speed and hardly being able to concentrate. He scored 17 points in the quarter as the Bulls hit the front before halftime.

and

did their best to keep the Bulls in the game while Jordan was fatigued again in the third. But Jordan turned it on again, scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter, including a clutch rebound and three-point shot with the game tied and under a minute left that put the Bulls up by three points. Chicago held on for a narrow victory. Jordan finished the game with 38 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block. Malone was the highest-scoring Jazz player with 19 points but suffered from some dreadful shooting. Jordan stayed on the court for 44 minutes, resting for only four minutes while being perpetually at the brink of fainting. With only a few seconds remaining and the game finally at hand, Jordan collapsed into Scottie Pippen's arms.
Game Recap

Game 6

''Friday, June 13, at the United Center'' Michael Jordan was not fully recovered from the flu, but was feeling much better and led the Bulls with 39 points. In the third quarter Michael Jordan dunked after a steal, bringing the crowd to its feet. The Bulls trailed by 9 points early in the fourth quarter but went on a 10-0 run to take their first lead since the opening minutes when Steve Kerr hit a 3-pointer, but the Jazz would regain the lead. In the final minutes, Jordan's fadeaway on the baseline put the Bulls up by 3, before

Bryon Russell Bryon Demetrise Russell (born December 31, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. During a National Basketball Association (NBA) career that spanned from 1993 to 2006, he played for the Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards and ...

hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 86-86. The two teams would fail to score on their next possessions. With 28 seconds left after Shandon Anderson missed a reverse layup, the Jazz expected Jordan to take the final shot. Instead, Jordan passed off to

, who hit a shot with 5 seconds left to send the United Center crowd into a frenzy. The Jazz looked for one final shot to stay alive, but

made a massive defensive play as he knocked away Bryon Russell's inbound pass intended for Shandon Anderson and was able to pass the ball over to

, who dunked the final 2 points of the game to bring the Finals to an end. Afterwards, Jordan was named the NBA Finals MVP.

Awards and honors

, Forward,

NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team ...

, Guard,

, Center,

, All-NBA Team, First Team *

, Guard,

NBA Finals MVP The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award (formerly known as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1969 NBA Finals. The award is decided by a panel of e ...

, NBA All-Defensive First Team *

, Regular season leader, Field Goals (920) *

, Regular season leader, Field Goal Attempts (1892) *

, Regular season leader, Total Points (2431) *

, Regular season leader, Scoring Average (29.6 points per game) *

, All-NBA Team, Second Team *

, NBA All-Defensive First Team

NBA All-Star Game

, Guard *

, Forward

References

External links

Bulls on Database Basketball

{{DEFAULTSORT:1996-97 Chicago Bulls Season Chicago Bulls seasons

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology ''Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictiona ...

Eastern Conference (NBA) championship seasons NBA championship seasons

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...