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1998 Chicago Bulls

The 1998 Chicago Bulls: Michael Jordan’s Grand Finale

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Michael Jordan and the 1998 Chicago Bulls were after their sixth championship ring, and their second three-peat. Jordan, now a 15-year veteran, and sidekick Scottie Pippen, had just enough gas in the tank to survive strong challenges from the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals and the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals.

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Jordan averaged 29 ppg in the regular season and won the MVP award, while Pippen knocked down 19 ppg and the Bulls got valuable rebounding help from Dennis Rodman. After that, it was left to Toni Kukoc on the wing and Luc Longley down low to try and kick in some scoring help.

It was enough for Chicago to go 62-20, earn the top seed in the East and roll through two playoff rounds against the New Jersey Nets and Charlotte Hornets with just a single loss.

The Pacers would be a much tougher out. They had a low post threat in Rik Smits, and an able backcourt of Mark Jackson and Reggie Miller. The former was a great playmaker and future head coach in the league. The latter was merely one of the great three-point shooters of all time.

Chicago’s defense locked down Miller in the first two games while Jordan scored a combined 72 points and the Bulls held serve at home. Indiana answered with a pair of two-point wins on their home floor, as Miller got going with 28 points in Game 3 and Smits ate up the Bulls down low in Game 4.

The fifth game was the one lopsided game of the series, as Chicago coasted to a 19-point win, but Indiana answered with one more barnburner win at home, in spite of a poor shooting night from Miller. It set the stage for an epic Sunday night battle in old Chicago Stadium.

Jordan and Pippen only shot a combined 15/43, but Kukoc stepped up with 21 points and Steve Kerr came off the bench to hit a trio of three-pointers. Chicago survived 88-83 and was going back to the Finals.

The Bulls had survived a stiff challenge from the Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals, and this time around Utah had homecourt advantage. Just as Jordan and Pippen were reaching the end of the line, so was the great Jazz duo of John Stockton and Karl Malone.

Chicago was able to steal a road win in Game 2 when Jordan scored 37 points while Malone did little and the series went to the Windy City for the middle three games knotted 1-1.

Game 3 made it look like the Finals wouldn’t return west. Chicago’s 96-54 win set a record for fewest points allowed in a Finals game and largest margin of victory. The Bulls won a more competitive 86-82 battle in Game 4, but then missed their chance to close at home. An 83-81 win over Utah ended when Jordan missed a three-pointer to win the championship.

In Chicago’s first three-peat, they had missed a chance to close out the Phoenix Suns at home in the 1993 NBA Finals and went on the road to win an epic Game 6. History was set to repeat itself.

The Jazz led 86-83 in front of a wild Delta Center crowd and were poised to force a seventh game in the closing minute. Then Jordan put the finishing touches on his legacy. He scored on a layup. On the ensuing defensive possession, he stripped Malone.

Jordan brought the ball over halfcourt with no one doubting who would take the final shot. He backed down defender Byron Russell and pulled up on a perimeter jumper around the top of the key. Swish. Championship number six.

It was Jordan’s last shot as a Chicago Bull, and though he would later attempt a short, ill-fated comeback with the Washington Wizards, the image of him elevating over Russell remains one of the great enduring memories in all of sports.

1998 Sports: Greatness Sealed With A Championship

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The markings of greatness were all over 1998 sports. No fewer than five sports crowned champions where either great players, historic franchises or both sealed their legacy with a championship.

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Nowhere was this more obvious than the NBA, where Michael Jordan got his sixth ring and second three-peat for the Chicago Bulls, as he hit a game-winning shot to take Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
While the Bulls were concluding a three-peat, the New York Yankees were starting one of their own, and no team in this franchise’s long and successful history has ever done it better than the 1998 edition. The Yankees won 114 games and won the World Series in a sweep.
The Denver Broncos were the defending Super Bowl champs, and they came back even stronger in 1998. Not only did the Broncos win a second straight title, but quarterback John Elway followed Jordan’s lead in going out the door with a championship.
In hockey, the Detroit Red Wings were similar to the Broncos in that they were after a second straight title. The Red Wings were similar to the Yankees in that the hockey team was one with a proud history. And Detroit was similar to both teams in that they sealed their own legacy with a second straight Stanley Cup Finals sweep.
And finally we come to college basketball. Kentucky won the NCAA title in 1996 and made the final game in 1997. The 1998 team wasn’t quite as loaded talent-wise, nor as dominant during the season. But the end result still saw Big Blue cutting down the nets on a Monday night in San Antonio.
Read more about the 1998 Chicago Bulls
Read more about the 1998 New York Yankees
Read about the 1998 Denver Broncos
Read more about the 1998 Detroit Red Wings
Read more about 1998 Kentucky basketball
When we talk about greatness in 1998, by rights, we should be able to include the Great Home Run Race of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Unfortunately, the reality of PED use by both men—as well as by Barry Bonds who subsequently broke both of their records has left that tainted. But there’s no denying how much the McGwire-Sosa race captivated everyone in 1998.
There was also another great race in baseball, one that can be remembered with no regrets—a three-team fight to the finish for the National League wild-card spot that ended on a nice October night in Wrigley Field.
Read more about the great races of the 1998 MLB season
Tennessee football might not have been capping off or beginning a historic dynasty. They might not have been seeing a great player walk off into the sunset in triumph. That makes them a little odd in the montage of 1998 champions, but it doesn’t diminish their excellence. The Vols won the national title, beating Florida State in the first year that college football had a guaranteed 1 vs 2 national championship game set up in advance.
Read more about the 1998 Tennessee Volunteers
In our celebrations of greatness, three organizations/programs that came up just short of a title deserve some mention. The histories of the Atlanta Falcons, the San Diego Padres and Utah Utes’ basketball are not littered with championship success. But all three had great runs in 1998. The Falcons made the Super Bowl for the first time in their history. The Padres made their second World Series appearance and Utah hoops reached the NCAA final, the high point of a good coaching career for their boss, Rick Majerus.