The1996–97 Chicago Bulls season was the 31st season for theChicago Bulls in theNational Basketball Association.^[1] The Bulls entered the regular season as defending NBA champions, having defeated theSeattle SuperSonics in the1996 NBA Finals in six games, winning their fourth NBA championship. During the off-season, the Bulls signed 43-year old free agent All-Star centerRobert Parish, who won three championships with theBoston Celtics in the 1980s.^[2][3][4]

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 byMichael Jordan, perennial All-Star small forwardScottie Pippen, and rebound aceDennis Rodman; other notable players on the club's roster that year were clutch-specialist CroatianToni Kukoč, and sharp-shooting point guardSteve Kerr.

The Bulls got off to a fast start by winning their first twelve games of the regular season,^[5][6] while posting a 42–6 record before the All-Star break.^[7] In April, the team signed free agentBrian Williams, who previously played for theLos Angeles Clippers last season, and spent most of the 1996–97 season as a free agent; Williams played in the final nine games of the regular season as a backup center for the Bulls.^[8][9][10]

Although the Bulls looked to make history against theNew York Knicks in their final game of the regular season, Pippen missed a game-winning three-pointer as they lost to the Knicks at theUnited Center, 103–101;^[11][12][13] the Bulls finished in first place in theCentral Division with a 69–13 record, just missing out on becoming the first team in NBA history to have back-to-back 70 wins seasons.^[14] The Bulls earned the first seed in theEastern Conference, qualified for theNBA playoffs for the thirteenth consecutive year, and had the fourth best team defensive rating in the NBA.^[15]

Jordan led the league in scoring once again, averaging 29.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game, plus contributing 111 three-point field goals, and was named to theAll-NBA First Team, while Pippen averaged 20.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game, led the Bulls with 156 three-point field goals, and was selected to theAll-NBA Second Team; both Jordan and Pippen were named to theNBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition, Rodman led the league with 16.1 rebounds per game,^[16] 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 theMinnesota Timberwolves on January 15, 1997,^[17][18][19] and a knee injury which caused him to miss the final 13 games of the regular season.^[20][21][22]

Meanwhile, Kukoč provided scoring off the bench, averaging 13.2 points per game, but only played 57 games due to a foot injury,^[23][24][25] whileLuc Longley provided the team with 9.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, Kerr contributed 8.1 points per game and 110 three-point field goals off the bench, while shooting .464 in three-point field goal percentage, second-year forwardJason Caffey averaged 7.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, starting at power forward in a few games during Rodman's suspension, andRon Harper contributed 6.3 points and 2.5 assists per game.^[16]

During theNBA All-Star weekend at theGund Arena inCleveland, Ohio, Jordan and Pippen were both selected for the1997 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was Pippen's seventh and final All-Star appearance.^[26][27][28] Jordan also recorded the first triple-double in an All-Star Game with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 132–120.^[29][30][31] Meanwhile, Kerr won theNBA Three-Point Shootout, in which he participated in for the fourth consecutive year.^[32][30][33] Jordan also finished in second place inMost Valuable Player voting, behindKarl Malone of theUtah Jazz, while Pippen finished in eleventh place;^[34][35] Pippen finished in fourth place inDefensive Player of the Year voting, while Jordan finished in fifth place,^[36][35] and Kukoč finished in second place inSixth Man of the Year voting, behindJohn Starks of the Knicks.^[37][35]

In the1997 NBA playoffs, the Bulls would sweep theWashington Bullets in three straight games in the Eastern Conference First Round.^[38][39][40] In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, they defeated theAtlanta Hawks in five games,^[41][42][43] despite losing Game 2 at theUnited Center, 103–95.^[44][45][46] In the Eastern Conference Finals, they defeated theMiami Heat in five games to advance to the1997 NBA Finals.^[47][48][49] In the Finals, the Bulls faced off against theJazz, who were led by Malone andJohn Stockton; the Bulls defeated the Jazz in six games for their fifth NBA title in seven years, as Jordan was named theNBA Finals Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive year, and for the fifth time overall.^[50][51][52]

The Bulls finished second in the NBA in home-game attendance behind theCharlotte Hornets, with an attendance of 978,457 at the United Center during the regular season.^[16][53] Following the season, Parish retired after 21 seasons in the NBA,^[54][55][56] while Williams signed as a free agent with theDetroit Pistons,^[57][58][59] andDickey Simpkins was traded to theGolden State Warriors.^[60][61]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club team
1	29	Travis Knight	C	United States	UConn

1996–97 Chicago Bulls roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 1 Randy Brown 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1968–05–22 New Mexico State F 30 Jud Buechler 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1968–06–19 Arizona F 35 Jason Caffey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1973–06–12 Alabama G 9 Ron Harper 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1964–01–20 Miami (OH) G 23 Michael Jordan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1963–02–17 North Carolina G 25 Steve Kerr 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1965–09–27 Arizona F 7 Toni Kukoč 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1968–09–18 Croatia C 13 Luc Longley 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1969–01–19 New Mexico C 00 Robert Parish 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1953–08–30 Centenary F 33 Scottie Pippen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1965–09–25 Central Arkansas F 91 Dennis Rodman 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1961–05–13 SE Oklahoma State F 8 Dickey Simpkins 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 248 lb (112 kg) 1972–04–06 Providence F 6 Matt Steigenga 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1970–03–27 Michigan State C 34 Bill Wennington  7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1963–04–26 St. John's C 18 Brian Williams 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1969–04–06 Arizona

Head coach Phil Jackson Assistant(s) Bill Cartwright Frank Hamblen Jimmy Rodgers Tex Winter Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: April 12, 1997

Player Statistics Citation:^[16]

• 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 (United Center).

Sunday, June 1, at theUnited Center

Wednesday, June 4, at the United Center

Friday, June 6, at theDelta Center

Sunday, June 8, at the Delta Center

Wednesday, June 11, at the Delta Center

Game 5, often referred to as "The Flu Game", was one ofMichael Jordan's most memorable. Just 24 hours earlier, on June 10, 1997, Jordan woke up nauseated and sweating profusely. He hardly had the strength to sit up in bed and was diagnosed with a stomach virus orfood poisoning. 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 theDelta Center.

Jordan was visibly weak and pale as he stepped onto the court for Game Five. At first, he displayed no energy whatsoever, andJohn Stockton, along with reigning MVPKarl Malone, 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.

Luc Longley andScottie Pippen 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.^[62][63][64]

• Game Recap
• Box Score

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, beforeBryon Russell 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 afterShandon Anderson missed a reverse layup, the Jazz expected Jordan to take the final shot. Instead, Jordan passed off toSteve Kerr, 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, butScottie Pippen 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 toToni Kukoč, who dunked the final 2 points of the game to bring the Finals to an end. Afterwards, Jordan was named the NBA Finals MVP.^[50]

• Scottie Pippen, Forward,NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
• Michael Jordan, Guard,NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
• Robert Parish, Center,NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
• Michael Jordan, All-NBA Team, First Team
• Michael Jordan, Guard,NBA Finals MVP
• Michael Jordan, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Michael Jordan, Regular season leader, Field Goals (920)
• Michael Jordan, Regular season leader, Field Goal Attempts (1892)
• Michael Jordan, Regular season leader, Total Points (2431)
• Michael Jordan, Regular season leader, Scoring Average (29.6 points per game)
• Scottie Pippen, All-NBA Team, Second Team
• Scottie Pippen, NBA All-Defensive First Team

• Michael Jordan, Guard
• Scottie Pippen, Forward

• Bulls on Database Basketball
• Bulls on Basketball Reference

• Chicago Bulls seasons
• 1996–97 NBA season by team
• Eastern Conference (NBA) championship seasons
• NBA championship seasons
• 1996 in sports in Illinois
• 1997 in sports in Illinois
• 1996 in Chicago
• 1997 in Chicago

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