Chicago Bulls: 3 biggest rivals from ‘The Last Dance’ 1997-98 season

A final title run for Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in 1998 would run into a number of old and new foes along the way.

When the Chicago Bulls started their playoff run in 1998, it came with a certain doubt about their ability to reel in a sixth title of the decade. This was potentially the Bulls team that came the closest to not winning a title throughout the entirety of the 1990’s. Of the six that won titles, this was the last and the oldest version of the likes of all-time great shooting guard Michael Jordan.

The Bulls finished up the 1997-98 regular season with a record of 62-20. They tied the team they would eventually face in the 1998 NBA Finals for the best regular season record in the league, the Utah Jazz. But there were other approaching talented teams in the Eastern Conference that would really challenge the Bulls during the 1997-98 campaign.

Rising powers in the East like the Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, and Orlando Magic would start to challenge the Bulls and push them farther than they had in recent years. Teams like the Pacers and Heat would challenge the Bulls throughout the playoffs, while the likes of the Magic and Philadelphia 76ers were just on the up and up with younger talents like Allen Iverson and Penny Hardaway.

For the first time in any Eastern Conference Finals series for the Bulls in any of their six title runs, they were pushed to the brink in seven games by their opposition in 1998. The Pacers were a difficult divisional foe in 1998, and nearly knocked the Bulls out in that seven game series. But MJ and the Bulls would power through in the end in a crucial game seven at home at the United Center.

There were still other rivals on the up and up that were ready to take the mantle at the top of the NBA from the Bulls.

Here’s a deeper dive into the three biggest rivals of the Chicago Bulls 1997-98 “The Last Dance” title team.