Fast facts on 'The Last Dance' 1997-98 Chicago Bulls

Gilbert McGregor

Fast facts on 'The Last Dance' 1997-98 Chicago Bulls image

On Monday, ESPN will air the first two episodes of "The Last Dance," a documentary about Michael Jordan's final season with the Chicago Bulls.

Outside of the United States, the episodes will debut the following day on Netflix.

Click here to find out when each episode will be available to watch.

Ahead of the highly anticipated documentary, here are some fast facts about the 1997-98 "The Last Dance" Bulls to help set the scene.

The Last Dance

The title of the 10-part series derives from a preseason meeting in which head coach Phil Jackson said "The Last Dance" would be the theme that applied to the upcoming season, a day described by Bulls players and Jackson himself below:

"Phil (Jackson) always looked for a theme for every season and given that it was the last year that we were gonna be together – management had already made that decision – in typical Phil fashion, he had a name for it." - Steve Kerr

"We'd arrived at the practice facility for our first official meeting as a team. We get the team handbook, laminated on the front page: 'Last Dance'" - Bill Wennington

"I talked to the players about, particularly how important it was for us to really be together in this last run that we were going to have, so I called it 'The Last Dance'" - Phil Jackson

MORE: What was the NBA like ahead of the 1997-98 season

Who was on the Chicago Bulls roster?

Chicago Bulls 1998 Playoff Roster
Player Pos. Height Weight Age Exp
Keith Booth SF 6-6 226 23 R
Randy Brown PG 6-2 190 29 6
Jud Buechler SF 6-6 220 29 7
Scott Burrell SF 6-7 218 27 4
Ron Harper PG 6-6 185 34 11
Michael Jordan SG 6-6 215 35 12
Steve Kerr PG 6-3 175 32 9
Joe Kleine C 6-11 255 36 12
Toni Kukoc SF 6-11 235 29 4
Rusty LaRue PG 6-2 210 24 R
Luc Longley C 7-3 298 29 6
Scottie Pippen SF 6-8 228 32 10
Dennis Rodman PF 6-7 210 36 11
Dickey Simpkins PF 6-9 248 26 3
Bill Wennington C 7-0 245 34 10

Head Coach: Phil Jackson

How did the Chicago Bulls do in the 1997-98 regular season?

Record: 62-20, 1st in Eastern Conference

Despite Scottie Pippen missing the first 35 games of the season, the Bulls would find their stride once he returned to the lineup, going 38-9 over the final 47 games of the season and 36-8 with Pippen in the lineup.

Michael Jordan, who appeared in all 82 games, was named league MVP for the fifth time in his career after averaging a league-leading 28.7 points per game. Jordan, who turned 35 just days after making his 12th All-Star appearance, also earned All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team honours that season.

The injury to Pippen meant that the Bulls had just one representative in the All-Star Game for the first time since 1995, while Jordan was retired.

MORE: No one won under Michael Jordan's watch

Statistical Leaders
Games Played Ron Harper, Michael Jordan  82
PPG Michael Jordan 28.7
RPG Dennis Rodman 15.0
APG Scottie Pippen 5.8
BPG Luc Longley 1.1

Who did the Chicago Bulls meet in the 1998 NBA Playoffs?

Eastern Conference First Round: No. 1 Chicago Bulls 3, No. 8 New Jersey Nets 0

Led by Jordan, who averaged 36.3 points per game in the series, the Bulls swept the Nets to advance to the second round.

jordan-nets

Eastern Conference Semifinals: No. 1 Chicago Bulls 4, No. 4 Charlotte Hornets 1

The Hornets shocked the Bulls by winning Game 2 in Chicago to tie the series up, but the Bulls won three games in a row by double figures to return to the Eastern Conference Finals in five.

pippen-divac

Eastern Conference Finals: No. 1 Chicago Bulls 4, No. 3 Indiana Pacers 3

Reggie Miller and the Pacers pushed the Bulls to seven games. With Chicago's season on the line, Jordan flirted with a triple-double, posting 28 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in Game 7.

michael-jordan-pacers

NBA Finals: No. 1 Chicago Bulls 4, No. 1 Utah Jazz 2

Three-peat.

Jordan averages 33.5 points per game in the Finals to secure his sixth Finals MVP award and sixth championship.

Jordan's final shot in the series made for one of his greatest plays.

Michael Jordan

What happened to the Chicago Bulls after the season?

A lot.

To name a few things: Pippen was traded to the Houston Rockets, the Bulls decided to not bring back Rodman, Jackson stepped down as head coach and Jordan, sensing that a rebuild was on the horizon in Chicago, chose to retire for the second time.

"I don't want to start over," Jordan said leading up to his decision. "I'm pretty sure losing Phil is a sign of that. So I can tell you where my mind is leaning in some respects. ... I don't want a rebuilding process."

Without Jordan, Pippen, Rodman and Jackson at the helm, the Bulls finished the following season with a 13-37 record, the worst in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls wouldn't make the playoffs again until the 2004-05 season.

Pippen went on to play six more seasons in the NBA, one with the Rockets, four with the Portland Trail Blazers and one with the Bulls. Rodman played two more seasons, one with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Dallas Mavericks. Jackson returned to coaching in 1999-00 and led the Lakers to five championships during his 11 years in Los Angeles.

As for Jordan, he came out of retirement in 2001 to play two seasons with the Washington Wizards.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs.

Gilbert McGregor

Gilbert McGregor Photo

Gilbert McGregor first joined The Sporting News in 2018 as a content producer for Global editions of NBA.com. Before covering the game, McGregor played basketball collegiately at Wake Forest, graduating with a Communication degree in 2016. McGregor began covering the NBA during the 2017-18 season and has been on hand for a number of league events.