Vintage Chicago Bulls 1998 NBA Champions Locker Room Sports Specialties Hat Tags

New vintage with tags, slightly faded from storage. Strap back (see pictures).

I keep my collection in bins for safe keeping also I do fast shipping since I live near the USPS hup in Houston Texas.

Bin H

Let us know if you have any questions or concerns about this item.

History:

The 1997–98 NBA season was the 32nd season for the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association. The Bulls entered the regular season as the two-time defending NBA champions, and in the Finals, they met the Utah Jazz in a rematch from the prior year's NBA Finals and just like that year, they would go on to defeat the Jazz in six games to win their sixth championship in eight years and complete the franchise's second "3-peat".

During the off-season, the Bulls acquired Scott Burrell from the Golden State Warriors, and signed free agent Joe Kleine.However, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen would miss the first half of the regular season due to an injured toe on his left foot sustained from the 1997 NBA playoffs.

Without Pippen, the Bulls started by winning the 1997 McDonald's Championship overseas in Paris, France in October, with Jordan being named the MVP. In the regular season, the team started with a slow 9–7 record in November, but then would go on a 15–4 run until Pippen returned in January. However, three-point specialist Steve Kerr went down with a fractured collarbone in January, and played just 50 games.Despite the injuries, the Bulls held a 34–15 record at the All-Star break.

At mid-season, the team traded Jason Caffey to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for David Vaughn. Vaughn would play just three games with the Bulls before being waived on March 2, 1998. Also in early March, the team re-signed former Bulls reserve forward Dickey Simpkins, who was previously released by the Warriors, and played in the final 21 games of the regular season. The Bulls posted a 13-game winning streak between March and April, and still finished in first place in the Central Division with a 62–20 record, earning the first seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls had the third best team defensive rating in the NBA.

Michael Jordan once again led the league in scoring averaging 28.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, as he was named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and also won his fifth and final NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year award. In addition, Pippen averaged 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game in 44 games, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and also to the All-Defensive First Team, and rebound-specialist Dennis Rodman once again led the league in rebounding with 15.0 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Toni Kukoč provided the team with 13.3 points per game, playing most of the season as the team's starting small forward in Pippen's absence, Luc Longley averaged 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, Ron Harper contributed 9.3 points and 1.3 steals per game, and Kerr contributed 7.5 points per game off the bench.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, Jordan was selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team;Jordan scored 23 points along with 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals, and won his third and final NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player award, as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 135–114. Jordan also finished in fourth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, while Rodman finished tied in fifth place, and Pippen finished tied in ninth place; Pippen also finished in tenth place in Most Valuable Player voting,and head coach Phil Jackson finished tied in seventh place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the 1998 NBA playoffs, the Bulls swept the New Jersey Nets, 3–0 in the Eastern Conference First Round, defeated the Charlotte Hornets, 4–1 in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, despite losing Game 2 at the United Center, 78–76, and then defeated the Indiana Pacers, 4–3 in the Eastern Conference Finals en route to advance to the NBA Finals. In the 1998 NBA Finals, they met the Utah Jazz in a rematch from the prior year's NBA Finals and just like last year, they would go on to defeat the Jazz in six games to win the NBA championship; the championship was their sixth in eight years and completed the franchise's second "3-peat". At an average age of 32.096 years old, they became the oldest team to win an NBA championship.