[7] In the off-season, the team signed free agent Chucky Brown,[8][9][10] and re-signed Greg Anderson, who previously played for the Hawks during the 1994–95 season.
[15] The Hawks won eight of their final eleven games, finishing in fourth place in the Central Division with a solid 50–32 record.
[16] Dikembe Mutombo averaged 13.4 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game, and was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, and was also named to the All-NBA Third Team, and NBA All-Defensive First Team,[17][18][19][20] while Steve Smith led the Hawks in scoring averaging 20.1 points per game for the second straight season.
[22][23][24][25][26] In addition, Alan Henderson averaged 14.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, after replacing Christian Laettner as the team's starting power forward at mid-season, and was named Most Improved Player of the Year,[27][28][29][30] while Laettner provided the team with 13.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, and Mookie Blaylock contributed 13.2 points, 6.7 assists, led the league with 2.6 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.
[48][49][50][51] The Bulls would go on to defeat the Utah Jazz in six games in the NBA Finals for their third consecutive championship, and sixth overall in eight years.