In a repeat of the previous year's Finals, the Bulls won the series 4 games to 2 for their third consecutive NBA title and their sixth in eight seasons.

The Jazz earned the league's best record by virtue of sweeping the two-game regular season series with the Bulls despite both teams finishing at 62 wins.

In the playoffs, the Jazz were pushed to the brink by the Houston Rockets before winning Game 5 in Utah, and then overcame Rookie of the Year Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs 4–1.

The Bulls swept the New Jersey Nets and then took out the Charlotte Hornets in five, but it took seven games to overcome the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Bulls, meanwhile, endured a hard-fought series against a resurgent Indiana Pacers team helmed by Larry Bird (in his first year as head coach).

True to form, the Bulls tied the series in Game 2 while putting together a huge fourth-quarter run to silence the Delta Center and holding on to win 93–88, finally securing their first victory against Utah all season.

Emotions ran high at the Delta Center when the Jazz suffered a critical shot clock violation in the second quarter.

The Jazz received some relief as John Stockton hit a 3 with 41.9 seconds left to give Utah an 86–83 lead and sent the Delta Center into a frenzy.

[3][4][5] Jordan hit the 20-footer after crossing over Russell while apparently initiating contact, but replays would show that he did not, to give the Bulls an 87–86 lead with 5.2 seconds left.

Jordan, who scored 45 points, and whose game-winning shot has been immortalized around the world, was named Finals MVP for the sixth time.

The Finals were televised in the United States by NBC (including for the second straight year WMAQ-TV in Chicago and KSL-TV in Salt Lake City), with Bob Costas on play-by-play and Doug Collins and Isiah Thomas serving as color analysts.

Hannah Storm hosted the pre-game show, assisted by Bill Walton, John Salley and Peter Vescey, and Ahmad Rashad and Jim Gray reported from the sidelines.

[7] He would come back as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1999, winning five NBA titles in two separate stints with the team before retiring in 2011.

In January 1999, the Bulls re-signed Steve Kerr and traded him to the San Antonio Spurs,[11] where he would win two more championships in 1999 and 2003, his last year in the NBA.