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The Flu Game
The 1997 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1996–97 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Utah Jazz took on the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls for the title, with the Bulls holding home court advantage. The series were played under a best-of-seven format, with the first 2 games in Chicago, the next 3 games in Salt Lake City, and the last 2 games in Chicago. The Bulls won the series 4 games to 2. For the fifth time in as many Finals appearances, Michael Jordan was named NBA Finals MVP. The Bulls and Jazz won a combined 133 regular season games, second most in Finals history. Until 2016, the 1997 NBA Finals was the last to feature teams that won a total of at least 130 regular season games. Background Chicago Bulls For the Chicago Bulls, the campaign was almost identical to their record-breaking 1995–96 season. They began the season 12– ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1996–97 Chicago Bulls Season
The 1996–97 NBA season was the 31st season for the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association. The Bulls entered the regular season as defending NBA champions, having defeated the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA Finals in six games, winning their fourth NBA championship. During the off-season, the Bulls signed 43-year old free agent All-Star center Robert Parish, who won three championships with the Boston Celtics in the 1980s. Coming off of one of the greatest seasons in NBA history, the Bulls, on the backs of recording another first-place finish in their division and conference, repeated as NBA champions. The Bulls were led by Michael Jordan, perennial All-Star small forward Scottie Pippen, and rebound ace Dennis Rodman; other notable players on the club's roster that year were clutch-specialist Croatian Toni Kukoč, and sharp-shooting point guard Steve Kerr. The Bulls got off to a fast start by winning their first twelve games of the regular season, while po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awarded the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, which replaced the original Walter A. Brown Trophy in 1976–77, though under the same name until 1984. The series was initially known as the BAA Finals prior to the 1949–50 season when the Basketball Association of America (BAA) merged with the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball League (NBL) to form the NBA. The competition oversaw further name changes to NBA World Championship Series from 1950 to 1985, as well as a brief stint as the Showdown, before settling on NBA Finals in 1986. Since 2018, it has been officially known as the ''NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV'' for Naming rights, sponsorship reasons. The NBA Fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1997 NBA All-Star Game
The 1997 NBA All-Star Game was the 47th edition of the All-Star Game and commemorated the 50th anniversary of NBA. The game was played on February 9, 1997, at Gund Arena (now known as Rocket Arena) in Cleveland. The winner of the MVP award was Glen Rice of the Charlotte Hornets who played 25 minutes and scored 26 points while breaking two records in the process, 20 points in the third quarter and 24 points in the second half. Rice's 20 points in the period broke Hal Greer's record (19), set in 1968. Rice's 24 points in a half surpassed the previous mark of 23, owned by Wilt Chamberlain and Tom Chambers. Michael Jordan's 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists were the first and until the 2011 NBA All-Star Game the only triple-double in NBA All-Star Game history; LeBron James (2011), Dwyane Wade (2012), and Kevin Durant (2017) have also achieved this. Five players (Charles Barkley, Alonzo Mourning, Patrick Ewing, Clyde Drexler, Shaquille O'Neal) who were voted or selected for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2016 NBA Finals
The 2016 NBA Finals was the NBA Finals, championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2015–16 NBA season, 2015–16 season and conclusion of the 2016 NBA playoffs, season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven series, and a rematch of the 2015 NBA Finals, the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference champion 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season, Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the defending champion and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champion 2015–16 Golden State Warriors season, Golden State Warriors in seven games, for their first championship in franchise history; as such, their win ended the Cleveland sports curse, which began when the Cleveland Browns won the 1964 NFL Championship Game. Cleveland's LeBron James was unanimously voted the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP), after averaging 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 8.9 assists. He was also the first player in NBA history to lead all players in a playoff series in points, rebounds, assi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (formerly known as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1969 NBA Finals. The award is decided by a panel of eleven media members, who cast votes after the conclusion of the Finals. The person with the highest number of votes wins the award. The award was originally a black trophy with a gold basketball-shaped sphere at the top, similar to the Larry O'Brien Trophy, until a new trophy was introduced in 2005. Since its inception, the award has been given 55 times to 34 players. Michael Jordan is a record six-time award winner. LeBron James has won the award four times in his career, and Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Tim Duncan won three times each. Jordan and O'Neal are the only players to win the award in three consecutive seasons (Jordan accomplished the feat on two occasions). Johnson is the only rookie ever to win the award, as well as the younge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which had a population of 1,257,936 at the 2020 census. Salt Lake City is further situated within a larger metropolis known as the Salt Lake City–Ogden–Provo Combined Statistical Area, a corridor of contiguous urban and suburban development stretched along a segment of the Wasatch Front, comprising a population of 2,746,164 (as of 2021 estimates), making it the 22nd largest in the nation. With a population of 199,723 in 2020, it is the 111th most populous city in the United States. It is also the central core of the larger of only two major urban areas located within the Great Basin (the other being Reno, Nevada). Salt Lake City was founded on July 24, 1847 by settlers led by Brigham Young ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of United States cities by population, third-most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. As the county seat, seat of Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most populous county in the U.S., Chicago is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area, often colloquially called "Chicagoland" and home to 9.6 million residents. Located on the shore of Lake Michigan, Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 near a Chicago Portage, portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, Mississippi River watershed. It grew rapidly in the mid-19th century. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed several square miles and left more than 100,000 homeless, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Playoff Format
There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly known as ''on aggregate'', and the '' round-robin tournament''. Single elimination A single-elimination ("knockout") playoff pits the participants in one-game matches, with the loser being dropped from the competition. Single-elimination tournaments are often used in individual sports like tennis. In most tennis tournaments, the players are seeded against each other, and the winner of each match continues to the next round, all the way to the final. When a playoff of this type involves the top four teams, it is sometimes known as the Shaughnessy playoff system, after Frank Shaughnessy, who first developed it for the International League of minor league baseball. Variations of the Shaughnessy system also exist, such as in the promotion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Home Team
In sports, home is the place and venue identified with a sports team. Most professional teams are named for, and marketed to, particular metropolitan areas; amateur teams may be drawn from a particular region, or from institutions such as schools or universities. When they play in that venue, they are said to be the "home team"; when the team plays elsewhere, they are the ''away'', ''visiting'', or ''road'' team. Home teams wear home colors. Venue Each team has a location where it practices during the season and where it hosts games. This is referred to as the home court, home field, home stadium, home ballpark, home arena, home ground, or home ice. When a team is serving as host of a contest, it is designated as the "home team". The event is described as a "home game" for that team and the venue that the game is being played is described as the "home field." In most sports, there is a home field advantage whereby the home team wins more frequently because it has a greate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Conference (NBA)
The Eastern Conference is one of two conferences that make up the National Basketball Association (NBA), the other being the Western Conference. Both conferences consist of 15 teams organized into three divisions. The Eastern Conference comprises the Atlantic, Central, and Southeast Divisions. The current divisional alignment was adopted at the start of the 2004–05 season, when the now Charlotte Hornets began play as the NBA's 30th franchise. This necessitated the move of the New Orleans Pelicans from the Eastern Conference's Central Division to the newly created Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The NBA first started awarding an Eastern Conference championship trophy during the 2000–01 season, renaming it after Hall of Famer Bob Cousy in the 2021–22 season. Also in 2021–22, the league began awarding the Larry Bird Trophy to the Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player, named after Hall of Famer Larry Bird. 2024–25 standings Notes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1996 NBA Finals
The 1996 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1995–96 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics (64–18) played the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls (72–10), with the Bulls holding home court advantage. The teams' 136 combined regular season wins shattered the previous record of 125, set in 1985 between the Los Angeles Lakers who won 62 games and the Boston Celtics who won 63 games in the past regular season. The series, the 50th NBA finals in league history, was played under a best-of-seven format. This was the first championship in the Chicago Bulls' second three-peat. Chicago won the series 4 games to 2. Michael Jordan was named NBA Finals MVP, his fourth time winning the award. Background Chicago Bulls The Bulls were coming off a season where they lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Orlando Magic. Heading into the upcoming season, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Conference (NBA)
The Western Conference is one of two conferences that make up the National Basketball Association (NBA), the other being the Eastern Conference. Both conferences consist of 15 teams organized into three divisions. The Western Conference comprises the Northwest, Pacific, and Southwest Divisions. The current divisional alignment was adopted at the start of the 2004–05 season, when the now Charlotte Hornets began play as the NBA's 30th franchise. This necessitated the move of the New Orleans Pelicans (named New Orleans Hornets at the time) from the Eastern Conference's Central Division to the newly created Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The NBA first started awarding a Western Conference championship trophy during the 2000–01 season, renaming it after Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson in the 2021–22 season. Also in 2021–22, the league began awarding the Earvin "Magic" Johnson Trophy to the Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player, named afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
