1997 NBA Playoffs
The 1997 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1996-97 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls defeating the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz 4 games to 2. This was the Bulls' second straight title, and fifth overall (They completed the 3-peat by beating Utah again in 1998). Michael Jordan was named NBA Finals MVP for the fifth time.
This was the first Western Conference title for the Jazz in their 23-year history.
The Heat's run to the Eastern Conference Finals marked the farthest they had reached in the playoffs up to that point; they did not return until 2005, but won the NBA Finals in 2006.
The Minnesota Timberwolves made their playoff debut after failing to win more than 30 games in their first 7 seasons. It was also the first of 7 straight years in which they made the playoffs only to lose in the first round.
This was the first (and so far, only) time since the ABA–NBA merger that the 4 former ABA teams (Spurs, Nuggets, Pacers, and Nets) missed the playoffs, even more remarkable considering the rarity with which San Antonio has missed the playoffs at all (only 4 times since the merger).
1999 NBA Playoffs
The 1999 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1998-99 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks 4 games to 1. Tim Duncan was named NBA Finals MVP.
The 1999 Playoffs are memorable in that a #8 seed (the Knicks) made it to the Finals for the only time in history, and that it came after a lockout-shortened 50-game season. This was also the first time that two teams played each other on consecutive nights in playoff history. It also featured the Philadelphia 76ers' and Milwaukee Bucks' first trip to the playoffs since 1991 (coincidentally they faced each other in the opening round that year), and it was also the 76ers' first appearance since drafting Allen Iverson with the #1 overall pick in 1996. Iverson later led the Sixers to the 2001 NBA Finals. The Bulls, despite being defending champions, missed the playoffs for the first time since 1984 (mostly due to the retirement of Michael Jordan and the departures of Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman). They also became the first defending champion since the 1969-70 Boston Celtics to miss the playoffs.
1991 NBA Playoffs
The 1991 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1990-91 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. Michael Jordan was named NBA Finals MVP.
After the Pistons had ended their season the last three years, the Bulls got revenge in the Eastern Conference Finals by sweeping the two-time defending NBA champions. It was the first time the Bulls won a playoff series over the Pistons since 1974, when both teams were still part of the Western Conference. Game 4 ended with some of the Pistons walking off the court before time expired, refusing to shake the Bulls' hands. In the 1989 NBA Finals, the Pistons themselves had swept the two-time defending champion Lakers. Detroit did not reach the conference finals again until 2003.
The seventh seeded Golden State Warriors stunned the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, defeating them 3 games to 1. It would be Golden State's last playoff series win until 2007.
1983 NBA Playoffs
The 1983 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1982-83 season. This was the final postseason using the 12-team format, before the NBA expanded the postseason to 16 teams the next season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals. Moses Malone was named NBA Finals MVP.
Malone made a famous prediction about the Sixers' chances prior to the playoffs, saying "Fo', fo', fo'" – predicting that the Sixers would sweep every series. They came close; they only lost once to Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Sixers set a record for highest winning percentage in the playoffs that was not broken until the Lakers went 15–1 in 2001. The Lakers' mark, however, came after the expansion to the current 16-team, four-round playoff format, which was first implemented in the 1984 playoffs, while the Sixers avoided the first round by virtue of their top seeding.
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