The 1998 NBA Finals featured the cultivation of one of the greatest dynasties to ever play in the NBA. The Chicago Bulls were a juggernaut during the 1990s. After years of living in the shadow of the Detroit Pistons in the late 80s, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen led the Bulls to six championships in an eight-year stretch. That included two separate three-peats between 1991 and 1993, as well as from 1996 to 1998.
By winning their sixth championship, it ended a season that was regarded well as “the last dance” of the core of Bulls players. As for Jordan, it ended a run of a 6-0 Finals record with his sixth Finals MVP Award. This particular Finals gathered the highest Nielsen rating in NBA history as the Bulls went into the series as underdogs. For the Utah Jazz, it was a revenge game after the Bulls defeated the team in the 1997 NBA Finals. In the end, the back-and-forth series ended in six games with many contributors on both sides. Outside of Michael Jordan and Karl Malone, nobody knew who the Finals points per game leaders were.
We are here to highlight those leaders right now. These are the 1998 NBA Finals points per game leaders.
10. Luc Longley – 5.0 PPG
1998 NBA Finals Stats: 5.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 1.8 TOV
Longley finished the series with the second-best rebounding average. With that said, he was one of four players that averaged at least 4.0 rebounds per game. Longley was not used as an offensive threat due to the pieces around Jordan. As long as Longley could play defense and provide rebounding, he fulfilled his role.
With that said, Longley reached double figures one time. In game 1, Longley provided 10 points and eight rebounds. He reached eight points in Game 3 with seven rebounds. His worst game of the series was Game 6. Longley was not feeling it as he finished with zero points and took one shot. As a result, he played for 14 minutes and 34 seconds.
9. Ron Harper – 5.3 PPG
1998 NBA Finals Stats: 5.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 1.2 TOV
Like Longley, Harper was known for doing the little things. Harper was the team’s starting point guard, but we know who truly ran the offense. Harper’s assignment was on the defensive side, but because he was a large enough guard in size, he was able to bring rebounding to the table. Harper did not finish in double figures offensively once during this series but had two games of eight points.
His best game of the series was Game 3, when he nearly recorded a triple-double. It was a Draymond Green type of game with eight points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. Harper finished with eight points in Game 6. What stands out more is that Harper finished both Game 1 and 2 with zero turnovers.
8. Shandon Anderson – 7.3 PPG
1998 NBA Finals Stats: 7.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 0.3 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 1.8 TOV
Anderson shot at least 50% from the field in four of the team’s six games. That included finishing with double figures in one game. In Game 2, Anderson finished with 12 points on 4 of 7 shooting. Anderson did not take many shots in the series, finishing with at least five shots in five of the six games.
In regards to stats, Anderson did not provide a lot of anything. His best rebounding game was five in Game 4. He did not finish with more than one assist, steal, or block in any of the games, either. His second-best offensive game was eight points in Game 3.
7. Bryon Russell – 8.8 PPG
1998 NBA Finals Stats: 8.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 1.5 TOV
Russell is best remembered for being the defender in Game 6 when Jordan hit the game-winning shot, but he should be remembered for having an efficient series. In the first game, Russell had 15 points and shot 50% from the field. He followed that with 11 points in Game 2 with five rebounds and made 3 of 5 shots from three-point range.
Russell had his third double-figure night in Game 4 with 10 points. He finished his other three games with two nights of five points and a seven-point night in Game 6. His worst game was Game 3, when he shot 1 of 7 from the field.
6. John Stockton – 9.7 PPG
1998 NBA Finals Stats: 9.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 8.7 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.0 BPG, 3.0 TOV
The man that is regarded as the best passer in NBA history was held in check during this series. Stockton was a double-double player, but he had no double-doubles of points and assists during the NBA Finals. He scored double-figures two times and had two nights of double-digit assists.
In the first game, Stockton had 24 points and eight assists. He recorded 13 assists in Game 4 and 12 assists in Game 5 but finished with seven and six points, respectively. That included a combined shooting of 6 of 18 between the two games. Stockton had 10 points in Game 6 but was limited to five assists.
5. Jeff Hornacek – 10.7 PPG
1998 NBA Finals Stats: 10.7 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 2.7 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 1.8 TOV
Hornacek was the team’s second-leading scorer and the only other player outside of Malone to average double figures. He did it just barely, as his two games of double figures were high enough to help carry the average. Hornacek scored 20 points in Game 2 when he shot 7 of 11 from the field, including 2 of 3 shots from three-point range and all four free-throw attempts.
His second-best game was in Game 6 when Hornacek finished with 17 points, where he made 6 of 12 shots from the field. Hornacek missed double figures in Game 5 with nine points and eight points in Game 4. His worst shooting night was in Game 1 when he finished with four points on 2 of 10 shooting.
4. Toni Kukoc – 15.2 PPG
1998 NBA Finals Stats: 15.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 1.7 TOV
Kukoc made the jump from the sixth man to starter during this series. Kukoc started all but once in the Eastern Conference Finals after playing a bench role in the second round. He rewarded the Bulls with four games of double figures, including a near double-double in Game 2. In that game, Kukoc scored 13 points and nine rebounds.
His best game was in Game 5 when he scored 30 points in the team’s loss. Kukoc shot 11 of 13 from the field and 4 of 6 from three-point range. Kukoc also had a game of 16 points in Game 3, as well as 15 points in Game 6. His efficiency in the series clincher included shooting 7 of 14 from the field.
3. Scottie Pippen – 15.7 PPG
1998 NBA Finals Stats: 15.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 2.7 TOV
The start of the series was fruitful for Pippen. In the first two games of the series, Pippen recorded back-to-back games of 21 points. His line in Game 1 was 21 points and eight rebounds. He followed that with 21 points and six rebounds in the second game. In Game 3, his production dropped to 10 points, but he rebounded with a strong Game 4.
Pippen scored 28 points in the win with nine rebounds and five assists. Pippen shot 9 of 18 from the field, including a rare night of stellar outside shooting by going 5 of 10 from three-point range. Pippen’s last two games were not strong offensively. In Game 5, Pippen recorded six points but had 11 rebounds and 11 assists to make up for a 2 of 16 shooting night. In the final game, Pippen recorded eight points and shot the ball just seven times.
2. Karl Malone – 25.0 PPG
1998 NBA Finals Stats: 25.0 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.0 SPG,1.2 BPG, 3.8 TOV
Offensively, Malone was the only player that could match Jordan’s production. Malone scored 21 points in Game 1 but shot 9 of 25 from the field. Malone also had 14 rebounds, which was one of four games where Malone had a double-double. Malone had 16 points and 12 rebounds in Game 2 but also shot poorly by shooting 5 of 16. His third game was his best shooting night, shooting 8 of 11 (72.7%) from the field with 22 points.
Malone’s final three games featured better shooting nights despite the Jazz losing the series. Malone had 21 points in Game 4 on 10 of 21 shooting with 14 rebounds. His best game was in Game 5 when he scored 29 points on 17 of 27 shooting. He just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. In the final game, Malone had 31 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 11 of 19 from the field.
1. Michael Jordan – 33.5 PPG
1998 NBA Finals Stats: 33.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 1.6 TOV
Jordan won the Finals MVP Award for good reason. He was unstoppable on offense. In the first game, Jordan recorded 33 points on 13 of 29 shooting. He followed that with 37 points. He shot 90% from the free-throw line in Game 2 (9 of 10) and Game 3 (10 of 11). In the third game, he paired that with 24 points by shooting 7 of 14 from the field.
After getting held to 14 shots, Jordan rebounded with 34 points in Game 4 but shot 12 of 27 from the field. His worst shooting game was in Game 5 when he was held to 9 of 26 from the field, but he did score 28 points. The final match was his best offensively. Jordan scored 45 points on 15 of 35 shooting, 3 of 7 from three-point range, and 12 of 15 at the free-throw line. Two of those points came when Jordan hit the game-winning jump shot over Bryon Russell to win the series.
