1997–98 Utah Jazz season

The 1997–98 NBA season was the 24th season for the Utah Jazz in the National Basketball Association, and their 19th season in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Jazz had been runner-ups in the 1997 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games. In the 1997–98 season, the Jazz again reached the Finals, and were again defeated by the Bulls in six games.

During the off-season, All-Star point guard John Stockton sustained a knee injury that caused him to miss the first 18 games of the regular season, as the Jazz got off to an 11–7 start after losing three of their first four games. The team also changed their starting lineup, replacing Bryon Russell at small forward with Adam Keefe, and replacing Greg Ostertag at center with Greg Foster. However, Stockton would eventually return as the Jazz held a 31–15 record at the All-Star break.

At mid-season, the team traded Foster and Chris Morris to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Rony Seikaly. However, after Seikaly failed to report within the mandated 48 hours required by NBA rules because of a foot injury, the trade was called off as the Jazz took Foster and Morris back; the Magic then traded Seikaly to the New Jersey Nets. The Jazz won 31 of their final 36 games after the All-Star break, including an 11-game winning streak between February and March. The team finished in first place in the Midwest Division with a 62–20 record, and earned the #1 seed in the Western Conference; their record was also tied with the Bulls as the league's best record. They also made their fifteenth consecutive trip to the NBA playoffs.

Three players averaged in double-digits in points, as top scorer Karl Malone averaged 27.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, while Jeff Hornacek averaged 14.2 points, 4.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and Stockton provided the team with 12.0 points, 8.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game. In addition, Russell played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 9.0 points per game, while second-year guard Shandon Anderson contributed 8.3 points per game, and Howard Eisley, who started at point guard for the first 18 games in Stockton's absence, provided with 7.7 points and 4.2 assists per game. On the defensive side, Keefe averaged 7.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while Foster contributed 5.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, and Ostertag provided with 4.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and led the team with 2.1 blocks per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend in New York City, New York, Malone was selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, and Hornacek won the NBA Three-Point Shootout. Malone also finished in second place in Most Valuable Player voting behind Michael Jordan, who won his fifth MVP award with 92 first-place votes, while Malone had 20 first-place votes, and Stockton finished tied in thirteenth place; Malone also finished tied in thirteenth place in Most Improved Player voting, and head coach Jerry Sloan finished in second place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1998 NBA playoffs, the Jazz trailed 2–1 to the 8th-seeded Houston Rockets, but managed to win the series in five games. In the Western Conference Semi-finals, they defeated the San Antonio Spurs in five games. After that, the Jazz swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals in four straight games to advance to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year.

In a rematch of last year's NBA Finals, the Jazz once again met the Chicago Bulls; despite the Jazz having home-court advantage after winning the regular season series over the Bulls in two games, the Bulls once again prevailed over the Jazz in six games, winning their third consecutive championship, and sixth overall in eight years.

Following the season, Morris signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns, and Antoine Carr signed with the Houston Rockets.