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NBA Finals: The 10 Most Dominant Finals Performances

By Brandon Jennings

Jun 5, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; A view of the NBA Finals logo on the floor before game one of the 2014 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 5, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; A view of the NBA Finals logo on the floor before game one of the 2014 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michael Jordan carried the Chicago Bulls to their fifth championship in 1997. (Photo by Diegoestefano97/This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.)
Michael Jordan carried the Chicago Bulls to their fifth championship in 1997. (Photo by Diegoestefano97/This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.) /

7. Michael Jordan, 1997 vs. Utah Jazz

Michael Jordan’s legacy had seemingly reached its zenith heading into the 1997 NBA Finals. Jordan had come back from his surprising retirement to lead a much different group of Chicago Bulls to yet another championship the previous year against the Seattle Supersonics. The Utah Jazz team that Chicago faced in 1997 were a tough group, lead by a pair of future Hall of Famers in John Stockton and Karl Malone.

The series was tied at 2-2 and the Jazz appeared to have a legitimate shot at upsetting the favored Bulls. The news broke that Jordan was sick with the flu prior to the critical Game 5 showdown. From the moment fans saw Jordan it was apparent that he was feeling the effects of his illness. Jordan played through dehydration and exhaustion to will the Bulls to victory in game five. Jordan finished the game with 38 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

For the series Jordan averaged 32.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game as the Bulls defeated the Jazz in six games.