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 22-year history.

The Heat's run to the Eastern Conference Finals marked the farthest the franchise had reached in the playoffs up to that point; they did not return until 2005, but won the NBA Title in 2006.

The Minnesota Timberwolves made their playoff debut after failing to win more than 30 games in any of their first 7 seasons. For them, it was also the first of 7 straight seasons in which they would make 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 the Spurs have missed the playoffs (only 4 times as of 2012).

The National Basketball Association (NBA) Playoffs is a best-of-seven elimination tournament among sixteen teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference (called Divisions, pre-1970), ultimately deciding the final four teams who will play in the NBA Conference Finals.

The NBA announced the current revised playoff seeding system on August 3, 2006. Following the NBA regular season, eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs and are seeded one to eight.

The team that has the best record in each of the three divisions in each conference is declared division champion. The three champions, and another team in the conference with the best record, are seeded one through four by their records. This guarantees that the division champions will be no lower than fourth seed, and also ensures that a conference's two best teams (by record) are ranked as the top two. However, because the NBA does not re-seed its teams and because home court advantage goes to the team with the better record, not the better seeding, division winners are guaranteed no better than a de-facto five seed, as their 4th seeding does not guarantee home court advantage in the first round, and after the first round the 4 vs 5 winner will play the same teams as the loser would have played had they won the first round. This will continue throughout the remainder of the playoffs and to the finals until the 4 vs 5 winner loses a playoff round or wins the championship. Of the remaining eleven conference teams, the four with the best records are seeded fifth through eighth based on their record.

Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is a former American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA), specializing as an unconventionally tall point guard. His most productive years came in his days as a member of the Orlando Magic as well as the early portion of his stint with the Phoenix Suns. Hardaway was an All-NBA player early in his career, but was plagued by constant injuries which gradually reduced his effectiveness. He played for New York Knicks from 2004 to 2006 and last played for the Miami Heat, who released him December 12, 2007.

Hardaway's nickname came as a result of his grandmother's calling him "Pretty" with a southern drawl, thus sounding like "Penny." Hardaway was raised by his grandmother while his mother was away working. His first love was football but his grandmother did not want him to get hurt. He grew up in the Binghampton neighborhood of shotgun houses in Memphis, Tennessee. As a teenager, despite his rising popularity around the city, in high school, and the nation, Penny continued to work as a referee of youth sports at the Memphis YMCA and played on the Memphis Y.M.C.A. Jr. Olympic basketball teams as a youth.