The 1997 NBA Finals was the concluding series of the 1997 NBA Playoffs that determined the champion of the 1996–97 NBA season. The Utah Jazz of the Western Conference took on the Chicago Bulls of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Bulls holding home court advantage. The series was played under a best-of-seven format, in the 2-3-2 NBA Finals format, with the first 2 games in Chicago, then 3 games in a row in Salt Lake City and the last 2 in Chicago.

The Bulls won the series 4 games to 2. For the fifth time in as many Finals appearances, Michael Jordan was named Finals MVP.

During that NBA Finals, NBC Sports's Hannah Storm became the first woman to serve as pre-game host of an NBA Finals.

NBC Sports used Ahmad Rashad (Bulls sideline) and Jim Gray (Jazz sideline) as sideline reporters.

Hal Douglas narrated the season-ending documentary for NBA Entertainment.

In the 1996–97 season, Michael Jordan led the Bulls to a 69-13 record. The Bulls reached the Finals after sweeping the Washington Bullets, and beating the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat 4-1. In 1996–97, Utah was led by John Stockton and Karl Malone, posting a franchise-best 64–18 record. They reached the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history after sweeping the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4–1, and the Houston Rockets 4–2 to meet the Bulls in the Finals. A clutch 3 at the buzzer by John Stockton over Charles Barkley in Game 6 of the 1997 Western Conference Finals sent Utah to the Finals.

The NBA Finals is the championship series of the NBA. The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986.

The series is played between the winners of Western Conference Finals and Eastern Conference Finals. At the conclusion of the championship round, the winners of the NBA Finals are awarded the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. (Winners from 1946 to 1977 received the Walter A. Brown Trophy) The NBA Finals has been played at the conclusion of every NBA and BAA season in history, the first being held in 1947.

Since 1985, the winner of the NBA Finals has been determined through a 2–3–2 format. The first two and the last two games of the series are played at the arena of the team who earned home court advantage by having the better record during the regular season.

During the first decade the Minneapolis Lakers had the first NBA dynasty, winning 5 championships in 6 years under Hall of Fame head coach John Kundla. The team also featured George Mikan, one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA. Franchises which had previously been in the National Basketball League tended to dominate, especially the Minneapolis Lakers.

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

After a three-season career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball. In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat". Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the 1993–94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998) as well as an NBA-record 72 regular-season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards.