When the 1st round got tough

Inside the tense showdowns with the '97 Bullets and '98 Nets

In 1998, the New Jersey Nets were the team of the future. During the Bulls-Nets series, this SLAM Magazine was on newsstands, with the headline “Champs by 2001. Count on it.”

“I’ve gone through it numerous times, but it’s still nerve-wracking for me to get out on the basketball court and start the first game of the playoffs. … You just have to go out the…