1995–96 NBA season

1995–96 NBA season
League National Basketball Association
Sport Basketball
Duration November 3, 1995 – April 21, 1996
April 25 – June 2, 1996 (Playoffs)
June 5 – 16, 1996 (Finals)
Number of teams 29
TV partner(s) NBC, TBS, TNT
Draft
Top draft pick Joe Smith
Picked by Golden State Warriors
Regular season
Top seed Chicago Bulls
Season MVP Michael Jordan (Chicago)
Top scorer Michael Jordan (Chicago)
Playoffs
Eastern champions Chicago Bulls
  Eastern runners-up Orlando Magic
Western champions Seattle SuperSonics
  Western runners-up Utah Jazz
Finals
Champions Chicago Bulls
  Runners-up Seattle SuperSonics
Finals MVP Michael Jordan (Chicago)

The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), although this anniversary was not celebrated until the following season. The Chicago Bulls defeating the Seattle SuperSonics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals to win their fourth championship.

1995 NBA lockout

The 1995 NBA lockout was the first lockout in the history of the NBA. When the previous collective bargaining agreement expired after the 1993–94 season a no-strike, no-lockout agreement was made in October 1994, with a moratorium on signing or restructuring player contracts. That moratorium expired the day after the 14 June NBA finals. The 24 June expansion draft and the 28 June NBA draft were allowed to take place but all other league business, including trades, free-agent signings, contract extensions and summer leagues stopped,[1] from 1 July 1995 until 12 September 1995, with no games affected.[2][3][4][5] Among the key issues in the labor dispute were the salary cap, free agency, a rookie salary cap and revenue sharing.[1]

Notable occurrences

Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 1994-95 coach 1995-96 coach
Boston Celtics Chris Ford M.L. Carr
Detroit Pistons Don Chaney Doug Collins
Golden State Warriors Bob Lanier Rick Adelman
Miami Heat Alvin Gentry Pat Riley
New York Knicks Pat Riley Don Nelson
Toronto Raptors Expansion Brendan Malone
Vancouver Grizzlies Brian Winters
In-season
Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach
Minnesota Timberwolves Bill Blair Flip Saunders
New York Knicks Don Nelson Jeff Van Gundy
Phoenix Suns Paul Westphal Cotton Fitzsimmons

Final standings

By division

Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Orlando Magic 60 22 .732 37–4 23–18 21–3
x-New York Knicks 47 35 .573 13 26–15 21–20 16–8
x-Miami Heat 42 40 .512 18 26–15 16–25 13–12
Washington Bullets 39 43 .476 21 25–16 14–27 10–14
Boston Celtics 33 49 .402 27 18–23 15–26 12–12
New Jersey Nets 30 52 .366 30 20–21 10–31 8–17
Philadelphia 76ers 18 64 .220 42 11–30 7–34 5–19
Central Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Chicago Bulls 72 10 .878 39–2 33–8 24–4
x-Indiana Pacers 52 30 .634 20 32–9 20–21 19–9
x-Cleveland Cavaliers 47 35 .573 25 26–15 21–20 13–15
x-Atlanta Hawks 46 36 .561 26 26–15 20–21 15–13
x-Detroit Pistons 46 36 .561 26 30–11 16–25 15–13
Charlotte Hornets 41 41 .500 31 25–16 16–25 13–15
Milwaukee Bucks 25 57 .305 47 14–27 11–30 8–20
Toronto Raptors 21 61 .256 51 15–26 6–35 5–23
Midwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-San Antonio Spurs 59 23 .720 33–8 26–15 19–5
x-Utah Jazz 55 27 .671 4 34–7 21–20 14–10
x-Houston Rockets 48 34 .585 11 27–14 21–20 15–9
Denver Nuggets 35 47 .427 24 24–17 11–30 13–11
Dallas Mavericks 26 56 .317 33 16–25 10–31 10–14
Minnesota Timberwolves 26 56 .317 33 17–24 9–32 10–14
Vancouver Grizzlies 15 67 .183 44 10–31 5–36 3–21
Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics 64 18 .780 38–3 26–15 21–3
x-Los Angeles Lakers 53 29 .646 11 30–11 23–18 17–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers 44 38 .537 20 26–15 18–23 11–13
x-Phoenix Suns 41 41 .500 23 25–16 16–25 9–15
x-Sacramento Kings 39 43 .476 25 26–15 13–28 11–13
Golden State Warriors 36 46 .439 28 23–18 13–28 7–17
Los Angeles Clippers 29 53 .354 35 19–22 10–31 7–17

By conference

Western Conference
# Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Seattle SuperSonics 64 18 .780
2 y-San Antonio Spurs 59 23 .720 5
3 x-Utah Jazz 55 27 .671 9
4 x-Los Angeles Lakers 53 29 .646 11
5 x-Houston Rockets 48 34 .585 16
6 x-Portland Trail Blazers 44 38 .537 20
7 x-Phoenix Suns 41 41 .500 23
8 x-Sacramento Kings 39 43 .476 25
9 Golden State Warriors 36 46 .439 28
10 Denver Nuggets 35 47 .427 29
11 Los Angeles Clippers 29 53 .354 35
12 Dallas Mavericks 26 56 .317 38
13 Minnesota Timberwolves 26 56 .317 38
14 Vancouver Grizzlies 15 67 .183 49
Eastern Conference
# Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Chicago Bulls 72 10 .878
2 y-Orlando Magic 60 22 .732 12
3 x-Indiana Pacers 52 30 .634 20
4 x-Cleveland Cavaliers 47 35 .573 25
5 x-New York Knicks 47 35 .573 25
6 x-Atlanta Hawks 46 36 .561 26
7 x-Detroit Pistons 46 36 .561 26
8 x-Miami Heat 42 40 .512 30
9 Charlotte Hornets 41 41 .500 31
10 Washington Bullets 39 43 .476 33
11 Boston Celtics 33 49 .402 39
12 New Jersey Nets 30 52 .366 42
13 Milwaukee Bucks 25 57 .305 47
14 Toronto Raptors 21 61 .256 51
15 Philadelphia 76ers 18 64 .220 54

Notes

Playoffs

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.

Main article: 1996 NBA Playoffs
First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals
            
1 Seattle 3
8 Sacramento 1
1 Seattle 4
5 Houston 0
4 Los Angeles 1
5 Houston 3
1 Seattle 4
Western Conference
3 Utah 3
3 Utah 3
6 Portland 2
3 Utah 4
2 San Antonio 2
2 San Antonio 3
7 Phoenix 1
W1 Seattle 2
E1 Chicago 4
1 Chicago 3
8 Miami 0
1 Chicago 4
5 New York 1
4 Cleveland 0
5 New York 3
1 Chicago 4
Eastern Conference
2 Orlando 0
3 Indiana 2
6 Atlanta 3
6 Atlanta 1
2 Orlando 4
2 Orlando 3
7 Detroit 0

Statistics leaders

Category Player Team Stat
Points per game Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls 30.4
Rebounds per game Dennis Rodman Chicago Bulls 14.9
Assists per game John Stockton Utah Jazz 11.2
Steals per game Gary Payton Seattle SuperSonics 2.85
Blocks per game Dikembe Mutombo Denver Nuggets 4.49
FG% Gheorghe Mureşan Washington Bullets .584
FT% Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf Denver Nuggets .930
3FG% Tim Legler Washington Bullets .522

NBA awards

Yearly awards

Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com

Player of the week

The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.

Week Player
Nov. 3 – Nov. 12 Anfernee Hardaway (Orlando Magic)
Nov. 13 – Nov. 19 Cedric Ceballos (Los Angeles Lakers)
Nov. 20 – Nov. 26 Shawn Kemp (Seattle SuperSonics)
Nov. 27 – Dec. 3 Terrell Brandon (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Dec. 4 – Dec. 10 Dikembe Mutombo (Denver Nuggets)
Dec. 11 – Dec. 17 Scottie Pippen (Chicago Bulls)
Dec. 18 – Dec. 24 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Dec. 25 – Dec. 30 Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
Jan. 2 – Jan. 7 Clifford R. Robinson (Portland Trail Blazers)
Jan. 8 – Jan. 14 David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
Jan. 15 – Jan. 21 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Jan. 22 – Jan. 28 Reggie Miller (Indiana Pacers)
Jan. 29 – Feb. 4 Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks)
Feb. 13 – Feb. 18 Armon Gilliam (New Jersey Nets)
Feb. 19 – Feb. 25 Shawn Kemp (Seattle SuperSonics)
Feb. 26 – Mar. 3 (tie) Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)
Feb. 26 – Mar. 3 (tie) Shaquille O'Neal (Orlando Magic)
Mar. 4 – Mar. 10 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Mar. 11 – Mar. 17 Grant Hill (Detroit Pistons)
Mar. 18 – Mar. 24 Chris Gatling (Miami Heat)
Mar. 25 – Mar. 31 Arvydas Sabonis (Portland Trail Blazers)
Apr. 1 – Apr. 7 Kevin Johnson (Phoenix Suns)

Player of the month

The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.

Month Player
November Anfernee Hardaway (Orlando Magic)
December Scottie Pippen (Chicago Bulls)
January Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
February Charles Barkley (Phoenix Suns)
March David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
April Juwan Howard (Washington Bullets)

Rookie of the month

The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.

Month Rookie
November Damon Stoudamire (Toronto Raptors)
December Joe Smith (Golden State Warriors)
January Damon Stoudamire (Toronto Raptors)
February Joe Smith (Golden State Warriors)
March Jerry Stackhouse (Philadelphia 76ers)
April Arvydas Sabonis (Portland Trail Blazers)

Coach of the month

The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.

Month Coach
November Garry St. Jean (Sacramento Kings)
December Mike Fratello (Cleveland Cavaliers)
January Phil Jackson (Chicago Bulls)
February George Karl (Seattle SuperSonics)
March Bob Hill (San Antonio Spurs)
April Phil Jackson (Chicago Bulls)

References

  1. 1 2 Brown, Clifton. "1995 NBA playoffs; NBA. Talks resume as lockout looms."The New York Times, Houston, 13 June 1995. Retrieved on 2 June 2015.
  2. Friend, Tom (June 15, 1995). "Stern Says Labor Deal Could Be Struck Soon". The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  3. Brown, Clifton (June 13, 1995). "NBA Talks Resume as Lockout Looms". The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  4. "NBA Lockout Chronology". CNN Sports Illustrated. Time Warner Company. January 6, 1999. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  5. "10 Game-Changing Pro Sports Lockouts and Strikes – National Basketball Association (1995)". CNBC.com. CNBC LLC. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
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