1996–97 New Jersey Nets season

1996–97 New Jersey Nets season
Head coach	John Calipari
Arena	Continental Airlines Arena
Results
Record	26–56 (.317)
Place	Division: 5th (Atlantic) Conference: 13th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	DNQ
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The 1996-97 NBA season was the Nets' 21st season in the NBA.^[1] Under new head coach John Calipari, the Nets transition continued as Shawn Bradley was traded at midseason along with Robert Pack, Khalid Reeves and Ed O'Bannon to the Dallas Mavericks for Sam Cassell, Jim Jackson, Chris Gatling, Eric Montross and George McCloud. McCloud never played with the Nets and was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers for Joe Kleine. The Nets ended their season with a 26-56 record, finishing fifth in the Atlantic Division. Kendall Gill led them in scoring averaging 21.8 points per game.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	8	Kerry Kittles	SG	United States	Villanova

Roster

New Jersey Nets roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From SF 2 Benoit, David  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Alabama PG 10 Cassell, Sam  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Florida State C 33 Dare, Yinka 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 265 lb (120 kg) George Washington SG 21 Edwards, Kevin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) DePaul PF 15 Gatling, Chris  6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Old Dominion SG 13 Gill, Kendall 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Illinois PF 54 Haley, Jack 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) UCLA SF 22 Jackson, Jim 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Ohio State SG 30 Kittles, Kerry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 179 lb (81 kg) Villanova C 35 Kleine, Joe 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Arkansas PF 44 Massenburg, Tony 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Maryland SF 34 McDaniel, Xavier 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Wichita State C 00 Montross, Eric 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 270 lb (122 kg) North Carolina PF 55 Williams, Jayson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) St. John's SF 7 Williams, Reggie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Georgetown	Head coach John Calipari (Clarion) Assistant coach(es) Don Casey (Temple) Kenny Gattison (Old Dominion) Ed Schilling (Miami (OH)) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions

Roster Notes

• Forward David Benoit missed the entire season due to an injury.

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Miami Heat	61	21	.744	–	29–12	32–9	16–8
x-New York Knicks	57	25	.695	4	31–10	26–15	19–6
x-Orlando Magic	45	37	.549	16	26–15	19–22	13–11
x-Washington Bullets	44	38	.537	17	25–16	19–22	14–10
New Jersey Nets	26	56	.317	35	16–25	10–31	11–13
Philadelphia 76ers	22	60	.268	39	11–30	11–30	11–14
Boston Celtics	15	67	.183	46	11–30	4–37	1–23

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Chicago Bulls	69	13	.841	–
2	y-Miami Heat	61	21	.744	8
3	x-New York Knicks	57	25	.695	12
4	x-Atlanta Hawks	56	26	.683	13
5	x-Detroit Pistons	54	28	.659	15
6	x-Charlotte Hornets	54	28	.659	15
7	x-Orlando Magic	45	37	.549	24
8	x-Washington Bullets	44	38	.537	25
9	Cleveland Cavaliers	42	40	.512	27
10	Indiana Pacers	39	43	.476	30
11	Milwaukee Bucks	33	49	.402	36
12	Toronto Raptors	30	52	.366	39
13	New Jersey Nets	26	56	.317	43
14	Philadelphia 76ers	22	60	.268	47
15	Boston Celtics	15	67	.183	54

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Awards and records

• Kerry Kittles, NBA All-Rookie Team 2nd Team

References

1. 1996-97 New Jersey Nets

See also

• 1996-97 NBA season