1996–97 Portland Trail Blazers season

1996–97 Portland Trail Blazers season
Jermaine O'Neal's rookie season
Head coach	P.J. Carlesimo
Arena	Rose Garden Arena
Results
Record	49–33 (.598)
Place	Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 5th (Western)
Playoff finish	West First Round (eliminated 1–3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The 1996–97 season was the 27th season of the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[1] With the addition of Kenny Anderson, Isaiah Rider and Rasheed Wallace, the Blazers finished the season with a 49–33 record. Third in the Pacific Division and fifth in the Western Conference, making their 15th straight trip to the postseason and 20th in 21 years. The Blazers faced the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, and were defeated 3–1, marking the fifth straight year they were eliminated in the first round. Following the season, Clifford Robinson signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	17	Jermaine O'Neal	PF/C	United States	Eau Claire HS (Columbia, SC)
2	46	Marcus Brown	PG	United States	Murray State

Roster

Portland TrailBlazers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From PG 7 Anderson, Kenny 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 168 lb (76 kg) Georgia Tech SF 2 Augmon, Stacey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) UNLV PG 4 Brown, Marcus 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Murray State SG 6 Butler, Mitchell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) UCLA C 20 Dudley, Chris 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Yale PG 9 Nembhard, Ruben 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Weber State PF 5 O'Neal, Jermaine 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 226 lb (103 kg) Eau Claire HS (SC) SG 34 Rider, Isaiah 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) UNLV SF 3 Robinson, Clifford 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Connecticut PG 21 Robinson, Rumeal 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Michigan C 11 Sabonis, Arvydas 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 279 lb (127 kg) Lithuania PF 33 Trent, Gary 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Ohio PF 30 Wallace, Rasheed 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) North Carolina PG 8 Whatley, Ennis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 177 lb (80 kg) Alabama SF 10 Wingfield, Dontonio 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 256 lb (116 kg) Cincinnati	Head coach P. J. Carlesimo (Fordham) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics	57	25	.695	–	31–10	26–15	16–8
x-Los Angeles Lakers	56	26	.683	1	31–10	25–16	18–6
x-Portland Trail Blazers	49	33	.598	8	29–12	20–21	15–9
x-Phoenix Suns	40	42	.488	17	25–16	15–26	13–11
x-Los Angeles Clippers	36	46	.439	21	21–20	15–26	10–14
Sacramento Kings	34	48	.415	23	22–19	12–29	8–16
Golden State Warriors	30	52	.366	27	18–23	12–29	4–20

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Utah Jazz	64	18	.780	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	57	25	.695	7
3	x-Houston Rockets	57	25	.695	7
4	x-Los Angeles Lakers	56	26	.683	8
5	x-Portland Trail Blazers	49	33	.598	15
6	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	40	42	.488	24
7	x-Phoenix Suns	40	42	.488	24
8	x-Los Angeles Clippers	36	46	.439	28
9	Sacramento Kings	34	48	.415	30
10	Golden State Warriors	30	52	.366	34
11	Dallas Mavericks	24	58	.293	40
12	Denver Nuggets	21	61	.256	43
13	San Antonio Spurs	20	62	.244	44
14	Vancouver Grizzlies	14	68	.171	50

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

West First Round

(4) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Portland Trail Blazers Last Playoff Meeting: 1992 Western Conference First Round (Portland won 3–1)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (LAL-POR)	Venue	Recap	Television
1	April 25	L.A. Lakers	95	Portland	77	1-0	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	1	TNT
2	April 27	L.A. Lakers	107	Portland	93	2-0	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	2	NBC
3	April 30	Portland	98	L.A. Lakers	90	2-1	Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon	3	TNT
4	May 2	Portland	91	L.A. Lakers	95	3-1	Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon	4	TNT
L.A. Lakers win series 3–1

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

References

1. 1996-97 Portland Trail Blazers