1996–97 NBA season

1996–97 NBA season
League National Basketball Association
Sport Basketball
Duration November 1, 1996 – April 20, 1997
April 24 – May 29, 1997 (Playoffs)
June 1 – 13, 1997 (Finals)
Number of teams 29
TV partner(s) NBC, TBS, TNT
Draft
Top draft pick Allen Iverson
Picked by Philadelphia 76ers
Regular season
Top seed Chicago Bulls
Season MVP Karl Malone (Utah)
Top scorer Michael Jordan (Chicago)
Playoffs
Eastern champions Chicago Bulls
  Eastern runners-up Miami Heat
Western champions Utah Jazz
  Western runners-up Houston Rockets
Finals
Champions Chicago Bulls
  Runners-up Utah Jazz
Finals MVP Michael Jordan (Chicago)

The 1996–97 NBA season was the 51st season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league used this season to mark its 50th anniversary, which included the unveiling of the league's list of its 50 greatest players. This particular season featured what has since been acknowledged as one of the most talented rookie-classes, featuring the debuts of Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal, Ben Wallace and Stephon Marbury. The season ended with the Chicago Bulls defeating the Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals to win the franchise's 5th championship.

1996 NBA lockout

The 1996 NBA lockout was the second lockout in the history of the NBA. It lasted for a couple of hours on July 10, 1996. The lockout was imposed after the league and the player's union could not reach an agreement involving $50 million in profit sharing from the television revenue. The league requested 50 percent of those profits to be applied toward player salaries while the union wanted more money to be included. After a few hours of talks, the league agreed to allocate an additional $14 million per season in television revenue toward the salary cap during the last four years of the six-year agreement. The lockout was ended only a few hours after it was announced and the agreement was reached.[1][2][3]

Notable occurrences

Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 1995-96 coach 1996-97 coach
Charlotte Hornets Allan Bristow Dave Cowens
Dallas Mavericks Dick Motta Jim Cleamons
Milwaukee Bucks Mike Dunleavy, Sr. Chris Ford
New Jersey Nets Butch Beard John Calipari
Philadelphia 76ers John Lucas Johnny Davis
Phoenix Suns Cotton Fitzsimmons Danny Ainge
Toronto Raptors Brendan Malone Darrell Walker
In-season
Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach
Denver Nuggets Bernie Bickerstaff Dick Motta
Orlando Magic Brian Hill Richie Adubato
Sacramento Kings Garry St. Jean Eddie Jordan
San Antonio Spurs Bob Hill Gregg Popovich
Vancouver Grizzlies Brian Winters Stu Jackson
Washington Bullets Jim Lynam Bob Staak
Bob Staak Bernie Bickerstaff

Final standings

By division

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
Central Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Chicago Bulls 69 13 .841 39–2 30–11 24–4
x-Atlanta Hawks 56 26 .683 13 36–5 20–21 17–11
x-Detroit Pistons 54 28 .659 15 30–11 24–17 17–11
x-Charlotte Hornets 54 28 .659 15 30–11 24–17 14–14
Cleveland Cavaliers 42 40 .512 27 25–16 17–24 13–15
Indiana Pacers 39 43 .476 30 21–20 18–23 11–17
Milwaukee Bucks 33 49 .402 36 20–21 13–28 10–18
Toronto Raptors 30 52 .366 39 18–23 12–29 6–22
Midwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Utah Jazz 64 18 .780 38–3 26–15 19–5
x-Houston Rockets 57 25 .695 7 30–11 27–14 19–5
x-Minnesota Timberwolves 40 42 .488 24 25–16 15–26 16–8
Dallas Mavericks 24 58 .293 40 14–27 10–31 9–15
Denver Nuggets 21 61 .256 43 12–29 9–32 7–17
San Antonio Spurs 20 62 .244 44 12–29 8–33 8–16
Vancouver Grizzlies 14 68 .171 50 8–33 6–35 6–18
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

By conference

# 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
# 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

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: 1997 NBA Playoffs
First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals
            
1 Utah 3
8 L.A. Clippers 0
1 Utah 4
4 L.A. Lakers 1
4 L.A. Lakers 3
5 Portland 1
1 Utah 4
Western Conference
3 Houston 2
3 Houston 3
6 Minnesota 0
3 Houston 4
2 Seattle 3
2 Seattle 3
7 Phoenix 2
W1 Utah 2
E1 Chicago 4
1 Chicago 3
8 Washington 0
1 Chicago 4
4 Atlanta 1
4 Atlanta 3
5 Detroit 2
1 Chicago 4
Eastern Conference
2 Miami 1
3 New York 3
6 Charlotte 0
3 New York 3
2 Miami 4
2 Miami 3
7 Orlando 2

Statistics leaders

Category Player Team Stat
Points per game Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls 29.6
Rebounds per game Dennis Rodman Chicago Bulls 16.1
Assists per game Mark Jackson Indiana Pacers 11.4
Steals per game Mookie Blaylock Atlanta Hawks 2.72
Blocks per game Shawn Bradley New Jersey Nets 3.40
FG% Gheorghe Mureșan Washington Bullets .604
FT% Mark Price Golden State Warriors .906
3FG% Glen Rice Charlotte Hornets .470

NBA awards

Yearly awards

Note: All information on this page was obtained from the History section of NBA.com

Player of the week

The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.

Week Player
Nov. 1 – Nov. 10 Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)
Nov. 11 – Nov. 17 Dale Ellis (Denver Nuggets)
Nov. 18 – Nov. 24 (tie) Charles Barkley (Houston Rockets)
Nov. 18 – Nov. 24 (tie) Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
Nov. 25 – Dec. 1 Dikembe Mutombo (Atlanta Hawks)
Dec. 2 – Dec. 8 Terry Mills (Detroit Pistons)
Dec. 9 – Dec. 15 Shaquille O'Neal (Los Angeles Lakers)
Dec. 16 – Dec. 22 Terrell Brandon (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Dec. 23 – Dec. 29 Tim Hardaway (Miami Heat)
Dec. 30 – Jan. 5 Glen Rice (Charlotte Hornets)
Jan. 6 – Jan. 12 Glenn Robinson (Milwaukee Bucks)
Jan. 13 – Jan. 19 Grant Hill (Detroit Pistons)
Jan. 20 – Jan. 26 Mitch Richmond (Sacramento Kings)
Jan. 27 – Feb. 2 Glen Rice (Charlotte Hornets)
Feb. 11 – Feb. 16 Alonzo Mourning (Miami Heat)
Feb. 17 – Feb. 23 Scottie Pippen (Chicago Bulls)
Feb. 24 – Mar. 2 Loy Vaught (Los Angeles Clippers)
Mar. 3 – Mar. 9 Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks)
Mar. 10 – Mar. 16 Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
Mar. 17 – Mar. 23 Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
Mar. 24 – Mar. 30 Kevin Johnson (Phoenix Suns)
Apr. 1 – Apr. 6 Grant Hill (Detroit Pistons)
Apr. 7 – Apr. 13 Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers)
Apr. 14 – Apr. 20 Chris Webber (Washington Bullets)

Player of the month

The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.

Month Player
November Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
December Shaquille O'Neal (Los Angeles Lakers)
January Grant Hill (Detroit Pistons)
February Glen Rice (Charlotte Hornets)
March Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
April Kevin Johnson (Phoenix Suns)

Rookie of the month

The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.

Month Rookie
November Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers)
December (tie) Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Vancouver Grizzlies)
December (tie) Kerry Kittles (New Jersey Nets)
January Stephon Marbury (Minnesota Timberwolves)
February Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Vancouver Grizzlies)
March Marcus Camby (Toronto Raptors)
April Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers)

Coach of the month

The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.

Month Coach
November Rudy Tomjanovich (Houston Rockets)
December Pat Riley (Miami Heat)
January Lenny Wilkens (Atlanta Hawks)
February Doug Collins (Detroit Pistons)
March Jerry Sloan (Utah Jazz)
April Dave Cowens (Charlotte Hornets)

References

  1. Bembry, Jerry (July 10, 1996). "NBA lockout passes quickly Brief stoppage delays free-agent talks 2 days". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  2. Brown, Clifton (July 10, 1996). "Deal Is a Lock, Not a Lockout, For the NBA". The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  3. "NBA Lockout Chronology". CNN Sports Illustrated. January 6, 1999. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  4. 1996–1997 Boston Celtics schedule and results
  5. Land of Basketball; NBA Worst Season Winning Percentages
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, April 28, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.