The 1996–97 NBA season was the 51st season of the National Basketball Association. 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 year marked the debut of Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and Jermaine O'Neal. 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. [edit] Notable occurrences - The Chicago Bulls narrowly missed back-to-back 70 win seasons, going 69-13, tying the second best all-time record (with the 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers season). In the final game of the regular season, the Bulls lost to the Knicks 103-101 as Scottie Pippen missed a three-pointer that would have given the Bulls back-to-back 70 win seasons. This loss also prevented the Bulls from tying the best home record of 40-1, set by the '85-'86 Boston Celtics, finishing 39-2 at the United Center.
- The 1997 NBA All-Star Game was played at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, with the East defeating the West 132-120. Glen Rice of the Charlotte Hornets was named the game's MVP.
- The Philadelphia 76ers played their first game at the Core States Center' (later First Union Center, now Wachovia Center).
- Allen Iverson set a rookie record scoring with 40 points or more in 5 straight games.
- Due to extensive renovations at Oakland Arena, the Golden State Warriors played their home games at the San Jose Arena (now known as the HP Pavilion at San Jose, home of the NHL's San Jose Sharks).
- Dennis Rodman was suspended for 11 games after kicking a cameraman in a road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves after tripping over him.
- Following a last-second three-point shot by John Stockton in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, the Utah Jazz made their first ever NBA Finals appearance.
- In Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Lakers, Karl Malone hit all 18 of his free-throw attempts, setting a playoff record for most attempts without a miss, since broken by Paul Pierce.
- After seven seasons of futility, the Minnesota Timberwolves finally made a postseason appearance, becoming the last of the 1988 and 1989 expansion teams to do so. In addition, their expansion-franchise counterparts (Miami, Orlando, and Charlotte) also made the playoffs.
- The Atlanta Hawks played their final season at The Omni Coliseum.
[edit] Final standings [edit] Eastern Conference [edit] Western Conference C - NBA Champions [edit] 1996-97 NBA statistics leaders [edit] NBA awards Note: All information on this page was obtained from the History section of NBA.com [edit] See also |
