1996–97 Atlanta Hawks season

The 1996–97 Atlanta Hawks season was the 48th season for the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association, and their 29th season in Atlanta, Georgia.^[1] During this season, Hawks owner Ted Turner was the then-vice chairman of Time Warner after acquiring Turner Broadcasting System.^[2][3][4] In an effort to improve their team, the Hawks strengthened their defense by signing free agent All-Star center Dikembe Mutombo.^[5][6][7] During the off-season, the team signed free agents Tyrone Corbin and Willie Burton; Corbin previously played for the Hawks during the 1994–95 season.^[8][9][10] The team also signed Eldridge Recasner, and former Georgia Tech University guard Jon Barry.^[11][12]

With the addition of Mutombo and Corbin, the Hawks struggled with a 5–6 start to the regular season, but soon recovered and played above .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the season. In December, the team signed free agent, and three-point specialist Henry James,^[12] and later on released Burton to free agency in January after 24 games. The Hawks posted a 14–2 record in January, which included a 10-game winning streak,^[13] and later on held a 31–15 record at the All-Star break.^[14] The Hawks posted a seven-game winning streak in March, and finished in second place in the Central Division with a 56–26 record, earning the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, and qualifying for the NBA playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.^[15][16] The team also posted a successful 36–5 home record at the Omni Coliseum, which was the third-best in the league, and also won 20 consecutive home games from November 12, 1996 to February 12, 1997.^[17][18] The Hawks had the third best team defensive rating in the NBA.^[19]

Steve Smith averaged 20.1 points and 4.2 assists per game, and contributed 130 three-point field goals, while Christian Laettner averaged 18.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, and Mookie Blaylock provided the team with 17.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.7 steals per game, led the Hawks with 221 three-point field goals, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. In addition, Mutombo provided with 13.3 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game, and was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second time, and was also named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team,^[20][21][22] while Corbin contributed 9.5 points and 1.3 steals per game. Off the bench, James contributed 6.7 points per game in 53 games, while second-year forward Alan Henderson averaged 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, but only played just 30 games due to a mysterious illness known as "acute viral pancreatitis",^[23][24][25] Recasner provided with 5.7 points per game, and Barry contributed 4.9 points per game.^[26]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Mutombo and Laettner were both selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was Laettner's first and only All-Star appearance.^[27][28][29] Mutombo also finished tied in 13th place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Smith finished tied in 17th place;^[30] Blaylock finished in third place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[30] and head coach Lenny Wilkens finished tied in sixth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[30]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1997 NBA playoffs, the Hawks faced off against the 5th–seeded Detroit Pistons, who were led by All-Star forward Grant Hill, All-Star guard Joe Dumars, and Lindsey Hunter. The Hawks won Game 1 over the Pistons at home, 89–75 at the Omni Coliseum, but then lost the next two games, which included a Game 3 loss to the Pistons on the road, 99–91 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, as the Pistons took a 2–1 series lead.^[31][32][33] However, the Hawks managed to win the next two games, including a Game 5 win over the Pistons at the Omni Coliseum, 84–79 to win in a hard-fought five-game series.^[34][35][36]

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the top–seeded, and defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls, who won the Central Division title, and were led by the trio of All-Star guard Michael Jordan, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, and rebound-specialist Dennis Rodman. The Hawks lost Game 1 to the Bulls on the road, 100–97 at the United Center, but managed to win Game 2 on the road, 103–95 to even the series; in Game 2, Blaylock scored 26 points, and made 8 out of 9 three-point field-goal attempts.^[37][38][39] However, the Hawks lost their next two home games at the Omni Coliseum, before losing Game 5 to the Bulls at the United Center, 107–92, thus losing the series in five games.^[40][41][42] The Bulls would go on to defeat the Utah Jazz in six games in the 1997 NBA Finals, winning their second consecutive NBA championship, and their fifth championship in seven years.^[43][44][45]

The Hawks finished 27th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 549,414 at the Omni Coliseum during the regular season, which was the third-lowest in the league.^[26][46] This was also the team's final season in which they played their home games at "The Omni", which was scheduled for demolition after the season,^[47][48][49] and hosted its final game in a Game 4 loss to the Bulls during the second round of the NBA playoffs, 89–80 on May 11, 1997.^[50][51][52]

Following the season, Barry signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers,^[53] while James re-signed with his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers,^[54] and Ken Norman was released to free agency; Norman only played just 17 games this season due to a back injury.^[55][56]