1996–97 Charlotte Hornets season

NBA professional basketball team season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1996–97 Charlotte Hornets season was the ninth season for the Charlotte Hornets in the National Basketball Association.[1] For the first time since the 1990–91 season, Larry Johnson was not on the team's opening day roster. The Hornets received the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard, and high school basketball star Kobe Bryant, and also selected shooting guard Tony Delk from the University of Kentucky with the 16th overall pick;[2][3][4] however, the team soon traded Bryant to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Vlade Divac,[5][6][7] acquired Anthony Mason from the New York Knicks,[8][9][10] and signed free agent Tony Smith during the off-season.[11] The team also hired former Boston Celtics star Dave Cowens as their new head coach.[12][13][14]

Head coachDave Cowens
General managerBob Bass
OwnerGeorge Shinn
ArenaCharlotte Coliseum
Quick facts Charlotte Hornets season, Head coach ...
1996–97 Charlotte Hornets season
Head coachDave Cowens
General managerBob Bass
OwnerGeorge Shinn
ArenaCharlotte Coliseum
Results
Record54–28 (.659)
PlaceDivision: 4th (Central)
Conference: 6th (Eastern)
Playoff finishFirst round
(lost to Knicks 0–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television
RadioWBT
< 1995–96 1997–98 >
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Under Cowens, and with the addition of Divac and Mason, the Hornets struggled with an 8–9 start to the regular season, but then won 21 of their next 31 games, holding a 29–19 record at the All-Star break.[15] At mid-season, the team signed free agent, and former All-Star forward Tom Chambers in January,[16][17][18] then traded Scott Burrell to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Donald Royal, and traded second-year guard Anthony Goldwire, and second-year center George Zidek to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Ricky Pierce in February.[19][20][21] However, Chambers was released to free agency after 12 games. The Hornets posted a nine-game winning streak in April, and finished in fourth place in the Central Division with a franchise-best 54–28 record, earning the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, and making it back to the NBA playoffs after a one-year absence.[22]

Glen Rice averaged a career-high of 26.8 points per game, led the Hornets with 207 three-point field goals, and shot .470 in three-point field-goal percentage; he was named to the All-NBA Second Team. In addition, Mason averaged 16.2 points, 11.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while sixth man Dell Curry contributed 14.8 points per game and 126 three-point field goals off the bench, and Divac provided the team with 12.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.2 blocks per game. Meanwhile, Pierce contributed 12.0 points per game in 27 games after the trade, Matt Geiger averaged 8.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, but only played just 49 games due to a back injury,[23][24] Muggsy Bogues provided with 8.0 points, 7.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game, Delk contributed 5.4 points per game, and Smith averaged 5.0 points per game.[25]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Rice was selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team.[26][27] Rice scored 26 points, and made 4 out of 7 three-point field-goal attempts off the bench, and was named the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 132–120.[28][29][30] In addition, Rice also participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout for the third consecutive year.[27][31] Rice finished in fifth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Mason finished tied in ninth place;[32][33] Rice also finished tied in fifth place in Most Improved Player voting,[33] while Curry finished tied in fifth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,[34][33] and Cowens finished in second place in Coach of the Year voting, behind Pat Riley of the Miami Heat.[35][33]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1997 NBA playoffs, the Hornets faced off against the 3rd–seeded New York Knicks, who were led by All-Star center Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, and Sixth Man of the Year, John Starks. The Hornets lost the first two games to the Knicks on the road at Madison Square Garden, before losing Game 3 at home, 104–95 at the Charlotte Coliseum, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep.[36][37][38]

The Hornets led the NBA in home-game attendance for the eighth, and final time during their history in Charlotte, with an attendance of 985,722 at the Charlotte Coliseum during the regular season; the team also finished with the best three-point percentage in NBA history, shooting .428 from beyond the arch.[25][39] Following the season, Pierce re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the Milwaukee Bucks during the next season,[40][41][42] and Smith and Royal were both released to free agency.

NBA draft

Main article: 1996 NBA draft
More information Round, Pick ...
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School
113Kobe BryantSG United StatesLower Merion HS
116Tony DelkSG/PG United StatesKentucky
244Malik RosePF United StatesDrexel
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The Hornets entered the draft with two first-round picks and one second-round pick. The 16th pick was acquired from the Miami Heat via trade in 1995.

In the 1996 NBA draft, the Hornets selected Kobe Bryant with the 13th overall pick. Before he was chosen by the Hornets, the 17-year-old Bryant had made a lasting impression on then-Lakers general manager Jerry West, who immediately foresaw potential in Bryant's basketball ability during pre-draft workouts. West even went on to state that Bryant's workouts were some of the bests he had seen. Immediately after the draft, Dave Cowens expressed that the Hornets had no use for him. Fifteen days later, West traded his starting center, Vlade Divac to the Hornets for the young Kobe Bryant.[43] However, this ultimately proved brilliant, as Bryant went on to win 5 NBA championships with the Lakers, while the Hornets have yet to win one.

Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...
1996–97 Charlotte Hornets roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
F 7 Rafael Addison 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1964–07–22 Syracuse
G 1 Muggsy Bogues 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) 136 lb (62 kg) 1965–01–09 Wake Forest
G 30 Dell Curry 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1964–06–25 Virginia Tech
G 00 Tony Delk 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 1974–01–28 Kentucky
C 12 Vlade Divac 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 243 lb (110 kg) 1968–02–03 Yugoslavia
C 52 Matt Geiger 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 243 lb (110 kg) 1969–09–10 Georgia Tech
F 14 Anthony Mason 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1966–12–14 Tennessee State
G 21 Ricky Pierce 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1959–08–19 Rice
F 41 Glen Rice 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1967–05–28 Michigan
F 31 Malik Rose 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1974–11–23 Drexel
F 5 Donald Royal 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1966–05–22 Notre Dame
G 34 Tony Smith 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1968–06–14 Marquette
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Updated: February 20, 1997

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Roster notes

Regular season

Season standings

More information W, L ...
Central Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Chicago Bulls 6913.841–39–230–1124–4
x-Atlanta Hawks 5626.6831336–520–2117–11
x-Detroit Pistons 5428.6591530–1124–1717–11
x-Charlotte Hornets 5428.6591530–1124–1714–14
Cleveland Cavaliers 4240.5122725–1617–2413–15
Indiana Pacers 3943.4763021–2018–2311–17
Milwaukee Bucks 3349.4023620–2113–2810–18
Toronto Raptors 3052.3663918–2312–296–22
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More information #, Team ...
1996–97 NBA East standings
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Chicago Bulls6913.841–
2 y-Miami Heat6121.7448
3 x-New York Knicks5725.69512
4 x-Atlanta Hawks5626.68313
5 x-Detroit Pistons5428.65915
6 x-Charlotte Hornets5428.65915
7 x-Orlando Magic4537.54924
8 x-Washington Bullets4438.53725
9 Cleveland Cavaliers4240.51227
10 Indiana Pacers3943.47630
11 Milwaukee Bucks3349.40236
12 Toronto Raptors3052.36639
13 New Jersey Nets2656.31743
14 Philadelphia 76ers2260.26847
15 Boston Celtics1567.18354
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Game log

Regular season

More information 1996–97 game log Total: 54–28 (home: 30–11; road: 24–17), Game ...
1996–97 game log
Total: 54–28 (home: 30–11; road: 24–17)
November: 8–6 (home: 5–2; road: 3–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
1 November 2, 1996 Toronto W 109–98 Charlotte Coliseum 1–0
2 November 3, 1996 @ New York L 86–113 Madison Square Garden 1–1
3 November 6, 1996 L.A. Lakers W 88–78 Charlotte Coliseum 2–1
4 November 8, 1996 @ Washington W 102–87 US Airways Arena 3–1
5 November 9, 1996 Milwaukee L 98–100 Charlotte Coliseum 3–2
6 November 12, 1996 @ Miami L 72–93 Miami Arena 3–3
7 November 14, 1996 @ Orlando L 89–96 Orlando Arena 3–4
8 November 15, 1996 Chicago L 87–110 Charlotte Coliseum 3–5
9 November 20, 1996 New York W 93–86 Charlotte Coliseum 4–5
10 November 21, 1996 @ Indiana W 90–87 Market Square Arena 5–5
11 November 23, 1996 Detroit W 93–85 Charlotte Coliseum 6–5
12 November 26, 1996 Seattle W 97–89 Charlotte Coliseum 7–5
13 November 27, 1996 @ Toronto L 88–92 SkyDome 7–6
14 November 30, 1996 @ Milwaukee W 94–87 Bradley Center 8–6
December: 8–7 (home: 3–2; road: 5–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
15 December 2, 1996 @ Utah L 97–107 Delta Center 8–7
16 December 3, 1996 @ L.A. Clippers L 89–96 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 8–8
17 December 6, 1996 @ Portland L 93–97 Rose Garden Arena 8–9
18 December 7, 1996 @ Seattle W 94–92 KeyArena 9–9
19 December 9, 1996 @ Vancouver W 107–91 General Motors Place 10–9
20 December 11, 1996 Denver W 101–97 Charlotte Coliseum 11–9
21 December 13, 1996 Philadelphia W 84–75 Charlotte Coliseum 12–9
22 December 14, 1996 @ Chicago L 82–87 United Center 12–10
23 December 17, 1996 @ Philadelphia W 93–84 CoreStates Center 13–10
24 December 19, 1996 Chicago L 72–93 Charlotte Coliseum 13–11
25 December 21, 1996 Atlanta W 98–93 Charlotte Coliseum 14–11
26 December 22, 1996 @ Boston W 102–98 FleetCenter 15–11
27 December 27, 1996 Miami L 86–101 Charlotte Coliseum 15–12
28 December 28, 1996 @ Detroit L 75–97 The Palace of Auburn Hills 15–13
29 December 30, 1996 @ Washington W 101–92 US Airways Arena 16–13
January: 10–6 (home: 5–2; road: 5–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
30 January 2, 1997 Dallas W 107–97 Charlotte Coliseum 17–13
31 January 4, 1997 Washington L 93–104 Charlotte Coliseum 17–14
32 January 6, 1997 @ Golden State W 109–101 San Jose Arena 18–14
33 January 8, 1997 @ L.A. Lakers L 97–101 Great Western Forum 18–15
34 January 10, 1997 @ Phoenix L 90–102 America West Arena 18–16
35 January 12, 1997 @ Sacramento W 97–93 ARCO Arena 19–16
36 January 13, 1997 @ Denver W 102–100 (OT) McNichols Sports Arena 20–16
37 January 15, 1997 New Jersey W 116–104 Charlotte Coliseum 21–16
38 January 18, 1997 @ New Jersey W 102–92 Continental Airlines Arena 22–16
39 January 20, 1997 @ Atlanta L 97–106 The Omni 22–17
40 January 21, 1997 Houston W 114–108 Charlotte Coliseum 23–17
41 January 24, 1997 New York W 113–104 (OT) Charlotte Coliseum 24–17
42 January 25, 1997 @ Cleveland L 73–106 Gund Arena 24–18
43 January 28, 1997 @ Indiana W 98–97 Market Square Arena 25–18
44 January 29, 1997 Indiana L 95–106 Charlotte Coliseum 25–19
45 January 31, 1997 Milwaukee W 102–95 Charlotte Coliseum 26–19
February: 10–3 (home: 6–1; road: 4–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
46 February 2, 1997 @ New York W 99–93 Madison Square Garden 27–19
47 February 4, 1997 Minnesota W 115–101 Charlotte Coliseum 28–19
48 February 6, 1997 Sacramento W 115–100 Charlotte Coliseum 29–19
All-Star Break
49 February 11, 1997 @ Chicago L 100–103 United Center 29–20
50 February 12, 1997 New Jersey W 113–100 Charlotte Coliseum 30–20
51 February 14, 1997 Detroit L 103–109 Charlotte Coliseum 30–21
52 February 17, 1997 Orlando W 124–110 Charlotte Coliseum 31–21
53 February 19, 1997 Phoenix W 123–115 Charlotte Coliseum 32–21
54 February 21, 1997 L.A. Clippers W 114–96 Charlotte Coliseum 33–21
55 February 22, 1997 @ Atlanta W 93–92 The Omni 34–21
56 February 24, 1997 @ San Antonio W 96–84 Alamodome 35–21
57 February 25, 1997 @ Dallas L 84–86 Reunion Arena 35–22
58 February 27, 1997 @ Houston W 106–95 The Summit 36–22
March: 9–4 (home: 6–3; road: 3–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
59 March 2, 1997 @ Minnesota W 108–96 Target Center 37–22
60 March 4, 1997 San Antonio W 105–98 Charlotte Coliseum 38–22
61 March 6, 1997 Boston W 122–121 (OT) Charlotte Coliseum 39–22
62 March 9, 1997 Miami W 82–76 Charlotte Coliseum 40–22
63 March 11, 1997 Vancouver W 98–92 Charlotte Coliseum 41–22
64 March 14, 1997 @ Orlando L 81–86 Orlando Arena 41–23
65 March 15, 1997 @ Philadelphia W 107–99 CoreStates Center 42–23
66 March 17, 1997 Utah L 93–114 Charlotte Coliseum 42–24
67 March 19, 1997 Cleveland W 90–72 Charlotte Coliseum 43–24
68 March 21, 1997 @ Toronto W 102–97 SkyDome 44–24
69 March 22, 1997 Golden State W 100–93 (OT) Charlotte Coliseum 45–24
70 March 26, 1997 Portland L 87–88 Charlotte Coliseum 45–25
71 March 28, 1997 Indiana L 115–116 Charlotte Coliseum 45–26
April: 9–2 (home: 5–1; road: 4–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
72 April 2, 1997 Atlanta W 95–84 Charlotte Coliseum 46–26
73 April 3, 1997 @ New Jersey W 93–87 Continental Airlines Arena 47–26
74 April 5, 1997 Philadelphia W 115–113 Charlotte Coliseum 48–26
75 April 7, 1997 @ Cleveland W 110–105 (OT) Gund Arena 49–26
76 April 9, 1997 Boston W 136–111 Charlotte Coliseum 50–26
77 April 11, 1997 @ Detroit W 93–85 The Palace of Auburn Hills 51–26
78 April 12, 1997 Washington W 99–97 Charlotte Coliseum 52–26
79 April 14, 1997 Cleveland W 94–82 Charlotte Coliseum 53–26
80 April 16, 1997 @ Boston W 108–102 FleetCenter 54–26
81 April 18, 1997 Toronto L 100–108 Charlotte Coliseum 54–27
82 April 20, 1997 @ Milwaukee L 100–120 Bradley Center 54–28
1996–97 schedule
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Playoffs

More information 1997 playoff game log, Game ...
1997 playoff game log
First Round: 0–3 (home: 0–1; road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 24, 1997 @ New York L 99–109 Vlade Divac (27) Anthony Mason (13) Anthony Mason (5) Madison Square Garden
19,763		 0–1
2 April 26, 1997 @ New York L 93–100 Glen Rice (39) Divac, Mason (12) four players tied (2) Madison Square Garden
19,763		 0–2
3 April 28, 1997 New York L 95–104 Glen Rice (22) Anthony Mason (11) Glen Rice (9) Charlotte Coliseum
24,042		 0–3
1997 schedule
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Player statistics

Ragular season

More information Player, POS ...
Player POS GP GS MP REB AST STL BLK PTS MPG RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Vlade DivacC 81802,8407253011031801,02435.19.03.71.32.212.6
Glen RiceSF 79783,36231816072262,11542.64.02.0.9.326.8
Anthony MasonPF 73733,14382941476331,18643.111.45.71.0.516.2
Tony SmithPG 69391,29194150481934618.71.42.2.7.35.0
Dell CurrySG 68202,07821111860141,00830.63.11.7.9.214.8
Muggsy BoguesPG 65651,88014146982252228.92.27.21.3.08.0
Tony DelkPG 611867999936633214.21.61.6.6.15.4
Malik RosePF 5415251643228171609.73.0.6.5.33.0
Matt GeigerC 49131,04425838202743721.35.3.8.4.68.9
Rafael AddisonSF 4133554534831288.71.1.8.2.13.1
George Zidek†C 36228863943918.01.8.3.1.12.5
Anthony Goldwire†PG 339576389419119017.51.22.8.6.05.8
Scott Burrell†SF 2824827939141115117.22.81.4.5.45.4
Ricky Pierce†SG 2717650684914432424.12.51.8.5.112.0
Donald Royal†SF 25232058101227012.82.3.4.5.12.8
Tom ChambersPF 1258314410196.91.2.3.1.01.6
Jamie Feick†C 3010300153.31.0.0.0.31.7
Eric Leckner†C 10111100011.01.01.0.0.0.0
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  • † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Hornets only.

Playoffs

More information Player, POS ...
Player POS GP GS MP REB AST STL BLK PTS MPG RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Glen RiceSF 331371111418345.73.73.71.3.327.7
Anthony MasonPF 33131369113943.712.03.0.3.313.0
Vlade DivacC 331162610365438.78.73.31.02.018.0
Ricky PierceSG 328784202329.02.71.3.7.07.7
Tony DelkPG 3185106203128.33.32.0.7.010.3
Dell CurrySG 315015401416.7.31.71.3.04.7
Matt GeigerC 30318221610.32.7.7.7.32.0
Muggsy BoguesPG 225835103229.01.52.5.5.016.0
Malik RosePF 2012510046.02.5.5.0.02.0
Tony SmithPG 209121014.5.51.0.5.0.5
Donald RoyalSF 104200004.02.0.0.0.0.0
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Awards and records

Transactions

  • July 11, 1996

Released Michael Adams.

Traded Kobe Bryant to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac.

Released Robert Parish.

  • July 14, 1996

Traded Larry Johnson to the New York Knicks for Brad Lohaus and Anthony Mason.

  • October 3, 1996

Signed Bob McCann as a free agent.

October 19, 1996

Signed Tony Smith as a free agent.

  • October 31, 1996

Waived Brad Lohaus.

  • January 6, 1997

Signed Jamie Feick to the first of two 10-day contracts.

  • January 28, 1997

Signed Eric Leckner to a 10-day contract.

  • January 30, 1997

Signed Tom Chambers to a contract for the rest of the season.

  • February 20, 1997

Traded Scott Burrell to the Golden State Warriors for Donald Royal.

Traded Anthony Goldwire and George Zidek to the Denver Nuggets for Ricky Pierce.

  • April 8, 1997

Waived Tom Chambers.

Player Transactions Citation:[44]

References

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