1996–97 Los Angeles Clippers season

Off-season

The Clippers received the seventh overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and selected center Lorenzen Wright from the University of Memphis.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team signed free agents Darrick Martin,^[5][6] and former All-Star center Kevin Duckworth.^[7][8]

Regular season

With the addition of Wright and Martin, and despite the loss of Brian Williams to free agency, the Clippers got off to a 6–4 start to the regular season. However, the team posted a six-game losing streak in November afterwards, while losing ten of their next eleven games, which led to a 7–14 start to the season. The team continued to deal with injuries, as Duckworth only played just 26 games due to a sore heel injury, while Stanley Roberts only played just 18 games due to a back injury,^[9][10][11] and second-year guard Brent Barry only appeared in 59 games due to thumb and ankle injuries.^[12][13][14] Despite the injuries, the Clippers held a 19–25 record at the All-Star break,^[15] and finished in fifth place in the Pacific Division with a 36–46 record, which was below .500 in winning percentage, but still good enough to earn the eighth seed in the Western Conference, as the team qualified for the NBA playoffs;^[16] this was the Clippers' third playoff appearance since relocating from San Diego, California to Los Angeles in 1984, and their first since the 1992–93 season.^[1]

Loy Vaught averaged 14.9 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, while Malik Sealy averaged 13.5 points and 1.6 steals per game, and Rodney Rogers provided the team with 13.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. In addition, Martin contributed 10.9 points and 4.1 assists per game, while Wright provided with 7.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Off the bench, Roberts averaged 9.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, while Bo Outlaw provided with 7.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, and also led the league with .609 in field-goal percentage, Barry contributed 7.5 points per game, and Lamond Murray contributed 7.4 points per game. Terry Dehere averaged 6.4 points per game, while three-point specialist Eric Piatkowski contributed 6.0 points per game, and Pooh Richardson provided with 5.6 points and 2.9 assists per game.^[17]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Wright was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Western Conference Rookie team.^[18][19] Outlaw finished tied in seventh place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, while head coach Bill Fitch finished tied in sixth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[20] The Clippers finished last in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 232,895 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena during the regular season, which was 29th in the league.^[17][21]

NBA playoffs

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1997 NBA playoffs, the Clippers faced off against the top–seeded, and Midwest Division champion Utah Jazz, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward, and Most Valuable Player of the Year, Karl Malone, All-Star guard John Stockton, and Jeff Hornacek. The Clippers lost the first two games to the Jazz on the road at the Delta Center, before losing Game 3 at home, 104–92 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep.^[22][23][24]

The Jazz would advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, but would lose to the defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls in six games in the 1997 NBA Finals.^[25][26][27] This would also be the Clippers' final NBA playoff appearance until the 2005–06 season, as what would follow was an eight-year playoff drought.^[1]

Aftermath

Following the season, Sealy signed as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons,^[28][29][30] while Roberts was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft day,^[31][32][33] Outlaw signed with the Orlando Magic,^[34][35][36] Dehere signed with the Sacramento Kings,^[37][38] and Duckworth retired.

Roster Notes

A number of players from the 1996–97 roster have either died prematurely and/or ended up in unfortunate circumstances; these players are:

• Center Stanley Roberts (banned from the NBA for drug use in 1999).
• Guard Malik Sealy (died in an automobile accident in 2000 at age 30).
• Center Kevin Duckworth (died of heart failure in 2008 at age 44).
• Forward Rodney Rogers (became paralyzed after a dirt bike accident in 2008 at age 37; died in 2025 at age 54).
• Center Lorenzen Wright (murdered by his ex-wife in 2010 at age 34).
• Center Dwayne Schintzius (died from cancer complications in 2012 at age 43).

^{[39][better source needed]}

Brent Barry, had a long and productive career in the NBA, winning two titles (2005 and 2007) with the San Antonio Spurs, as well as being a consistent starter for the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2000s, but was divorced from his wife Erin in 2011, allegedly due to an extra-marital affair with his Spurs teammate Tony Parker.

Season standings

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

Season

Playoffs

Player statistics citation:^[17]

Trades

No trades occurred for this team this season.

Free agents

Player transactions citation:^[40]