1996–97 New Jersey Nets season

Off-season

The Nets received the eighth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Kerry Kittles out of Villanova University.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team signed free agents Robert Pack,^[5][6][7] Tony Massenburg,^[8] David Benoit,^[9] and Xavier McDaniel, who played overseas in Greece during the previous season,^[10][11] and acquired Vincent Askew from the Seattle SuperSonics.^[12][13] The Nets also hired John Calipari as their new head coach.^[14][15][16] However, Benoit would miss the entire regular season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon,^[17] while after only just one game with the Nets, Askew was traded to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Reggie Williams.^[18][19][20]

Regular season

Early into the regular season, the Nets traveled overseas to Tokyo, Japan to play two games against the Orlando Magic at the Tokyo Dome. In the first game on November 7, 1996, the Nets were the home team and lost to the Magic by a score of 108–95; Kendall Gill led the team with 22 points and 7 assists, while Shawn Bradley finished with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Jayson Williams also had a double-double, contributing 13 points and 16 rebounds.^[21][22][23] In the second game on November 8, the Nets were the road team and lost to the Magic by a score of 86–82; Pack led the team with 13 points, while Jayson Williams finished with a double-double of 12 points and 18 rebounds.^[24][25][26] Both games had an attendance of 38,639 fans at the Tokyo Dome.^[23][26]

Under Calipari and with the addition of Kittles, Pack, Massenburg and McDaniel, the Nets continued to struggle losing their first five games of the regular season. The team got off to a 5–16 start to the season, lost 11 of their 15 games in January, and later on held a 13–33 record at the All-Star break.^[27] At mid-season, the Nets traded Pack, Bradley, Khalid Reeves and second-year forward Ed O'Bannon to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Sam Cassell, Jim Jackson, Chris Gatling, Eric Montross and George McCloud; McCloud never played for the Nets, and was soon traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Joe Kleine.^[28][29][30] Gatling only played just three games after the trade due to an ear infection, and was out for the remainder of the season,^[31][32][33] averaging 17.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game during his short three-game stint.^[34] The Nets lost nine of their final twelve games of the season, and finished in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a 26–56 record.^[35]

Gill averaged 21.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.9 steals per game, while Cassell averaged 19.3 points, 6.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game in 23 games after the trade, and Jackson provided the team with 16.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game in 31 games. In addition, Kittles contributed 16.4 points and 1.9 steals per game, led the Nets with 158 three-point field goals, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, while Jayson Williams continued to show improvement, becoming the team's starting power forward averaging 13.4 points and 13.5 rebounds per game, but only played just 41 games due to a season-ending thumb injury,^[36][37][38] and Massenburg provided with 7.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Reggie Williams averaged 6.5 points per game in eleven games, Kevin Edwards contributed 5.9 points per game in only just 32 games, McDaniel provided with 5.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, and Montross averaged 5.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game in 31 games.^[34]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Kittles was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference Rookie team.^[39][40] Gill finished tied in fifth place in Most Improved Player voting,^[41] while Kittles finished in fifth place in Rookie of the Year voting,^[42][41] and Gatling finished in third place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.^[43][41] The Nets finished 18th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 670,628 at the Continental Airlines Arena during the regular season.^[34][44]

Aftermath

Following the season, Jackson and Montross were both traded to the Philadelphia 76ers,^[45][46][47] while Massenburg signed as a free agent with the Boston Celtics, but was then traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies,^[48][49] and Kleine signed with the Chicago Bulls.^[50]

Season standings

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

Regular season

Player statistics citation:^[34]