1996–97 Sacramento Kings season

The 1996–97 Sacramento Kings season was the 48th season for the Sacramento Kings in the National Basketball Association, and their 12th season in Sacramento, California.^[1] The Kings had the 14th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and selected Serbian small forward Peja Stojaković; however, Stojaković had a five-year contract with his team, PAOK BC in the Greek Basketball League, and would not play for the Kings until the 1998–99 season.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team acquired Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf from the Denver Nuggets,^[5][6][7] and later on signed free agent Jeff Grayer in January.^[8][9]

With the addition of Abdul-Rauf, and coming off of their first NBA playoff appearance in ten years, the Kings struggled with an 8–17 start to the regular season, as Brian Grant only played just 24 games due to a shoulder injury,^[10][11][12] and Billy Owens missed 16 games early into the season due to a groin injury.^[13][14] The Kings soon recovered posting a five-game winning streak in December afterwards, and later on held a 21–28 record at the All-Star break.^[15] However, after holding a 28–32 record as of March 5, 1997,^[16] the team posted a seven-game losing streak as head coach Garry St. Jean was fired, and replaced with assistant coach Eddie Jordan for the remainder of the season.^[17][18][19] The Kings posted a six-game losing streak between March and April, and finished in sixth place in the Pacific Division with a 34–48 record, missing the NBA playoffs by finishing just two games behind the 8th–seeded Los Angeles Clippers.^[20]

Mitch Richmond averaged 25.9 points, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game, led the Kings with 204 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team. In addition, Abdul-Rauf finished second on the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game, while Olden Polynice provided the team with 12.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, second-year forward Corliss Williamson showed improvement averaging 11.6 points per game, Owens provided with 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, and Grant contributed 10.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Michael Smith was the team's starting power forward in Grant's absence, averaging 6.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, second-year guard Tyus Edney provided with 6.9 points and 3.2 assists per game, and Kevin Gamble contributed 5.0 points per game, and shot .482 in three-point field-goal percentage.^[21]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Richmond was selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team;^[22][23][24] he also finished tied in 13th place in Most Valuable Player voting.^[25] The Kings finished tenth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 709,993 at the ARCO Arena II during the regular season.^[21][26]

Following the season, Grant signed as a free agent with the Portland Trail Blazers,^[27][28][29] while Edney signed with the Boston Celtics,^[30][31] Duane Causwell was traded to the Miami Heat,^[32][33] and Grayer was released to free agency. Meanwhile, Lionel Simmons retired due to knee surgery, after playing seven seasons in the NBA with the Kings.^[34][35][36]