1997–98 Los Angeles Clippers season

The 1997–98 Los Angeles Clippers season was the 28th season for the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association, their 14th season in Los Angeles, California, and their fourth season in which they played occasional home games in Anaheim, California.^[1] The Clippers had the 14th overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft, and selected power forward Maurice Taylor from the University of Michigan.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team signed free agent James Robinson,^[5][6] and acquired Stojko Vrankovic from the Minnesota Timberwolves.^[7][2]

Despite the addition of Taylor, the Clippers struggled losing 14 of their first 16 games of the regular season, as Loy Vaught suffered a back injury after only just ten games, and was out for the remainder of the season; Vaught averaged 7.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.^[8][9][10] After holding a 5–24 start to the season, the team managed to win four of their next five games, but then lost 12 of their next 13 games afterwards, and held an 11–37 record at the All-Star break.^[11] At mid-season, the team traded Brent Barry to the Miami Heat in exchange for last season's Most Improved Player Isaac Austin, and rookie shooting guard Charles Smith;^[12][13][14] before the trade, Barry averaged 13.7 points per game in 41 games.^[15] The Clippers lost 15 of their final 17 games of the season, including a 10-game losing streak between March and April,^[16] and finished in last place in the Pacific Division with a 17–65 record.^[17]

Lamond Murray showed improvement becoming the team's starting small forward, averaging 15.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, while Austin averaged 15.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in 26 games after the trade, and Rodney Rogers provided the team with 15.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. In addition, Taylor provided with 11.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, while three-point specialist Eric Piatkowski contributed 11.3 points per game and 106 three-point field goals, Darrick Martin provided with 10.3 points and 4.0 assists per game, and led the Clippers with 107 three-point field goals, and second-year center Lorenzen Wright averaged 9.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Meanwhile, Robinson contributed 7.7 points per game, Pooh Richardson provided with 4.2 points and 3.3 assists per game, and Vrankovic averaged 3.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.^[15]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, Taylor was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Western Conference Rookie team.^[18][19] Murray finished tied in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting.^[20] For the fifth consecutive year, the Clippers finished last in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 254,840 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena during the regular season, which was 29th in the league.^[15][21] Following the season, Austin signed as a free agent with the Orlando Magic,^[22][23][24] while Vaught signed with the Detroit Pistons after eight seasons with the Clippers,^[25][26][27] and head coach Bill Fitch was fired.^[28][29]

Fitch's most losses record in NBA history with 1,106 losses stood for five years, until Lenny Wilkens broke his mark during the 2002–03 season while coaching for the Toronto Raptors.^[30]