The 1996âÂÂ97 Los Angeles Clippers season was the 27th season for the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association, their 13th season in Los Angeles, California, and their third season in which they played occasional home games in Anaheim, California. The Clippers received the seventh overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and selected center Lorenzen Wright from the University of Memphis. During the off-season, the team signed free agents Darrick Martin, and former All-Star center Kevin Duckworth.
With the addition of Wright and Martin, and despite the loss of Brian Williams to free agency, the Clippers got off to a 6âÂÂ4 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 7âÂÂ14 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, and second-year guard Brent Barry only appeared in 59 games due to thumb and ankle injuries. Despite the injuries, the Clippers held a 19âÂÂ25 record at the All-Star break, and finished in fifth place in the Pacific Division with a 36âÂÂ46 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; this was the Clippers' third playoff appearance since relocating from San Diego, California to Los Angeles in 1984, and their first since the 1992âÂÂ93 season.
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, and 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, plus leading the league shooting .609 in field-goal percentage, Barry contributed 7.5 points per game, and Lamond Murray contributed 7.4 points per game.
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. 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.
In the Western Conference First Round of the 1997 NBA playoffs, the Clippers faced off against the topâÂÂseeded, 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, 104âÂÂ92 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep. 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. This would also be the Clippers' final NBA playoff appearance until the 2005âÂÂ06 season, as what would follow was an eight-year playoff drought.
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. Following the season, Sealy signed as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons, while Roberts was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Outlaw signed with the Orlando Magic, Terry Dehere signed with the Sacramento Kings, and Duckworth retired.
A number of players from the 1996âÂÂ97 roster have either died prematurely and/or ended up in unfortunate circumstances; these players are:
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.
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | April 24 | @ Utah | L 86âÂÂ106 | Loy Vaught (20) | Loy Vaught (11) | three players tied (3) | Delta Center<br>19,911 | 0âÂÂ1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | April 26 | @ Utah | L 99âÂÂ105 | Lorenzen Wright (17) | Loy Vaught (9) | Darrick Martin (6) | Delta Center<br>19,911 | 0âÂÂ2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | April 28 | Utah | L 92âÂÂ104 | Loy Vaught (20) | Vaught, Wright (9) | Darrick Martin (5) | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena<br>11,747 | 0âÂÂ3 |-
Player statistics citation:
The Clippers have been involved in the following transactions during the 1996âÂÂ97 season.
No trades occurred for this team this season.
Player Transactions Citation: