The 1997âÂÂ98 New Jersey Nets season was the Nets' 31st season in the National Basketball Association, and 22nd season in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Nets received the seventh overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft, and selected small forward Tim Thomas out of Villanova University, but soon traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for rookie power forward, and top draft pick Keith Van Horn from the University of Utah, Lucious Harris, Michael Cage and Don MacLean. On the first day of the regular season, which began on October 31, 1997, the team signed free agent Sherman Douglas.
With the addition of Van Horn and Douglas, and despite Van Horn missing the first month of the regular season due to a preseason ankle injury, the Nets won their first four games, and played above .500 in winning percentage for the entire season, holding a 27âÂÂ21 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded David Benoit, Kevin Edwards and Yinka Dare to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Rony Seikaly, and second-year forward Brian Evans. Despite a seven-game losing streak between February and March, the Nets showed improvement by finishing in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 43âÂÂ39 record, which earned them the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, as the team qualified for the NBA playoffs.
Van Horn averaged 19.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in 62 games, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, while Sam Cassell averaged 19.6 points, 8.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and second-year star Kerry Kittles provided the team with 17.2 points and 1.7 steals per game, and led them with 110 three-point field goals. In addition, Kendall Gill contributed 13.4 points and 1.9 steals per game, while Jayson Williams provided with 12.9 points and 13.6 rebounds per game. Off the bench, sixth man Chris Gatling averaged 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, while Douglas contributed 8.0 points and 4.0 assists per game, Seikaly provided with 4.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in nine games after the trade, and Cage averaged 1.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, Williams was selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was his first and only All-Star appearance. Meanwhile, Van Horn was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference Rookie team; Van Horn scored 17 points along with 10 rebounds, as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 85âÂÂ80. Van Horn also finished in second place in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, while Gill finished tied in eleventh place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and head coach John Calipari finished tied in ninth place in Coach of the Year voting.
In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1998 NBA playoffs, the Nets faced off against the topâÂÂseeded, and 2-time defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls, who won the Central Division title, and were led by the trio of All-Star guard, and Most Valuable Player of the Year, Michael Jordan, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, and rebound-specialist Dennis Rodman. However, the Nets dealt with injuries as Cassell had a strained groin, Williams had a broken thumb, and Van Horn had the stomach virus. The Nets lost Game 1 to the Bulls on the road in overtime, 96âÂÂ93 at the United Center, before losing Game 2 on the road, 96âÂÂ91, in which the Bulls took a 2âÂÂ0 series lead. The Nets lost Game 3 to the Bulls at home, 116âÂÂ101 at the Continental Airlines Arena, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep. The Bulls would go on to defeat the Utah Jazz in six games in the 1998 NBA Finals for their third consecutive NBA championship, and sixth overall in eight years.
The Nets finished twelfth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 718,514 at the Continental Airlines Arena during the regular season. Following the season, Douglas signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Clippers, while Cage and MacLean were both traded to the Seattle SuperSonics, whom Cage used to play for, and Xavier McDaniel retired, although he was released to free agency in January.
For the season, the Nets changed their primary logo, and added new uniforms, replacing the color blue with dark navy to their color scheme of red; the team's new primary logo and home uniforms would both remain in use until 2012, while the road jerseys would last until 2009.
The Nets began the season by winning their first four games, and maintained a winning record through all 82 games for the first time in the franchise's NBA history. The Nets clinched a playoff berth with a victory over the Detroit Pistons on the final day of the season. It was the Nets first postseason appearance since 1994, and the season brought excitement back to the Meadowlands. The heart and soul of the Nets was center Jayson Williams, who averaged 13.6 rebounds, (2nd in the NBA), and 12.9 points per game. Williams became the first Net to appear in an All-Star Game since Derrick Coleman in 1994. After missing the first 17 games of the season due to a leg injury, rookie Keith Van Horn quickly acclimated himself to the NBA game and led the Nets in scoring at 19.7 points per game. Another strong presence in the frontcourt was forward Kendall Gill, who averaged 13.4 points per game.
The Nets backcourt consisted of Sam Cassell and Kerry Kittles in the backcourt. Cassell ranked second on the team in scoring, behind Van Horn at 19.6 ppg, and led the Nets in assists with 8.0 apg. Kittles was in his second NBA season, and was third on the team in scoring with 17.2 ppg. The Nets bench included Sherman Douglas (8.0 ppg, 4.0 apg) and Chris Gatling (11.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg). Late in the season, the Nets added depth with the trade for Rony Seikaly, who joined the Nets in a five-player trade with the Orlando Magic on Feb. 19. Seikaly played in only nine games for New Jersey, because of a nagging injury to his right foot.
Injuries would become a problem in the playoffs for the Nets. In Game 1 against Chicago, Cassell nursed a strained groin and Williams played despite a broken thumb. Williams would manage to get 21 rebounds in the game. The Nets forced overtime at the United Center before falling by a score of 96âÂÂ93. The Bulls ultimately swept the series, but the Nets' effort suggested that the team had a bright future.
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | April 24 | @ Chicago | L 93âÂÂ96 (OT) | Chris Gatling (24) | Jayson Williams (21) | Sherman Douglas (5) | United Center<br>23,844 | 0âÂÂ1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | April 26 | @ Chicago | L 91âÂÂ96 | Kerry Kittles (23) | Jayson Williams (11) | Sherman Douglas (12) | United Center<br>23,844 | 0âÂÂ2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | April 29 | Chicago | L 101âÂÂ116 | Sherman Douglas (19) | Jayson Williams (10) | Sherman Douglas (8) | Continental Airlines Arena<br>20,049 | 0âÂÂ3
|- |Keith Van Horn |62 |62 |37.5 |.426 |.308 |.846 |6.6 |1.7 |1.0 |0.4 |19.7 |- |Sam Cassell |75 |72 |34.7 |.441 |.188 |.860 |3.0 |8.0 |1.6 |0.3 |19.6 |- |Kerry Kittles |77 |76 |36.5 |.440 |.418 |.808 |4.7 |2.3 |1.7 |0.5 |17.2 |- |Kendall Gill |81 |81 |33.7 |.429 |.257 |.688 |4.8 |2.5 |1.9 |0.8 |13.4 |- |Jayson Williams |65 |65 |36.0 |.498 |.000 |.666 |13.6 |1.0 |0.7 |0.8 |12.9 |- |Chris Gatling |57 |16 |23.8 |.455 |.250 |.600 |5.9 |0.9 |0.9 |0.5 |11.5 |- |Sherman Douglas |80 |11 |21.2 |.495 |.304 |.669 |1.7 |4.0 |0.7 |0.1 |8.0 |- |David Benoit |53 |0 |15.1 |.379 |.345 |.841 |2.7 |0.3 |0.5 |0.3 |5.3 |- |Rony Seikaly |9 |2 |16.9 |.317 | |.593 |4.0 |0.9 |0.3 |0.4 |4.7 |- |Brian Evans |28 |1 |11.9 |.434 |.405 |.667 |1.9 |0.9 |0.3 |0.2 |4.1 |- |Lucious Harris |50 |0 |13.4 |.390 |.308 |.745 |1.0 |0.8 |0.8 |0.1 |3.8 |- |Kevin Edwards |27 |5 |13.0 |.349 |.364 |.867 |1.3 |1.0 |0.8 |0.0 |3.4 |- |David Vaughn |15 |2 |10.7 |.576 | |.667 |3.3 |0.1 |0.3 |0.3 |2.9 |- |Jack Haley |16 |0 |3.2 |.278 |.000 |.571 |0.9 |0.0 |0.0 |0.1 |1.4 |- |Michael Cage |79 |17 |15.2 |.512 |.000 |.556 |3.9 |0.4 |0.6 |0.6 |1.3 |- |Xavier McDaniel |20 |0 |9.0 |.333 | |.625 |1.6 |0.5 |0.2 |0.1 |1.3 |- |Yinka Dare |10 |0 |6.0 |.222 | |.500 |1.7 |0.1 |0.0 |0.2 |1.2 |- |Don MacLean |9 |0 |4.7 |.100 |.500 | |0.6 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.3
|- |Sherman Douglas |3 |2 |41.7 |.523 |.400 |.700 |2.7 |8.3 |2.0 |0.0 |18.3 |- |Kerry Kittles |3 |3 |42.0 |.425 |.385 |.909 |5.0 |2.7 |1.3 |0.7 |16.3 |- |Chris Gatling |3 |1 |27.0 |.500 | |.667 |3.3 |0.7 |0.7 |0.7 |15.3 |- |Kendall Gill |3 |3 |33.3 |.450 | |.875 |4.3 |1.0 |1.3 |0.3 |14.3 |- |Keith Van Horn |3 |3 |25.7 |.448 |.000 |.800 |3.0 |0.3 |0.0 |0.0 |12.7 |- |Jayson Williams |3 |2 |38.7 |.429 | |.500 |14.0 |1.7 |0.7 |1.0 |7.0 |- |Rony Seikaly |3 |0 |12.3 |.778 | |.667 |3.0 |0.0 |0.3 |0.0 |6.0 |- |Lucious Harris |3 |0 |17.3 |.333 |.000 |.833 |2.7 |0.3 |0.7 |0.0 |3.0 |- |Sam Cassell |3 |1 |8.7 |.333 | | |1.0 |1.7 |0.0 |0.3 |2.0 |- |Brian Evans |3 |0 |1.3 | | | |0.3 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |- |David Vaughn |1 |0 |1.0 | | | |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |1.0 |0.0
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