1996–97 Charlotte Hornets season

1996–97 Charlotte Hornets season
Head coach Dave Cowens
Owner(s) George Shinn
Arena Charlotte Coliseum
Results
Record 54–28 (.659)
Place Division: 4th (Central)
Conference: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finish East First Round
(eliminated 0–3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television Fox Sports South, WJZY, WFVT
Radio WBT
Charlotte Hornets seasons
< 1995–96 1997–98 >

The 1996–97 Charlotte Hornets season was Charlotte's ninth season in the National Basketball Association, and first under new Head Coach Dave Cowens. The Hornets finished the season with a 54–28 record, and qualified for their third Playoff appearance. They faced the New York Knicks in the first round, but were swept in the best-of-five series. The Hornets led the NBA in attendance for the eighth and final time during their history in Charlotte.

Contents

NBA Draft

In the 1996 NBA Draft, The Hornets selected Kobe Bryant with the 13th overall pick. Before he was chosen by The Hornets, the 17-year-old Bryant had made a lasting impression on then-Lakers general manager Jerry West, who immediately foresaw potential in Bryant's basketball ability during pre-draft workouts. West even went on to state that Bryant's workouts were some of the best he had seen. Immediately after the draft, Bryant expressed that he did not wish to play for the Hornets and wanted to play for the Lakers instead. Fifteen days later, West traded his starting center, Vlade Divac to the Hornets for the young Kobe Bryant.

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School
1 13 Kobe Bryant F  United States Lower Merion HS

Regular season

The new-look Hornets played better than expected: Vlade Divac and Matt Geiger provided the best center combo in the league, Anthony Mason averaged a double-double and earned all-NBA third team honors, and Glen Rice had the finest season of his career, finishing third in the league in scoring and earning all-NBA second team honors. Rice also set several scoring records in the All-Star game, and was selected the game's MVP. The Hornets sported the best season of their history at the time (54 victories), making it back to the playoffs where they were swept in the first round by the New York Knicks.

Season standings

Central Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Chicago Bulls 72 10 .889 – 39–2 30–8 24–4
x-Atlanta Hawks 56 26 .683 13 36–5 20–21 17–11
x-Detroit Pistons 54 28 .659 15 30–11 24–17 17–11
x-Charlotte Hornets 54 28 .659 15 30–11 24–17 14–14
Cleveland Cavaliers 42 40 .512 27 25–16 17–24 13–15
Indiana Pacers 39 43 .476 30 21–20 18–23 11–17
Milwaukee Bucks 33 49 .402 36 20–21 13–28 10–18
Toronto Raptors 30 52 .366 39 18–23 12–29 6–22

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; STL= Steals; REB = Rebounds; AST. = Assists; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points

Player GP MIN STL REB AST BLK PTS
Muggsy Bogues 65 28.9 1.3 2.2 7.2 0.0 8.0
Vlade Divac 81 35.1 1.3 9.0 3.7 2.2 12.6
Matt Geiger 49 21.3 0.4 5.3 0.8 0.6 8.9
Anthony Mason 73 43.1 1.0 11.4 5.7 0.5 16.2
Glen Rice 79 42.6 0.9 4.0 2.0 0.3 26.8

Playoffs

First round: 0–3 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 24 @ New York L 99–109 Vlade Divac (27) Anthony Mason (13) Anthony Mason (5) Madison Square Garden
Unknown		 0–1
2 April 26 @ New York L 93–100 Glen Rice (39) Vlade Divac,
Anthony Mason (12)		 4-way tie (2) Madison Square Garden
Unknown		 0–2
3 April 28 New York L 95–104 Glen Rice (22) Anthony Mason (11) Glen Rice (9) Charlotte Coliseum
Unknown		 0–3
1997 playoff schedule

Awards

References

Charlotte
1988–89 • 1989–90 • 1990–91 • 1991–92 • 1992–93 • 1993–94 • 1994–95 • 1995–96 • 1996–97 • 1997–98 • 1998–99 • 1999–00 • 2000–01 • 2001–02
New Orleans
NO/Oklahoma City
1996 NBA Draft • All-Star Game • Playoffs • Finals • Transactions
Eastern
Boston • Miami • New Jersey • New York • Orlando • Philadelphia • Washington
Atlanta • Charlotte • Chicago • Cleveland • Detroit • Indiana • Milwaukee • Toronto
Western
Dallas • Denver • Houston • Minnesota • San Antonio • Utah • Vancouver
Golden State • L.A. Clippers • L.A. Lakers • Phoenix • Portland • Sacramento • Seattle