1996–97 Los Angeles Lakers season

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1996–97 Los Angeles Lakers season
Head coachDel Harris
General managerJerry West
Owner(s)Jerry Buss
ArenaGreat Western Forum
Results
Record56–26 (.683)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Pacific)
Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finishConference Semi-finals
(Lost to Jazz 1–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKCAL-TV
Fox Sports West
RadioKLAC
< 1995–96 1997–98 >

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Los Angeles Lakers' 49th season in the National Basketball Association, and 37th in the city of Los Angeles.[1] This season is most memorable when the Lakers signed free agent All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal to a seven-year, $120 million deal,[2] and acquired high school basketball star Kobe Bryant from the Charlotte Hornets, who selected him with the 13th pick in the 1996 NBA draft during the off-season.[3] The team also signed former Lakers guard Byron Scott from the "Showtime" era,[4] signed free agents Jerome Kersey and Sean Rooks, and acquired rookie center Travis Knight from the Chicago Bulls. In January, they traded Cedric Ceballos back to his former team, the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Robert Horry, who won two championships with the Houston Rockets.[5] The Lakers had the eighth best team defensive rating in the NBA.[6]

The Lakers played strong basketball as they had the best record in the Western Conference at the All-Star break with a 35–13 record, but soon slipped out of first place finishing second in the Pacific Division with a 56–26 record.[7] O'Neal finished fourth in the league in scoring averaging 26.2 points per game, and averaged 12.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game, but played just 51 games due to a knee injury.[8] He was also named to the All-NBA Third Team. O'Neal and Eddie Jones were both selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, but O'Neal did not play due to injury.[9] In addition, Jones averaged 17.2 points and 2.4 steals per game, while Nick Van Exel provided the team with 15.3 points and 8.5 assists per game, and Elden Campbell contributed 14.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.[10] Bryant and Knight were both named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. Bryant also won the Slam Dunk Contest during the All-Star Weekend in Cleveland.[11]

In the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in four games.[12] However, in the Western Conference Semi-finals, they lost in five games to regular season MVP Karl Malone, John Stockton and the Utah Jazz.[13] Following the season, Scott went overseas and signed with the Greek Basket League giants Panathinaikos for the 1997–98 season,[14] while Kersey signed as a free agent with the Seattle SuperSonics, and Knight signed with the Boston Celtics.

During the final month of the season in a game against the Dallas Mavericks on April 6, the Lakers held the Mavs to just two points in the third quarter in an 87–80 home win. It was the fewest points in a quarter of a game in NBA history.[15]

Draft picks[]

Main article: 1996 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 24 Derek Fisher Guard  United States Arkansas–Little Rock

Before he was chosen as the 13th overall draft pick by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996, 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. He went on to state that Bryant's workouts against former Lakers players and then assistant coaches Michael Cooper, and Larry Drew were the best he had ever 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.[16] Fifteen days later, West traded his starting center, Vlade Divac to the Hornets for the young Kobe Bryant.[17]

Roster[]

1996–97 Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From
F 43 Blount, Corie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1969–01–04 Cincinnati
G 8 Bryant, Kobe 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1978–08–23 Lower Merion HS
F/C 41 Campbell, Elden 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1968–07–23 Clemson
G 2 Fisher, Derek 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1974–08–09 Arkansas-Little Rock
F 5 Horry, Robert 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1970–08–25 Alabama
G 6 Jones, Eddie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1971–10–20 Temple
F 12 Kersey, Jerome 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1962–06–26 Longwood University
F/C 40 Knight, Travis 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1974–09–13 Connecticut
F 7 Krystkowiak, Larry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1964–09–23 Montana
G/F 24 McCloud, George Injured 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1967–05–27 Florida State
C 34 O'Neal, Shaquille (C) 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 325 lb (147 kg) 1972–03–06 LSU
C 45 Rooks, Sean 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1969–09–09 Arizona
G 4 Scott, Byron 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1961–03–28 Arizona State
G 9 Van Exel, Nick 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1971–11–27 Cincinnati
Head coach
  • Del Harris
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Last transaction: February 24, 1997

Regular season[]

Kobe's rookie season[]

During his first season, Bryant mostly came off the bench behind guards Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. Initially, he played limited minutes, but as the season continued, he began to see some more playing time. He earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan-favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest during the All-Star Weekend in Cleveland. He averaged 7.6 points and 15.5 minutes per game in 71 games, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.[18]

Season standings[]

Pacific Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics 57 25 .695 – 31–10 26–15 16–8
x-Los Angeles Lakers 56 26 .683 1 31–10 25–16 18–6
x-Portland Trail Blazers 49 33 .598 8 29–12 20–21 15–9
x-Phoenix Suns 40 42 .488 17 25–16 15–26 13–11
x-Los Angeles Clippers 36 46 .439 21 21–20 15–26 10–14
Sacramento Kings 34 48 .415 23 22–19 12–29 8–16
Golden State Warriors 30 52 .366 27 18–23 12–29 4–20
1996–97 NBA West standings
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Utah Jazz 64 18 .780 –
2 y-Seattle SuperSonics 57 25 .695 7
3 x-Houston Rockets 57 25 .695 7
4 x-Los Angeles Lakers 56 26 .683 8
5 x-Portland Trail Blazers 49 33 .598 15
6 x-Minnesota Timberwolves 40 42 .488 24
7 x-Phoenix Suns 40 42 .488 24
8 x-Los Angeles Clippers 36 46 .439 28
9 Sacramento Kings 34 48 .415 30
10 Golden State Warriors 30 52 .366 34
11 Dallas Mavericks 24 58 .293 40
12 Denver Nuggets 21 61 .256 43
13 San Antonio Spurs 20 62 .244 44
14 Vancouver Grizzlies 14 68 .171 50

Record vs. opponents[]

1996-97 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL MIN NJN NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA TOR UTA VAN WAS
Atlanta – 3–1 1–3 1–3 3–1 2–0 1–1 1–3 2–0 1–1 3–1 2–0 1–1 1–2 4–0 2–0 3–1 1–3 3–1 4–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 4–0 1–1 2–0 2–1
Boston 1–3 – 0–4 0–4 1–2 1–1 1–1 0–4 1–1 0–2 1–2 0–2 1–1 0–4 1–3 0–2 0–4 0–4 0–4 1–3 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–2 3–1 0–2 0–2 0–4
Charlotte 3–1 4–0 – 0–4 3–1 1–1 2–0 2–2 2–0 2–0 2–2 1–1 1–1 1–2 2–2 2–0 4–0 3–1 1–2 4–0 1–1 0–2 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–2 0–2 2–0 3–1
Chicago 3–1 4–0 4–0 – 3–1 2–0 2–0 3–1 2–0 1–1 4–0 2–0 1–1 2–2 4–0 2–0 3–1 2–2 3–0 4–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 3–1 1–1 2–0 2–1
Cleveland 1–3 2–1 1–3 1–3 – 2–0 1–1 2–2 1–1 0–2 3–1 2–0 1–1 0–4 2–2 2–0 4–0 1–3 2–2 3–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–2 3–1 1–1 2–0 1–3
Dallas 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–2 – 3–1 0–2 0–4 0–4 1–1 2–2 0–4 0–2 0–2 1–3 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–3 1–3 2–2 1–3 1–3 0–2 1–3 3–1 0–2
Denver 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–1 1–3 – 0–2 1–3 1–3 0–2 1–3 0–4 0–2 1–1 0–4 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–1 2–2 0–4 2–2 2–2 0–4 1–1 0–4 3–1 1–1
Detroit 3–1 4–0 2–2 1–3 2–2 2–0 2–0 – 2–0 1–1 3–1 2–0 1–1 0–4 3–1 2–0 4–0 1–2 2–2 2–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 3–1 1–1 2–0 4–0
Golden State 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–1 4–0 3–1 0–2 – 0–4 1–1 1–3 0–4 0–2 1–1 1–3 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–0 0–4 2–2 1–3 4–0 0–4 2–0 0–4 3–1 0–2
Houston 1–1 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–0 4–0 3–1 1–1 4–0 – 1–1 3–1 3–1 0–2 1–1 4–0 2–0 1–1 0–2 2–0 2–2 2–2 4–0 3–1 3–1 1–1 2–2 3–1 2–0
Indiana 1–3 2–1 2–2 0–4 1–3 1–1 2–0 1–3 1–1 1–1 – 2–0 1–1 1–3 2–2 2–0 2–2 1–3 1–3 3–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 4–0 0–2 2–0 1–3
L.A. Clippers 0–2 2–0 1–1 0–2 0–2 2–2 3–1 0–2 3–1 1–3 0–2 – 2–2 0–2 2–0 1–3 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–2 0–4 2–2 4–0 1–3 2–0 1–3 4–0 0–2
L.A. Lakers 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 4–0 4–0 1–1 4–0 1–3 1–1 2–2 – 1–1 2–0 3–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 4–0 1–3 4–0 2–2 3–1 1–1 1–3 4–0 2–0
Miami 2–1 4–0 2–1 2–2 4–0 2–0 2–0 4–0 2–0 2–0 3–1 2–0 1–1 – 4–0 1–1 3–1 1–3 2–2 3–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 0–2 3–1 0–2 2–0 3–1
Milwaukee 0–4 3–1 2–2 0–4 2–2 2–0 1–1 1–3 1–1 1–1 2–2 0–2 0–2 0–4 – 0–2 2–1 1–2 2–2 3–1 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–1 1–1 3–1 1–1 2–0 1–3
Minnesota 0–2 2–0 0–2 0–2 0–2 3–1 4–0 0–2 3–1 0–4 0–2 3–1 1–3 1–1 2–0 – 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 3–1 2–2 0–4 4–0 0–4 1–1 1–3 4–0 1–1
New Jersey 1–3 4–0 0–4 1–3 0–4 1–1 1–1 0–4 0–2 0–2 2–2 1–1 0–2 1–3 1–2 0–2 – 2–2 1–3 2–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–3 0–2 2–0 1–3
New York 3–1 4–0 1–3 2–2 3–1 1–1 2–0 2–1 2–0 1–1 3–1 2–0 1–1 3–1 2–1 1–1 2–2 – 3–1 3–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 0–2 3–0 1–1 2–0 4–0
Orlando 1–3 4–0 2–1 0–3 2–2 1–1 2–0 2–2 1–1 2–0 3–1 1–1 1–1 2–2 2–2 1–1 3–1 1–3 – 2–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 4–0 0��2 1–1 1–3
Philadelphia 0–4 3–1 0–4 0–4 0–3 0–2 1–1 1–2 0–2 0–2 0–3 1–1 0–2 1–3 1–3 1–1 2–2 2–3 2–2 – 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–3 0–2 2–0 1–3
Phoenix 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 3–1 2–2 2–0 4–0 2–2 1–1 2–2 0–4 0–2 1–1 1–3 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 – 1–3 4–0 3–1 2–2 0–2 1–3 2–2 1–1
Portland 0–2 1–1 2–0 0–2 1–1 3–1 4–0 1–1 2–2 2–2 1–1 4–0 3–1 1–1 2–0 2–2 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 3–1 – 2–2 4–0 1–3 0–2 2–2 4–0 0–2
Sacramento 0–2 2–0 0–2 0–2 0–2 2–2 2–2 1–1 3–1 0–4 1–1 2–2 0–4 0–2 2–0 4–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–0 0–4 2–2 – 3–1 1–3 1–1 0–4 4–0 0–2
San Antonio 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 2–0 3–1 2–2 0–2 0–4 1–3 1–1 0–4 2–2 0–2 1–1 0–4 0–2 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–3 0–4 1–3 – 0–4 1–1 1–3 1–3 0–2
Seattle 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–2 2–0 3–1 4–0 1–1 4–0 1–3 1–1 3–1 1–3 2–0 1–1 4–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–2 3–1 3–1 4–0 – 2–0 1–3 4–0 2–0
Toronto 0–4 1–3 2–2 1–3 1–3 2–0 1–1 1–3 0–2 1–1 0–4 0–2 1–1 1–3 1–3 1–1 3–0 0–3 0–4 3–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 – 1–1 1–1 2–2
Utah 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 4–0 1–1 4–0 2–2 2–0 3–1 3–1 2–0 1–1 3–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 3–1 2–2 4–0 3–1 3–1 1–1 – 4–0 2–0
Vancouver 0–2 2–0 0–2 0–2 0–2 1–3 1–3 0–2 1–3 1–3 0–2 0–4 0–4 0–2 0–2 0–4 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 2–2 0–4 0–4 3–1 0–4 1–1 0–4 – 1–1
Washington 1–2 4–0 1–3 1–2 3–1 2–0 1–1 0–4 2–0 0–2 3–1 2–0 0–2 1–3 3–1 1–1 3–1 0–4 3–1 3–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 0–2 2–2 0–2 1–1 —

Game log[]

Playoffs[]

1997 playoff game log
First round: 3–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 25 Portland W 95–77 Shaquille O'Neal (46) Shaquille O'Neal (11) Nick Van Exel (8) Great Western Forum
17,505 		1–0
2 April 27 Portland W 107–93 Shaquille O'Neal (30) Eddie Jones (7) Nick Van Exel (9) Great Western Forum
17,505 		2–0
3 April 30 @ Portland L 90–98 Shaquille O'Neal (29) Shaquille O'Neal (12) O'Neal, Van Exel (4) Rose Garden
21,538 		2–1
4 May 2 @ Portland W 95–91 O'Neal, Campbell (27) four players tied (8) Van Exel, Jones (5) Rose Garden
21,538 		3–1
Conference Semi-finals: 1–4 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 May 4 @ Utah L 77–93 Nick Van Exel (23) Shaquille O'Neal (12) Nick Van Exel (4) Delta Center
19,911 		0–1
2 May 6 @ Utah L 101–103 Shaquille O'Neal (25) Shaquille O'Neal (12) Nick Van Exel (12) Delta Center
19,911 		0–2
3 May 8 Utah W 104–84 Kobe Bryant (19) Shaquille O'Neal (10) Nick Van Exel (5) Great Western Forum
17,505 		1–2
4 May 10 Utah L 95–110 Shaquille O'Neal (34) Shaquille O'Neal (11) Nick Van Exel (7) Great Western Forum
17,505 		1–3
5 May 12 @ Utah L 93–98 (OT) Nick Van Exel (26) Shaquille O'Neal (13) Shaquille O'Neal (5) Delta Center
19,911 		1–4
1997 schedule

Player statistics[]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Regular season[]

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Shaquille O'Neal 51 51 38.1 .557 .000 .484 12.5 3.1 0.9 2.9 26.2
Eddie Jones 80 80 37.5 .438 .391 .819 4.1 3.4 2.4 0.6 17.2
Nick Van Exel 79 79 37.2 .402 .378 .825 2.9 8.5 0.9 0.1 15.3
Cedric Ceballos 8 8 34.9 .410 .238 .867 6.6 1.9 0.6 0.8 10.8
Elden Campbell 77 77 32.7 .469 .250 .711 8.0 1.6 0.6 1.5 14.9
Robert Horry 22 14 30.7 .455 .329 .700 5.4 2.5 1.7 1.3 9.2
Jerome Kersey 70 44 25.2 .432 .262 .602 5.2 1.3 1.7 0.7 6.8
Byron Scott 79 8 18.2 .430 .388 .841 1.5 1.3 0.6 0.2 6.7
Corie Blount 58 18 17.4 .514 .333 .675 4.8 0.6 0.4 0.4 4.2
Travis Knight 71 14 16.3 .509 - .620 4.5 0.5 0.4 0.8 4.8
Kobe Bryant 71 6 15.5 .417 .375 .819 1.9 1.3 0.7 0.3 7.6
George McCloud 23 2 12.4 .354 .429 .667 1.6 0.7 0.4 0.0 4.1
Derek Fisher 80 3 11.5 .397 .301 .658 1.2 1.5 0.5 0.1 3.9
Sean Rooks 69 3 10.7 .470 .000 .700 2.4 0.6 0.2 0.6 3.8

Playoffs[]

NOTE: Please write the players statistics in alphabetical order by last name.

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Corie Blount
Kobe Bryant
Elden Campbell
Derek Fisher
Robert Horry
Eddie Jones
Jerome Kersey
Travis Knight
Shaquille O'Neal
Sean Rooks
Byron Scott
Nick Van Exel

Awards and records[]

Transactions[]

References[]

  1. ^ 1996-97 Los Angeles Lakers
  2. ^ "Lakers Get O'Neal in 7-Year Contract". The New York Times. July 19, 1996.
  3. ^ "Divac Agrees to a Trade With Charlotte". The New York Times. July 2, 1996.
  4. ^ "Lakers Are Near Deal With Scott". Los Angeles Times. September 30, 1996. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  5. ^ "Suns Send Unhappy Horry To Lakers". New York Times. January 11, 1997. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  6. ^ "Teams Defense". NBA.com. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  7. ^ "1996–97 Los Angeles Lakers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  8. ^ "O'Neal Gets 12, Then Leaves With Injury". New York Times. February 13, 1997. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  9. ^ "1997 NBA All-Star Game: East 132, West 120". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  10. ^ "1996–97 Los Angeles Lakers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  11. ^ "Bryant, Kerr & Iverson highlight All-Star Saturday". AP News. February 8, 1997. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  12. ^ "LAKERS 95, TRAIL BLAZERS 91". Washington Post. May 3, 1997. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  13. ^ "Jazz 98, Lakers 93, OT". UPI Archives. May 13, 1997. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  14. ^ "It's Not All Greek to Byron Scott, Who Still Has Unfinished Business". Los Angeles Times. July 6, 1997. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  15. ^ "Mavs Score Just 2 Points in a Quarter". New York Times. April 7, 1997. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  16. ^ "With the Draft Over, Trading Season Begins". The New York Times. June 28, 1996.
  17. ^ "Once again, the Hornets didn't kick Kobe Bryant out the door in '96". The Charlotte Observer. April 3, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  18. ^ "Ranking all 20 seasons of Kobe Bryant's career, from best to worst". For The Win. April 13, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
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