1996–97 Sacramento Kings season

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Kings' 48th season in the National Basketball Association, and 12th season in Sacramento.^[1] During the off-season, the Kings acquired Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf from the Denver Nuggets,^[2][3][4][5] and signed free agent Jeff Grayer in January.^[6][7] Coming off their first playoff appearance in ten years, expectations in Sacramento were high. However, the Kings struggled with an 8–17 start to the regular season, as Brian Grant only played just 24 games due to a shoulder injury,^[8][9][10] and Billy Owens missed 16 games early into the season with a groin injury.^[11][12][13] The Kings would rebound to get back into playoff contention, holding a 21–28 record at the All-Star break.^[14]

1996–97 Sacramento Kings season
Head coach	Garry St. Jean (fired) Eddie Jordan
President	Geoff Petrie
General manager	Geoff Petrie
Owner(s)	Jim Thomas
Arena	ARCO Arena
Results
Record	34–48 (.415)
Place	Division: 6th (Pacific) Conference: 9th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KPWB-TV SportsChannel Pacific
Radio	KHTK
< 1995–96 1997–98 >

However, after holding a 28–32 record as of March 5, 1997,^[15] the team went on a 7-game losing streak as head coach Garry St. Jean was fired, and replaced with assistant Eddie Jordan for the remainder of the season.^[16][17][18] The Kings finished in sixth place in the Pacific Division with a 34–48 record, missing the playoffs by finishing just two games behind the 8th-seeded Los Angeles Clippers.^[19]

Mitch Richmond averaged 25.9 points and 1.5 steals per game, led the Kings with 204 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, finished tied in thirteenth place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[20][21] and was also selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland, Ohio.^{[22][23][24][25]} In addition, Abdul-Rauf finished second on the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game, while Olden Polynice provided the team with 12.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, second-year forward Corliss Williamson showed improvement averaging 11.6 points per game, Owens provided with 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, and Grant contributed 10.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Michael Smith was the team's starting power forward in Grant's absence, averaging 6.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, and second-year guard Tyus Edney contributed 6.9 points and 3.2 assists per game off the bench.^[26]

Following the season, Grant signed as a free agent with the Portland Trail Blazers,^{[27][28][29][30]} while Edney signed with the Boston Celtics,^[31][32][33] Duane Causwell was traded to the Miami Heat,^[34][35][36] Grayer was released to free agency, and Lionel Simmons retired due to knee surgery, after playing seven seasons in the NBA with the Kings.^[37][38][39]

Draft picks

Main article: 1996 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	14	Peja Stojaković	SF	Yugoslavia
2	41	Jason Sasser	SF	United States	Texas Tech

Roster

1996–97 Sacramento Kings roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 3 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 162 lb (73 kg) 1969–03–09 LSU C 31 Duane Causwell 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1968–05–31 Temple G 5 Tyus Edney 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 152 lb (69 kg) 1973–02–14 UCLA G/F 40 Kevin Gamble 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1965–11–13 Iowa F 33 Brian Grant 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 254 lb (115 kg) 1972–03–05 Xavier G 20 Jeff Grayer 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1965–12–17 Iowa State G 7 Bobby Hurley 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1971–06–28 Duke F 30 Billy Owens 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1969–05–01 Syracuse C 0 Olden Polynice 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1964–11–21 Virginia G 2 Mitch Richmond 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1965–06–30 Kansas State C 32 Kevin Salvadori 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 231 lb (105 kg) 1970–12–30 North Carolina F 22 Lionel Simmons 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1968–11–14 La Salle F 34 Michael Smith 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1972–03–28 Providence F 4 Corliss Williamson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1973–12–04 Arkansas

Head coach Eddie Jordan Assistant(s) Mike Bratz Pete Carril Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: March 21, 1997

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	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 v t e
	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

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

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

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%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Olden Polynice	82	82	35.3	.457	.000	.562	9.4	2.2	.6	1.0	12.5
Mitch Richmond	81	81	38.6	.454	.428	.861	3.9	4.2	1.5	.3	25.9
Michael Smith	81	52	31.2	.539		.496	9.5	2.4	1.0	.7	6.6
Corliss Williamson	79	31	25.2	.498	.000	.689	4.1	1.6	.8	.6	11.6
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf	75	51	28.4	.445	.382	.846	1.6	2.5	.7	.1	13.7
Tyus Edney	70	20	19.7	.384	.190	.823	1.6	3.2	.9	.0	6.9
Billy Owens	66	56	30.2	.467	.347	.697	5.9	2.8	.9	.4	11.0
Kevin Gamble	62	2	15.4	.430	.482	.700	1.7	1.2	.3	.3	5.0
Bobby Hurley	49	12	12.9	.368	.311	.698	.8	3.0	.6	.1	2.9
Duane Causwell	46	8	12.6	.511	.667	.541	2.8	.4	.3	.8	2.6
Lionel Simmons	41	0	12.7	.331	.233	.875	2.5	1.4	.2	.3	3.4
Jeff Grayer	25	0	12.6	.458	.364	.550	1.5	1.0	.3	.3	3.6
Brian Grant	24	15	25.3	.440		.778	5.9	1.2	.8	1.0	10.5
Kevin Salvadori	23	0	6.7	.364		.722	1.1	.4	.1	.6	1.6
Lloyd Daniels†	5	0	5.6	.125	.182		.8	.2	.2	.0	1.2
Devin Gray†	3	0	8.3	.273		.500	3.0	.7	1.0	.0	2.7

• ^† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Kings only.

Player Statistics Citation:^[26]

Awards and records

• Mitch Richmond, All-NBA Second Team

Transactions