1996–97 Los Angeles Clippers season

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Clippers' 27th season in the National Basketball Association, 13th in Los Angeles and 3rd in which they played occasional home games in Anaheim.^[1] The Clippers had the seventh overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and selected Lorenzen Wright from the University of Memphis.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} During the off-season, the team signed free agents Darrick Martin,^[7][8] and former All-Star center Kevin Duckworth.^[9][10]

1996–97 Los Angeles Clippers season
Head coach	Bill Fitch
Owners	Donald Sterling
Arena	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Arrowhead Pond
Results
Record	36–46 (.439)
Place	Division: 5th (Pacific) Conference: 8th (Western)
Playoff finish	West First Round (lost to Jazz 0–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KCAL-TV (Ralph Lawler, Bill Walton)
Radio	KNNS (Rory Markas)
< 1995–96 1997–98 >

With the loss of Brian Williams to free agency, the Clippers were expected to sink in the bottom of the NBA again. After a 6–4 start to the regular season, the team lost ten of their next eleven games, 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,^[11][12][13] and second-year guard Brent Barry only played 59 games due to thumb and ankle injuries.^[14][15][16] However, despite the injuries, the Clippers held a 19–25 record at the All-Star break,^[17] and finished in fifth place in the Pacific Division with a 36–46 record, which was below .500 in winning percentage, but still good enough to qualify for the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.^[18]

Loy Vaught led the team with 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 with .609 field-goal percentage, Barry contributed 7.5 points per game, and Lamond Murray contributed 7.4 points per game.^[19] Outlaw also finished tied in seventh place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, and head coach Bill Fitch finished tied in sixth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[20][21]

However, in the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Clippers were swept by the top-seeded Utah Jazz in three straight games.^{[22][23][24][25]} The Jazz would reach the NBA Finals for the first time, but would lose to the defending champion Chicago Bulls in six games.^{[26][27][28][29][30]} This would also be the Clippers' final playoff appearance until 2006.

Following the season, Sealy signed as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons,^[31][32][33] while Roberts was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves,^[34][35][36] Outlaw signed with the Orlando Magic,^[37][38][39] Terry Dehere signed with the Sacramento Kings,^[40][41][42] and Duckworth retired.

Draft picks

Main article: 1996 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	7	Lorenzen Wright	C/PF	United States	Memphis
2	36	Doron Sheffer	F	Israel	UConn

Roster

1996–97 Los Angeles Clippers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 31 Brent Barry 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1971–12–31 Oregon State G 24 Terry Dehere 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1971–09–12 Seton Hall C 00 Kevin Duckworth 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 300 lb (136 kg) 1964–04–01 Eastern Illinois C 50 Rich Manning 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1970–06–23 Washington G 15 Darrick Martin 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1971–03–06 UCLA F 7 Lamond Murray 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 236 lb (107 kg) 1973–04–20 California F 45 Bo Outlaw 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1971–04–13 Houston G/F 52 Eric Piatkowski 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1970–09–30 Nebraska G 2 Pooh Richardson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1966–05–14 UCLA C 53 Stanley Roberts 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 285 lb (129 kg) 1970–02–07 LSU F 54 Rodney Rogers 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1971–06–20 Wake Forest C 33 Dwayne Schintzius 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1968–10–14 Florida G 21 Malik Sealy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970–02–01 St. John's F 35 Loy Vaught 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1968–02–27 Michigan C 55 Lorenzen Wright 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1975–11–04 Memphis

Head coach Bill Fitch Assistant(s) Jim Brewer Barry Hecker Rex Kalamian Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: 2009-10-04

Roster Notes

A number of players from the 1996–97 roster have either died prematurely, or ended up in unfortunate circumstances; these players are:

• Center Stanley Roberts (banned from the NBA for drug use in 1999).
• Guard Malik Sealy (died in an automobile accident in 2000 at age 30).
• Center Kevin Duckworth (died of heart failure in 2008 at age 44).
• Forward Rodney Rogers (became paralyzed after a dirt bike accident in 2008 at age 37).
• Center Lorenzen Wright (murdered by his ex-wife in 2010 at age 34).
• Center Dwayne Schintzius (died from cancer complications in 2012 at age 43).

^{[43][better source needed]}

Interestingly enough, one player, Brent Barry, would enjoy 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.

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

Playoffs

1997 playoff game log
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 @ Utah L 86–106 Loy Vaught (20) Loy Vaught (11) three players tied (3) Delta Center 19,911 0–1 2 April 26 @ Utah L 99–105 Lorenzen Wright (17) Loy Vaught (9) Darrick Martin (6) Delta Center 19,911 0–2 3 April 28 Utah L 92–104 Loy Vaught (20) Vaught, Wright (9) Darrick Martin (5) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 11,747 0–3
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

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Brent Barry	59	0	18.5	.409	.324	.817	1.9	2.6	.9	.3	7.5
Terry Dehere	73	3	14.4	.386	.325	.824	1.3	2.2	.4	.0	6.4
Kevin Duckworth	26	22	14.8	.437	.750	.688	2.3	.6	.3	.4	4.0
Rich Manning	10	1	7.3	.412	.000	.500	1.6	.1	.1	.1	3.1
Darrick Martin	82	64	22.2	.407	.389	.872	1.4	4.1	.7	.0	10.9
Lamond Murray	74	1	17.5	.416	.341	.739	3.1	.8	.7	.4	7.4
Bo Outlaw	82	25	26.8	.609	.000	.504	5.5	1.9	1.1	1.7	7.6
Eric Piatkowski	65	0	11.5	.450	.425	.821	1.6	.8	.5	.2	6.0
Pooh Richardson	59	18	18.1	.381	.328	.605	1.7	2.9	.9	.1	5.6
Stanley Roberts	18	2	21.0	.426	.	.703	5.1	.5	.4	1.3	9.5
Rodney Rogers	81	62	30.6	.462	.361	.663	5.1	2.7	1.1	.8	13.2
Dwayne Schintzius	15	0	7.7	.361	.500	.875	1.5	.3	.1	.6	2.3
Malik Sealy	80	79	30.7	.396	.356	.876	3.0	2.1	1.6	.6	13.5
Loy Vaught	82	82	34.6	.500	.167	.702	10.0	1.3	1.0	.3	14.9
Lorenzen Wright	77	51	25.1	.481	.250	.587	6.1	.6	.6	.8	7.3

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Brent Barry	3	0	28.0	.407	.455	.889	2.3	3.3	1.3	.0	11.7
Terry Dehere	2	0	2.5	.000	.000	.	.5	.0	.0	.0	.0
Rich Manning	3	0	7.0	.222	.	.833	1.3	.3	.0	.3	3.0
Darrick Martin	3	3	25.7	.440	.556	.667	.7	4.3	.0	.0	11.0
Lamond Murray	3	0	21.7	.300	.250	1.000	3.7	1.0	.7	1.0	7.0
Bo Outlaw	3	0	22.0	.545	.000	.300	4.7	1.3	.3	.7	5.0
Eric Piatkowski	3	0	12.7	.364	.400	.857	.7	.0	.3	.0	5.3
Pooh Richardson	2	0	9.0	.500	.000	.000	.0	1.5	.5	.0	2.0
Rodney Rogers	3	3	28.3	.414	.200	.750	2.3	2.0	1.3	1.0	10.7
Malik Sealy	3	3	26.3	.480	.200	.733	1.0	1.7	.0	.0	12.0
Loy Vaught	3	3	30.0	.613	.333	.667	9.0	.7	1.0	.7	15.0
Lorenzen Wright	3	3	30.7	.406	.	1.000	7.3	.7	1.0	.7	10.3

Player Statistics Citation:^[19]

Awards and records

Transactions

The Clippers have been involved in the following transactions during the 1996–97 season.

Trades

No trades occurred for this team this season.

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team Darrick Martin July 11 Vancouver Grizzlies Dwayne Schintzius September 19 Indiana Pacers Kevin Duckworth October 10 Milwaukee Bucks Rich Manning April 1 Vancouver Grizzlies

Subtractions Player Left New team Keith Tower waived, July 11 Milwaukee Bucks Antonio Harvey free agency, November 15 Seattle SuperSonics Brian Williams free agency, April 2 Chicago Bulls

Player Transactions Citation:^[44]

See also

• 1996–97 NBA season