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	First Round (Eliminated 0–3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports South, WJZY, WFVT
Radio	WBT

The 1996–97 Charlotte Hornets season was Charlotte's ninth season in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the offseason, the Hornets acquired Anthony Mason from the New York Knicks^[2] and Vlade Divac from the Los Angeles Lakers.^[3] Under new head coach Dave Cowens, the new-look Hornets played better than expected: Divac and Matt Geiger provided the best center combo in the league, 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 with a career high of 26.8 points per game, and earning all-NBA second team honors. Rice also set several scoring records in the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, and was selected the game's MVP. At midseason, the team acquired Ricky Pierce from the Denver Nuggets as the Hornets finished the season fourth in the Central Division with a franchise best record at 54–28, making it back to the playoffs after a one-year absence.

In the first round of the playoffs, they were swept by the New York Knicks in three straight games. The Hornets led the NBA in attendance for the eighth and final time during their history in Charlotte. They also had the best three-point percentage in NBA history shooting 42.8% from beyond the arch. Following the season, Pierce re-signed as a free agent with the Milwaukee Bucks.

NBA Draft

Main article: 1996 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	SG	United States	Lower Merion HS

Roster

Dave Cowens started his first year coaching the Hornets in the 1996-97 season.

Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2015–16 season.

Charlotte Hornets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB (YYYY–MM–DD)
3.0 !SF	7	USA !	Addison, Rafael	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Syracuse
1.0 !PG	1	USA !	Bogues, Muggsy	7000160020000000000♠5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)	136 lb (62 kg)	Wake Forest
2.0 !SG	30	USA !	Curry, Dell	7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Virginia Tech
1.0 !PG	00	USA !	Delk, Tony	7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	189 lb (86 kg)	Kentucky
6.0 !C	12	Yugoslavia !	Divac, Vlade	7000215899999999999♠7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	243 lb (110 kg)	Yugoslavia
6.0 !C	52	USA !	Geiger, Matt	7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	243 lb (110 kg)	Georgia Tech
4.5 !PF	14	USA !	Mason, Anthony	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Tennessee State
2.0 !SG	21	USA !	Pierce, Ricky	7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Rice
3.0 !SF	41	USA !	Rice, Glen	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Michigan
4.5 !PF	31	USA !	Rose, Malik	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Drexel
3.0 !SF	5	USA !	Royal, Donald	7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Notre Dame
2.0 !SG	34	USA !	Smith, Tony	7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Marquette

Head coach

Dave Cowens (Florida State)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Chicago Bulls	69	13	.841	–	39–2	30–11	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

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	—

Playoffs

1997 playoff game log

First round: 0–3 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–2)

Game	Date Time	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 19,763	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 19,763	0–2
3	April 28	New York	L 95–104	Glen Rice (22)	Anthony Mason (11)	Glen Rice (9)	Charlotte Coliseum 24,042	0–3

1997 playoff 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%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Addison, Rafael !Rafael Addison	41	3	8.7	.402	.400	.786	1.1	0.8	0.2	0.1	3.1
Bogues, Muggsy !Muggsy Bogues	65	65	28.9	.460	.417	.844	2.2	7.2	1.3	0.0	8.0
Burrell, Scott !Scott Burrell	28	2	17.2	.344	.345	.792	2.8	1.4	0.5	0.4	5.4
Chambers, Tom !Tom Chambers	12	5	6.9	.226	.667	.750	1.2	0.3	0.1	0.0	1.6
Curry, Dell !Dell Curry	68	20	30.6	.459	.426	.803	3.1	1.7	0.9	0.2	14.8
Delk, Tony !Tony Delk	61	1	14.2	.465	.464	.824	1.6	1.6	0.6	0.1	5.4
Divac, Vlade !Vlade Divac	81	80	35.1	.494	.234	.683	9.0	3.7	1.3	2.2	12.6
Feick, Jamie !Jamie Feick	3	0	3.3	.500	1.000	.000	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	1.7
Geiger, Matt !Matt Geiger	49	13	21.3	.489	.300	.701	5.3	0.8	0.4	0.6	8.9
Goldwire, Anthony !Anthony Goldwire	33	9	17.5	.403	.439	.750	1.2	2.8	0.6	0.0	5.8
Leckner, Eric !Eric Leckner	1	0	11.0	.000			1.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Mason, Anthony !Anthony Mason	73	73	43.1	.525	.333	.745	11.4	5.7	1.0	0.5	16.2
Pierce, Ricky !Ricky Pierce	27	17	24.1	.502	.536	.889	2.5	1.8	0.5	0.1	12.0
Rice, Glen !Glen Rice	79	78	42.6	.477	.470	.867	4.0	2.0	0.9	0.3	26.8
Rose, Malik !Malik Rose	54	1	9.7	.477	.000	.613	3.0	0.6	0.5	0.3	3.0
Royal, Donald !Donald Royal	25	2	12.8	.525		.800	2.3	0.4	0.5	0.1	2.8
Smith, Tony !Tony Smith	69	39	18.7	.409	.323	.644	1.4	2.2	0.7	0.3	5.0
Zidek, George !George Zidek	36	2	8.0	.388	.000	.781	1.8	0.3	0.1	0.1	2.5

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Bogues, Muggsy !Muggsy Bogues	2	2	29.0	.579	.857	1.000	1.5	2.5	0.5	0.0	16.0
Curry, Dell !Dell Curry	3	1	16.7	.294	.250	1.000	0.3	1.7	1.3	0.0	4.7
Delk, Tony !Tony Delk	3	1	28.3	.419	.385		3.3	2.0	0.7	0.0	10.3
Divac, Vlade !Vlade Divac	3	3	38.7	.457	.000	.800	8.7	3.3	1.0	2.0	18.0
Geiger, Matt !Matt Geiger	3	0	10.3	.667		1.000	2.7	0.7	0.7	0.3	2.0
Mason, Anthony !Anthony Mason	3	3	43.7	.421		.538	12.0	3.0	0.3	0.3	13.0
Pierce, Ricky !Ricky Pierce	3	2	29.0	.458	.143		2.7	1.3	0.7	0.0	7.7
Rice, Glen !Glen Rice	3	3	45.7	.491	.375	.913	3.7	3.7	1.3	0.3	27.7
Rose, Malik !Malik Rose	2	0	6.0	.500			2.5	0.5	0.0	0.0	2.0
Royal, Donald !Donald Royal	1	0	4.0	.000			2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Smith, Tony !Tony Smith	2	0	4.5	.000	.000	.500	0.5	1.0	0.5	0.0	0.5

Awards and records

Transactions

July 11, 1996

Released Michael Adams.

Traded Kobe Bryant to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac.

Released Robert Parish.

July 14, 1996

Traded Larry Johnson to the New York Knicks for Brad Lohaus and Anthony Mason.

October 3, 1996

Signed Bob McCann as a free agent.

October 19, 1996

Signed Tony Smith as a free agent.

October 31, 1996

Waived Brad Lohaus.

January 6, 1997

Signed Jamie Feick to the first of two 10-day contracts.

January 28, 1997

Signed Eric Leckner to a 10-day contract.

January 30, 1997

Signed Tom Chambers to a contract for the rest of the season.

February 20, 1997

Traded Scott Burrell to the Golden State Warriors for Donald Royal.

Traded Anthony Goldwire and George Zidek to the Denver Nuggets for Ricky Pierce.

April 8, 1997

Waived Tom Chambers.

References

↑ 1996-97 Charlotte Hornets
↑ "Johnson-for-Mason Said to Be Complete". Los Angeles Times. July 13, 1996. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
↑ "A New Day for Vlade". Los Angeles Times. July 21, 1996. Retrieved November 1, 2016.

Charlotte Hornets

Founded in 1988 Formerly the Charlotte Bobcats (2004–2014) Based in Charlotte, North Carolina

Franchise	History Seasons 1988 Expansion Draft 2004 Expansion Draft Draft history All-time roster Head coaches Accomplishments Broadcasters Current season

Arenas	Charlotte Coliseum (1988–2002, 2004–2005) Spectrum Center (2005–present)

Administration	Owner Michael Jordan President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins General Manager Rich Cho

General Managers	Scheer Bass Bickerstaff Higgins Cho

D-League affiliate	Greensboro Swarm (beginning in the 2016–17 NBA D-League season)

Retired numbers	13

Hall of Famers	Robert Parish Alonzo Mourning Dave Cowens Larry Brown

Culture and lore	Buzz City George Shinn Hugo Charlotte Honey Bees "Grandmama" "Zo"

NBA Playoff Appearances (10)	1993 1995 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 2010 2014 2016

Media	TV Fox Sports Carolinas Fox Sports Southeast Radio WFNZ Announcers Eric Collins Dell Curry Stephanie Ready Steve Martin

Charlotte Bobcats / Hornets seasons

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

1996–97 NBA season by team

Eastern

Atlantic	Boston Miami New Jersey New York Orlando Philadelphia Washington

Central	Atlanta Charlotte Chicago Cleveland Detroit Indiana Milwaukee Toronto

Western

Midwest	Dallas Denver Houston Minnesota San Antonio Utah Vancouver

Pacific	Golden State L.A. Clippers L.A. Lakers Phoenix Portland Sacramento Seattle

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.