1996–97 Los Angeles Clippers season

1996–97 Los Angeles Clippers season
Head coachBill Fitch
OwnersDonald Sterling
ArenaLos Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Arrowhead Pond
Results
Record36–46 (.439)
PlaceDivision: 5th (Pacific)
Conference: 8th (Western)
Playoff finishWest First Round
(lost to Jazz 0–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionKCAL-TV
(Ralph Lawler, Bill Walton)
RadioKNNS
(Rory Markas)

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

With the addition of Wright and Martin, and despite the loss of Brian Williams to free agency, the Clippers got off to a 6–4 start to the regular season. However, the team posted a six-game losing streak in November afterwards, while losing ten of their next eleven games, which led to a 7–14 start to the season. The team continued to deal with injuries, 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,[9][10][11] and second-year guard Brent Barry only appeared in 59 games due to thumb and ankle injuries.[12][13][14] Despite the injuries, the Clippers held a 19–25 record at the All-Star break,[15] 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 earn the eighth seed in the Western Conference, as the team qualified for the NBA playoffs;[16] this was the Clippers' third playoff appearance since relocating from San Diego, California to Los Angeles in 1984, and their first since the 1992–93 season.

Loy Vaught averaged 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 shooting .609 in field-goal percentage, Barry contributed 7.5 points per game, and Lamond Murray contributed 7.4 points per game.[17]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Wright was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Western Conference Rookie team.[18][19] Outlaw finished tied in seventh place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, while head coach Bill Fitch finished tied in sixth place in Coach of the Year voting.[20]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1997 NBA playoffs, the Clippers faced off against the top–seeded, and Midwest Division champion Utah Jazz, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward, and Most Valuable Player of the Year, Karl Malone, All-Star guard John Stockton, and Jeff Hornacek. The Clippers lost the first two games to the Jazz on the road at the Delta Center, before losing Game 3 at home, 104–92 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep.[21][22][23] The Jazz would advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, but would lose to the defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls in six games in the 1997 NBA Finals.[24][25][26] This would also be the Clippers' final NBA playoff appearance until the 2005–06 season, as what would follow was an eight-year playoff drought.

The Clippers finished last in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 232,895 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena during the regular season, which was 29th in the league.[17][27] Following the season, Sealy signed as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons,[28][29][30] while Roberts was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves,[31][32][33] Outlaw signed with the Orlando Magic,[34][35][36] Terry Dehere signed with the Sacramento Kings,[37][38] 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
Assistant(s)
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 and/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; died in 2025 at age 54).
  • 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).

[39]

Brent Barry, had 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
 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
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

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:[17]

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

Player Transactions Citation:[40]

See also

References

  1. ^ 1996-97 Los Angeles Clippers
  2. ^ Brown, Clifton (June 27, 1996). "PRO BASKETBALL; Big Trade and Some Twists in N.B.A. Youth Parade". The New York Times. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  3. ^ Heisler, Mark (June 27, 1996). "The Surprises Are Few". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  4. ^ "1996 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  5. ^ Baker, Chris (September 20, 1996). "Clippers Sign Former Bruin". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  6. ^ Baker, Chris (February 11, 1997). "He's Tiny, But His Presence Is Huge". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  7. ^ Baker, Chris (October 11, 1996). "They Cut to the Fat--Sign Duckworth". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  8. ^ Baker, Chris (November 1, 1996). "Long Season? Try an Eternity". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  9. ^ Baker, Chris (December 4, 1996). "Roberts Missing on Next Trip". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  10. ^ Baker, Chris (December 24, 1996). "Fitch Extends Holiday Break". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  11. ^ Heisler, Mark (December 28, 1996). "Wright Script, Wrong Result for Clippers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  12. ^ Baker, Chris (October 18, 1996). "Barry's Injured Thumb Put in a Cast". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  13. ^ Baker, Chris (October 22, 1996). "Thumb Injury Sidelines Barry". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  14. ^ Baker, Chris (January 28, 1997). "Barry Suffering Another Setback". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  15. ^ "NBA Games Played on February 6, 1997". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  16. ^ "1996–97 Los Angeles Clippers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  17. ^ a b c "1996–97 Los Angeles Clippers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  18. ^ Fry, Darrell (February 8, 1997). "On to the Next Stage". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  19. ^ "1997 NBA Rising Stars: East 96, West 91". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  20. ^ "1996–97 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  21. ^ "Jazz Gets a Sweep of Its Own". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 29, 1997. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  22. ^ Plaschke, Bill (April 29, 1997). "It's Over, But at Least There Is Hope Now". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  23. ^ "1997 NBA Western Conference First Round: Clippers vs. Jazz". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  24. ^ Wise, Mike (June 14, 1997). "A Fistful of Rings: Bulls Grab Fifth Title of 90's". The New York Times. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  25. ^ Howard-Cooper, Scott (June 14, 1997). "Bulls Get Fifth Element". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  26. ^ "1997 NBA Finals: Jazz vs. Bulls". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  27. ^ "1996–97 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
  28. ^ "Pistons Sign Sealy". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 26, 1997. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  29. ^ "Robinson Takes Pay Cut to Sign with Suns". Los Angeles Times. Staff and Wire Reports. August 26, 1997. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  30. ^ Thompson, Jack (August 26, 1997). "Suns Sign Clifford Robinson". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  31. ^ Gardner, Kris (June 25, 1997). "ARCHIVE: Houston Roundball Review NBA Trade Analyses -- 1997 NBA Draft Day Deals". The Houston Roundball Review. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  32. ^ Howard-Cooper, Scott (June 26, 1997). "Draft Over, But Not Finished". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  33. ^ Howard-Cooper, Scott (June 27, 1997). "Goodbye, Stanley, We Barely Knew You". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  34. ^ Baker, Chris (September 6, 1997). "Just Like Magic, Versatile Outlaw Leaves Clippers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  35. ^ "Magic Corrals Outlaw". Tampa Bay Times. September 6, 1997. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  36. ^ "Outlaw Breaks Free to Spark Magic". Orlando Sentinel. November 9, 1997. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  37. ^ "Barkley Is Cleared in Cleveland Brawl". The Washington Post. August 2, 1997. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  38. ^ Popper, Steve (August 10, 1997). "Two Guys from Jersey on Same Road Again". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  39. ^ "1996–97 Los Angeles Clippers Tragic Team". MaceoBarry90. February 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  40. ^ "1996–97 Los Angeles Clippers Transactions". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
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