1996–97 San Antonio Spurs season

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Spurs' 21st season in the National Basketball Association, and 30th season as a franchise.[1] During the off-season, the Spurs signed free agent and former All-Star forward Dominique Wilkins, who previously played in Greece last season,[2] while re-signing former Spurs guard Vernon Maxwell.[3] However, without All-Star center David Robinson, who only played just six games due to back and foot injuries,[4] and three-point specialist Chuck Person, who was out for the entire season with an off-season back injury,[5] the Spurs struggled losing 13 of their first 15 games in November, which included an 8-game losing streak. After 18 games, head coach Bob Hill was fired and replaced with General Manager Gregg Popovich.

1996–97 San Antonio Spurs season
Head coach
General managerGregg Popovich
PresidentGregg Popovich (vice)
Owner(s)Peter Holt
ArenaAlamodome
Results
Record20–62 (.244)
PlaceDivision: 6th (Midwest)
Conference: 13th (Western)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKSAT-TV
KRRT
Fox Sports Southwest
RadioWOAI

Wilkins appeared in 63 games with the Spurs, averaging 18.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.[6] However, it would not be nearly enough as Sean Elliott only played just 39 games due to a knee injury, and Charles D. Smith only appeared in just 19 games also with a knee injury. The Spurs lost their final six games, and finished sixth in the Midwest Division with an awful 20–62 record.[7] The Spurs had the worst team defensive rating in the NBA.[8] Robinson averaged 17.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game during his short six-game stint, while Elliott averaged 14.9 points per game, Maxwell provided the team with 12.9 points per game, Vinny Del Negro contributed 12.3 points per game, and Avery Johnson provided with 10.5 points, 6.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. In addition, Monty Williams showed improvement averaging 9.0 points per game, while Will Perdue provided with 8.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, and Carl Herrera contributed 8.0 points per game.[6]

Since the Spurs joined the NBA in 1976, this was only the fourth time they missed the playoffs. Until 2020, this was the Spurs' last season in which they failed to make the playoffs, due in large part to turning the lottery pick they earned in 1997 into perennial All-Star Tim Duncan,[9] who would create a dynasty that won them their first championship 2 years later, then four more championships in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014. Following the season, Wilkins left to play in Italy,[10] while Maxwell was released to free agency, Greg Anderson signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Hawks, and Smith retired.

Draft picks
Main article: 1996 NBA Draft

The Spurs did not have any draft picks in 1996.

Roster
1996–97 San Antonio Spurs roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 1 Alexander, Cory 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) –– Virginia
C 33 Anderson, Greg 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) –– Houston
G 15 Del Negro, Vinny 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) –– North Carolina State
F 32 Elliott, Sean 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) –– Arizona
F 14 Feick, Jamie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) –– Michigan State
F 7 Herrera, Carl 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) –– Houston
G 6 Johnson, Avery 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) –– Southern
G 11 Maxwell, Vernon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) –– Florida
C 41 Perdue, Will 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) –– Vanderbilt
F 45 Person, Chuck  (IN) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) –– Auburn
C 50 Robinson, David  7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 235 lb (107 kg) –– Navy
F 54 Smith, Charles 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) –– Pittsburgh
F 21 Wilkins, Dominique 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) –– Georgia
F 3 Williams, Monty 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) –– Notre Dame
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (IN) Inactive
  • Injured

Roster

Roster Notes
  • Small forward Chuck Person missed the entire season due to a back injury.

Regular season

The Spurs were trying to continue the success of the last two seasons which had records of 59-23 and 62-20 respectively. However they would finish a dismal 20–62, Scoring leader David Robinson was injured, and was only able to play just six games due to back and foot injuries. Also injured was forward and three-point specialist Chuck Person, who missed the entire season with an off-season back injury. Head coach Bob Hill was fired midway through the season after starting 3-15, being replaced by Gregg Popovich, who would finish 17–47. He would later be appointed head coach after the season's end. This would be the only losing season for Gregg Popovich and the first losing season for the Spurs since the 1988-89 NBA season. However the lone silver lining in this season would be winning the number one pick for the 1997 NBA Draft.

Season standings
Midwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Utah Jazz 6418.780–38–326–1519–5
x-Houston Rockets 5725.695730–1127–1419–5
x-Minnesota Timberwolves 4042.4882425–1615–2616–8
Dallas Mavericks 2458.2934014–2710–319–15
Denver Nuggets 2161.2564312–299–327–17
San Antonio Spurs 2062.2444412–298–338–16
Vancouver Grizzlies 1468.171508–336–356–18
1996–97 NBA West standings
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Utah Jazz6418.780–
2 y-Seattle SuperSonics5725.6957
3 x-Houston Rockets5725.6957
4 x-Los Angeles Lakers5626.6838
5 x-Portland Trail Blazers4933.59815
6 x-Minnesota Timberwolves4042.48824
7 x-Phoenix Suns4042.48824
8 x-Los Angeles Clippers3646.43928
9 Sacramento Kings3448.41530
10 Golden State Warriors3052.36634
11 Dallas Mavericks2458.29340
12 Denver Nuggets2161.25643
13 San Antonio Spurs2062.24444
14 Vancouver Grizzlies1468.17150
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 —3–11–31–33–12–01–11–32–01–13–12–01–11–24–02–03–11–33–14–01–12–02–02–01–14–01–12–02–1
Boston 1–3—0–40–41–21–11–10–41–10–21–20–21–10–41–30–20–40–40–41–31–11–10–21–10–23–10–20–20–4
Charlotte 3–14–0—0–43–11–12–02–22–02–02–21–11–11–22–22–04–03–11–24–01–10–22–02–02–02–20–22–03–1
Chicago 3–14–04–0—3–12–02–03–12–01–14–02–01–12–24–02–03–12–23–04–02–02–02–02–02–03–11–12–02–1
Cleveland 1–32–11–31–3—2–01–12–21–10–23–12–01–10–42–22–04–01–32–23–01–11–12–00–20–23–11–12–01–3
Dallas 0–21–11–10–20–2—3–10–20–40–41–12–20–40–20–21–31–11–11–12–01–31–32–21–31–30–21–33–10–2
Denver 1–11–10–20–21–11–3—0–21–31–30–21–30–40–21–10–41–10–20–21–12–20–42–22–20–41–10–43–11–1
Detroit 3–14–02–21–32–22–02–0—2–01–13–12–01–10–43–12–04–01–22–22–10–21–11–12–01–13–11–12–04–0
Golden State 0–21–10–20–21–14–03–10–2—0–41–11–30–40–21–11–32–00–21–12–00–42–21–34–00–42–00–43–10–2
Houston 1–12–00–21–12–04–03–11–14–0—1–13–13–10–21–14–02–01–10–22–02–22–24–03–13–11–12–23–12–0
Indiana 1–32–12–20–41–31–12–01–31–11–1—2–01–11–32–22–02–21–31–33–01–11–11–11–11–14–00–22–01–3
L.A. Clippers 0–22–01–10–20–22–23–10–23–11–30–2—2–20–22–01–31–10–21–11–12–20–42–24–01–32–01–34–00–2
L.A. Lakers 1–11–11–11–11–14–04–01–14–01–31–12–2—1–12–03–12–01–11–12–04–01–34–02–23–11–11–34–02–0
Miami 2–14–02–12–24–02–02–04–02–02–03–12–01–1—4–01–13–11–32–23–12–01–12–02–00–23–10–22–03–1
Milwaukee 0–43–12–20–42–22–01–11–31–11–12–20–20–20–4—0–22–11–22–23–11–10–20–21–11–13–11–12–01–3
Minnesota 0–22–00–20–20–23–14–00–23–10–40–23–11–31–12–0—2–01–11–11–13–12–20–44–00–41–11–34–01–1
New Jersey 1–34–00–41–30–41–11–10–40–20–22–21–10–21–31–20–2—2–21–32–21–10–21–12–01–10–30–22–01–3
New York 3–14–01–32–23–11–12–02–12–01–13–12–01–13–12–11–12–2—3–13–21–11–12–02–00–23–01–12–04–0
Orlando 1–34–02–10–32–21–12–02–21–12–03–11–11–12–22–21–13–11–3—2–21–12–01–11–11–14–00–21–11–3
Philadelphia 0–43–10–40–40–30–21–11–20–20–20–31–10–21–31–31–12–22–32–2—1–11–10–21–10–21–30–22–01–3
Phoenix 1–11–11–10–21–13–12–22–04–02–21–12–20–40–21–11–31–11–11–11–1—1–34–03–12–20–21–32–21–1
Portland 0–21–12–00–21–13–14–01–12–22–21–14–03–11–12–02–22–01–10–21–13–1—2–24–01–30–22–24–00–2
Sacramento 0–22–00–20–20–22–22–21–13–10–41–12–20–40–22–04–01–10–21–12–00–42–2—3–11–31–10–44–00–2
San Antonio 0–21–10–20–22–03–12–20–20–41–31–10–42–20–21–10–40–20–21–11–11–30–41–3—0–41–11–31–30–2
Seattle 1–12–00–20–22–03–14–01–14–01–31–13–11–32–01–14–01–12–01–12–02–23–13–14–0—2–01–34–02–0
Toronto 0–41–32–21–31–32–01–11–30–21–10–40–21–11–31–31–13–00–30–43–12–02–01–11–10–2—1–11–12–2
Utah 1–12–02–01–11–13–14–01–14–02–22–03–13–12–01–13–12–01–12–02–03–12–24–03–13–11–1—4–02–0
Vancouver 0–22–00–20–20–21–31–30–21–31–30–20–40–40–20–20–40–20–21–10–22–20–40–43–10–41–10–4—1–1
Washington 1–24–01–31–23–12–01–10–42–00–23–12–00–21–33–11–13–10–43–13–11–12–02–02–00–22–20–21–1—

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
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Cory Alexander 80618.2.396.373.7361.53.21.0.27.2
Greg Anderson 824820.2.496.000.6675.5.4.8.83.9
Joe Courtney 509.6.313– .6001.4.0.0.02.6
Vinny Del Negro 725331.2.467.314.8682.93.2.8.112.3
Sean Elliott 393935.7.422.333.7554.93.2.6.614.9
Jamie Feick 38016.2.353.308.5235.6.7.4.33.8
Devin Gray 308.333– –1.7.0.3.03.3
Darrin Hancock 108.500– 1.000.01.0.0.04.0
Carl Herrera 755824.5.433.333.6864.5.7.8.78.8
Stephen Howard 709.9.583–.8571.3.11.1.33.7
Avery Johnson 767632.5.477.231.6901.96.81.3.210.5
Tim Kempton 1005.9.200– 1.000.8.2.1.1.4
Vernon Maxwell 723128.7.375.309.7442.22.11.2.312.9
Gaylon Nickerson 3012.333.0001.0001.3.3.0.34.3
Will Perdue 653429.5.568– .5799.8.6.51.68.7
David Robinson 6624.5.500– .6548.51.31.01.017.7
Jason Sasser 6010.3.421.500– 1.2.2.3.02.8
Charles Smith 19717.3.405.000.7693.4.7.71.24.6
Dominique Wilkins 632630.9.417.293.8036.41.9.6.518.2
Monty Williams 652620.7.509.000.6453.21.4.8.89.0

References
  1. 1996-97 San Antonio Spurs
  2. "Dominique Wilkins Joins the Spurs". New York Times. October 4, 1996. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  3. "Spurs add a dose of Vernon Maxwell". Tampa Bay Times. August 30, 1996. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  4. "Spurs' Robinson Breaks His Foot". New York Times. December 24, 1996. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  5. "Spurs' Robinson out 2-4 weeks". UPI Archives. October 22, 1996. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  6. "1996–97 San Antonio Spurs Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  7. "1996–97 San Antonio Spurs Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  8. "Teams Defense". NBA.com. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  9. "Spurs Win the Tim Duncan Sweepstakes". The New York Times. May 19, 1997.
  10. "Vantage Point : With an Offer In Bologna, Will Wilkins Come Back?". New York Times. June 20, 1997. Retrieved October 12, 2021.

See also
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