1996–97 Indiana Pacers season

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Pacers' 21st season in the National Basketball Association, and 30th season as a franchise.[1] During the off-season, the Pacers acquired Jalen Rose and Reggie Williams from the Denver Nuggets.[2] The Pacers also received the tenth pick in the 1996 NBA draft from the Nuggets, which they used to select Erick Dampier out of Mississippi State.[3] However, after playing just two games for the team, Williams was then traded to the New Jersey Nets for Vincent Askew.[4] Injuries and sluggish play would hamper the Pacers all season long as Rik Smits only played 52 games due to a foot injury,[5] Derrick McKey only appeared in just 50 games due to a ruptured Achilles tendon, and Haywoode Workman was lost for the remainder of the season with a knee injury after only playing just four games.[6]

1996–97 Indiana Pacers season
Head coachLarry Brown
General managerDonnie Walsh
Owner(s)Herbert Simon
ArenaMarket Square Arena
Results
Record39–43 (.476)
PlaceDivision: 6th (Central)
Conference: 10th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWTTV
Fox Sports Midwest
RadioWIBC

The Pacers got off to a slow 3–8 start, then won five straight games, but continued to struggle playing around .500 for the rest of the season. At midseason, the team traded Askew and Eddie Johnson to the Denver Nuggets for former Pacers guard Mark Jackson and former Pacers forward LaSalle Thompson.[7] Jackson, who returned to Indiana after a brief stint with the Nuggets, would remain with the Pacers until 2000, where the team reached the NBA Finals. He also led the league with 11.4 assists per game. The Pacers missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years with a disappointing 39–43 record, sixth in the Central Division.[8]

Reggie Miller led the team in scoring with 21.6 points per game, and also led the league with 229 three-point field goals, while Smits averaged 17.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. In addition, Antonio Davis provided the team with 10.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, while Dale Davis contributed 10.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, second-year guard Travis Best provided with 9.9 points and 4.2 assists per game, and McKey contributed 8.0 points per game.[9] Following the season, head coach Larry Brown, who won his 600th game during the season, was forced to resign after coaching the Pacers for four seasons. He would later on take a coaching job with the Philadelphia 76ers.[10] Also following the season, Dampier and Duane Ferrell were both traded to the Golden State Warriors,[11] and Thompson retired.

Offseason

Draft picks
Main article: 1996 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
110Erick DampierC United StatesMississippi State
252Mark PopePF/C United StatesKentucky

Roster
1996–97 Indiana Pacers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 4 Best, Travis 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1972–07–12 Georgia Tech
C 25 Dampier, Erick 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1975–07–14 Mississippi State
F 33 Davis, Antonio 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1968–10–31 UTEP
F 32 Davis, Dale 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–03–25 Clemson
F 27 Ferrell, Duane 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1965–02–28 Georgia Tech
F 24 Ham, Darvin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1973–07–23 Texas Tech
G 20 Hoiberg, Fred 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1972–10–15 Iowa State
G 13 Jackson, Mark 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1965–04–01 St. John's
F 9 McKey, Derrick  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1966–10–10 Alabama
G 31 Miller, Reggie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1965–08–24 UCLA
F 5 Rose, Jalen 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1973–01–30 Michigan
F 55 Scott, Brent 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1971–06–15 Rice
C 45 Smits, Rik 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1966–08–23 Marist
C 41 Thompson, LaSalle  6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1961–06–23 Texas
G 3 Workman, Haywoode  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1966–01–23 Oral Roberts
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Regular season

Season standings
Central Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Chicago Bulls 6913.841–39–230–1124–4
x-Atlanta Hawks 5626.6831336–520–2117–11
x-Detroit Pistons 5428.6591530–1124–1717–11
x-Charlotte Hornets 5428.6591530–1124–1714–14
Cleveland Cavaliers 4240.5122725–1617–2413–15
Indiana Pacers 3943.4763021–2018–2311–17
Milwaukee Bucks 3349.4023620–2113–2810–18
Toronto Raptors 3052.3663918–2312–296–22
1996–97 NBA East standings
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Chicago Bulls6913.841–
2 y-Miami Heat6121.7448
3 x-New York Knicks5725.69512
4 x-Atlanta Hawks5626.68313
5 x-Detroit Pistons5428.65915
6 x-Charlotte Hornets5428.65915
7 x-Orlando Magic4537.54924
8 x-Washington Bullets4438.53725
9 Cleveland Cavaliers4240.51227
10 Indiana Pacers3943.47630
11 Milwaukee Bucks3349.40236
12 Toronto Raptors3052.36639
13 New Jersey Nets2656.31743
14 Philadelphia 76ers2260.26847
15 Boston Celtics1567.18354
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—

Game log
1996–97 game log
November
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
December
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
January
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
February
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
March
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
April
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
1996–97 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
Reggie Miller 81 81 36.6 44.4 42.7 88.0 3.5 3.4 0.9 0.3 21.6
Rik Smits 52 52 29.2 48.6 25.0 79.7 6.9 1.3 0.4 1.1 17.1
Antonio Davis 82 28 28.5 48.0 7.1 66.6 7.3 0.8 0.5 1.0 10.5
Dale Davis 80 76 32.4 53.8 0.0 42.8 9.7 0.7 0.8 1.0 10.4
Travis Best 76 46 27.2 44.2 36.8 75.6 2.2 4.2 1.3 0.1 9.9
Mark Jackson 30 30 35.1 42.7 31.6 76.6 4.1 9.8 1.5 0.1 9.0
Derrick McKey 50 49 29.0 39.1 25.9 72.4 4.8 2.7 0.9 0.6 8.0
Jalen Rose 66 6 18.0 45.6 29.2 75.0 1.8 2.3 0.9 0.3 7.3
Duane Ferrell 62 18 18.0 47.2 40.9 61.7 2.3 1.1 0.6 0.1 6.4
Vincent Askew 41 0 20.0 43.2 29.2 79.1 2.4 2.2 0.4 0.1 5.7
Haywoode Workman 4 2 20.3 55.0 0.0 0.0 1.8 2.8 0.8 0.0 5.5
Eddie Johnson 28 0 10.9 43.4 32.1 74.1 1.4 0.6 0.2 0.0 5.3
Erick Dampier 72 21 14.6 39.0 100.0 63.7 4.1 0.6 0.3 1.0 5.1
Fred Hoiberg 47 0 12.2 42.9 41.4 79.2 1.7 0.9 0.6 0.1 4.8
Jerome Allen 51 1 13.6 38.8 39.0 57.4 1.3 2.1 0.5 0.0 3.2
Darvin Ham 1 0 5.0 100.0 0.0 50.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 3.0
Reggie Williams 2 0 16.5 22.2 0.0 50.0 3.5 1.0 0.0 0.0 2.5
Brent Scott 16 0 3.4 47.1 0.0 50.0 0.6 0.2 0.1 0.1 1.2
LaSalle Thompson 9 0 3.9 0.0 0.0 75.0 0.9 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.3

Player Statistics Citation:[9]

Transactions

Overview
Players added

Via draft

Via trade

Via free agency

 Players Lost

Via trade

Via free agency

Trades
June 13, 1996 To Indiana Pacers
Reggie Williams, Jalen Rose and the draft rights to Erick Dampier		 To Denver Nuggets
Mark Jackson, Ricky Pierce, and a first round draft pick
November 4, 1996 To Indiana Pacers
Vincent Askew		 To New Jersey Nets
Reggie Williams
February 20, 1997 To Indiana Pacers
Mark Jackson, LaSalle Thompson, and Darvin Ham		 To Denver Nuggets
Vincent Askew, Eddie Johnson, Jerome Allen, and 1997 and 1998 Second Round draft picks

Free agents
Additions
Player Date signed Former team
Jerome Allen August 17, 1996 Minnesota Timberwolves
Brent Scott September 27, 1996 Olitalia Forli (Italy)
Subtractions
Player Reason Left New team
Scott Haskin Unknown None
Dwayne Schintzius Free Agency Los Angeles Clippers
Adrian Caldwell Free Agency New Jersey Nets

Player Transactions Citation:[12]

References
  1. 1996–97 Indiana Pacers
  2. "Pacers trade Jackson, Pierce to Denver". UPI Archives. June 13, 1996. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  3. "For 76ers, Iverson Is No. 1 Choice". Washington Post. June 27, 1996. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  4. "Nets Trade Askew for Pacers' Williams". New York Times. November 5, 1996. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  5. "Smits Is Still Not Ready". New York Times. October 24, 1996. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  6. "PACERS LOSE WORKMAN FOR SEASON". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  7. "NUGGETS MAKE THREE DEALS AS DEADLINE PASSES". Chicago Tribune. February 21, 1997. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  8. "1996–97 Indiana Pacers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  9. "1996–97 Indiana Pacers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  10. "Carr Is Out at Boston; Brown Leaves Indiana". Los Angeles Times. May 1, 1997. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  11. "Warriors Trade Mullin to Pacers". New York Times. August 12, 1997. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  12. "1996–97 Indiana Pacers Transactions". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 3, 2021.

See also
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