1996–97 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Los Angeles Lakers' 49th season in the National Basketball Association, and 37th in the city of Los Angeles.[1] This season is most memorable when the Lakers signed free agent All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal to a seven-year, $120 million deal,[2] and acquired high school basketball star Kobe Bryant from the Charlotte Hornets, who selected him with the 13th pick in the 1996 NBA draft during the off-season.[3] The team also signed former Lakers guard Byron Scott from the "Showtime" era,[4] signed free agents Jerome Kersey and Sean Rooks, and acquired rookie center Travis Knight from the Chicago Bulls. In January, they traded Cedric Ceballos back to his former team, the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Robert Horry, who won two championships with the Houston Rockets.[5] The Lakers had the eighth best team defensive rating in the NBA.[6]

1996–97 Los Angeles Lakers season
Head coachDel Harris
General managerJerry West
Owner(s)Jerry Buss
ArenaGreat Western Forum
Results
Record56–26 (.683)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Pacific)
Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finishConference Semi-finals
(Lost to Jazz 1–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKCAL-TV
Fox Sports West
RadioKLAC

The Lakers played strong basketball as they had the best record in the Western Conference at the All-Star break with a 35–13 record, but soon slipped out of first place finishing second in the Pacific Division with a 56–26 record.[7] O'Neal averaged 26.2 points per game, 12.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game, but only played 51 games due to a knee injury.[8] He was also named to the All-NBA Third Team. In addition, Eddie Jones averaged 17.2 points and 2.4 steals per game, while Nick Van Exel provided the team with 15.3 points and 8.5 assists per game, Elden Campbell contributed 14.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and Kersey provided with 6.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.[9] O'Neal and Jones were both selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, but O'Neal did not play due to injury,[10] while Bryant and Knight were both named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. Bryant also won the Slam Dunk Contest during the All-Star Weekend in Cleveland.[11]

In the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in four games.[12] However, in the Western Conference Semi-finals, they lost in five games to regular season MVP Karl Malone, John Stockton and the Utah Jazz.[13] Following the season, Scott went overseas and signed with the Greek Basket League giants Panathinaikos for the 1997–98 season,[14] while Kersey signed as a free agent with the Seattle SuperSonics, and Knight signed with the Boston Celtics.

During the final month of the season in a game against the Dallas Mavericks on April 6, the Lakers held the Mavs to just two points in the third quarter in an 87–80 home win. It was the fewest points in a quarter of a game in NBA history.[15]

Draft picks
Main article: 1996 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 24 Derek Fisher Guard  United States Arkansas–Little Rock

Before he was chosen as the 13th overall draft pick by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996, 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. He went on to state that Bryant's workouts against former Lakers players and then assistant coaches Michael Cooper, and Larry Drew were the best he had ever 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.[16] Fifteen days later, West traded his starting center, Vlade Divac to the Hornets for the young Kobe Bryant.[17]

Roster
1996–97 Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
F 43 Blount, Corie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1969–01–04 Cincinnati
G 8 Bryant, Kobe 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1978–08–23 Lower Merion HS
F 41 Campbell, Elden 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1968–07–23 Clemson
G 2 Fisher, Derek 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1974–08–09 Arkansas-Little Rock
F 5 Horry, Robert 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1970–08–25 Alabama
G 6 Jones, Eddie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1971–10–20 Temple
F 12 Kersey, Jerome 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1962–06–26 Longwood University
C 40 Knight, Travis 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1974–09–13 Connecticut
F 7 Krystkowiak, Larry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1964–09–23 Montana
F 24 McCloud, George  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1967–05–27 Florida State
C 34 O'Neal, Shaquille (C) 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 325 lb (147 kg) 1972–03–06 LSU
C 45 Rooks, Sean 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1969–09–09 Arizona
G 4 Scott, Byron 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1961–03–28 Arizona State
G 9 Van Exel, Nick 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1971–11–27 Cincinnati
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: February 24, 1997

Regular season

Kobe's rookie season

During his first season, Bryant mostly came off the bench behind guards Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. Initially, he played limited minutes, but as the season continued, he began to see some more playing time. He earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan-favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest during the All-Star Weekend in Cleveland. He averaged 7.6 points and 15.5 minutes per game in 71 games, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.[18]

Season standings
Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics 5725.695–31–1026–1516–8
x-Los Angeles Lakers 5626.683131–1025–1618–6
x-Portland Trail Blazers 4933.598829–1220–2115–9
x-Phoenix Suns 4042.4881725–1615–2613–11
x-Los Angeles Clippers 3646.4392121–2015–2610–14
Sacramento Kings 3448.4152322–1912–298–16
Golden State Warriors 3052.3662718–2312–294–20
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

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—

Playoffs
1997 playoff game log
First round: 3–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 25 Portland W 95–77 Shaquille O'Neal (46) Shaquille O'Neal (11) Nick Van Exel (8) Great Western Forum
17,505		 1–0
2 April 27 Portland W 107–93 Shaquille O'Neal (30) Eddie Jones (7) Nick Van Exel (9) Great Western Forum
17,505		 2–0
3 April 30 @ Portland L 90–98 Shaquille O'Neal (29) Shaquille O'Neal (12) O'Neal, Van Exel (4) Rose Garden
21,538		 2–1
4 May 2 @ Portland W 95–91 O'Neal, Campbell (27) four players tied (8) Van Exel, Jones (5) Rose Garden
21,538		 3–1
Conference Semi-finals: 1–4 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 4 @ Utah L 77–93 Nick Van Exel (23) Shaquille O'Neal (12) Nick Van Exel (4) Delta Center
19,911		 0–1
2 May 6 @ Utah L 101–103 Shaquille O'Neal (25) Shaquille O'Neal (12) Nick Van Exel (12) Delta Center
19,911		 0–2
3 May 8 Utah W 104–84 Kobe Bryant (19) Shaquille O'Neal (10) Nick Van Exel (5) Great Western Forum
17,505		 1–2
4 May 10 Utah L 95–110 Shaquille O'Neal (34) Shaquille O'Neal (11) Nick Van Exel (7) Great Western Forum
17,505		 1–3
5 May 12 @ Utah L 93–98 (OT) Nick Van Exel (26) Shaquille O'Neal (13) Shaquille O'Neal (5) Delta Center
19,911		 1–4
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

Regular season
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Shaquille O'Neal515138.1.557.000.48412.53.10.92.926.2
Eddie Jones808037.5.438.391.8194.13.42.40.617.2
Nick Van Exel797937.2.402.378.8252.98.50.90.115.3
Cedric Ceballos8834.9.410.238.8676.61.90.60.810.8
Elden Campbell777732.7.469.250.7118.01.60.61.514.9
Robert Horry221430.7.455.329.7005.42.51.71.39.2
Jerome Kersey704425.2.432.262.6025.21.31.70.76.8
Byron Scott79818.2.430.388.8411.51.30.60.26.7
Corie Blount581817.4.514.333.6754.80.60.40.44.2
Travis Knight711416.3.509-.6204.50.50.40.84.8
Kobe Bryant71615.5.417.375.8191.91.30.70.37.6
George McCloud23212.4.354.429.6671.60.70.40.04.1
Derek Fisher80311.5.397.301.6581.21.50.50.13.9
Sean Rooks69310.7.470.000.7002.40.60.20.63.8

Playoffs

NOTE: Please write the players statistics in alphabetical order by last name.

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Corie Blount
Kobe Bryant
Elden Campbell
Derek Fisher
Robert Horry
Eddie Jones
Jerome Kersey
Travis Knight
Shaquille O'Neal
Sean Rooks
Byron Scott
Nick Van Exel

Awards and records

References
  1. 1996-97 Los Angeles Lakers
  2. "Lakers Get O'Neal in 7-Year Contract". The New York Times. July 19, 1996.
  3. "Divac Agrees to a Trade With Charlotte". The New York Times. July 2, 1996.
  4. "Lakers Are Near Deal With Scott". Los Angeles Times. September 30, 1996. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  5. "Suns Send Unhappy Horry To Lakers". New York Times. January 11, 1997. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  6. "Teams Defense". NBA.com. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  7. "1996–97 Los Angeles Lakers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  8. "O'Neal Gets 12, Then Leaves With Injury". New York Times. February 13, 1997. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  9. "1996–97 Los Angeles Lakers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  10. "1997 NBA All-Star Game: East 132, West 120". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  11. "Bryant, Kerr & Iverson highlight All-Star Saturday". AP News. February 8, 1997. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  12. "LAKERS 95, TRAIL BLAZERS 91". Washington Post. May 3, 1997. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  13. "Jazz 98, Lakers 93, OT". UPI Archives. May 13, 1997. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  14. "It's Not All Greek to Byron Scott, Who Still Has Unfinished Business". Los Angeles Times. July 6, 1997. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  15. "Mavs Score Just 2 Points in a Quarter". New York Times. April 7, 1997. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  16. "With the Draft Over, Trading Season Begins". The New York Times. June 28, 1996.
  17. "Once again, the Hornets didn't kick Kobe Bryant out the door in '96". The Charlotte Observer. April 3, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  18. "Ranking all 20 seasons of Kobe Bryant's career, from best to worst". For The Win. April 13, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
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