1996–97 Denver Nuggets season

1996–97 Denver Nuggets season
Head coach	Bernie Bickerstaff Dick Motta
Arena	McNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record	21–61 (.256)
Place	Division: 5th (Midwest) Conference: 12th (Western)
Playoff finish	DNQ
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports Rocky Mountain, KWGN

The 1996-97 NBA season was the Nuggets' 21st season in the NBA and 30th season as a franchise. The Nuggets got off to a slow start losing nine of their first 13 games as Bernie Bickerstaff was forced out as head coach and replaced by Dick Motta. After playing 52 games with the Nuggets, Mark Jackson was traded back to the Indiana Pacers midway through the season. With a 17-35 record at midseason, the Nuggets struggled and went on to lose 26 of their final 30 games finishing fifth in the Midwest Division with an awful 21-61 record.

Draft picks

Main article: 1996 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	23	Efthimios Rentzias	C	Greece	PAOK
2	37	Jeff McInnis	PG/SG	United States	North Carolina

Roster

Denver Nuggets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From SG 53 Allen, Jerome 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Penn SG 17 Askew, Vincent 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Memphis SF 3 Ellis, Dale 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Tennessee SF 20 Ellis, LaPhonso 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Notre Dame PG 5 Goldwire, Anthony 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Houston PF 21 Hammonds, Tom 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Georgia Tech PG 13 Jackson, Mark (to IND) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) St. John's C 50 Johnson, Ervin 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) New Orleans SG 13 King, Jimmy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Michigan SG 8 Marčiulionis, Šarūnas 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Lithuania PF 24 McDyess, Antonio 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Alabama PG 30 Smith, Kenny 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) North Carolina SG 23 Stith, Bryant 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Virginia SG 6 Thompson, Brooks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Oklahoma State C 41 Thompson, LaSalle (to IND) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Texas C 25 Zidek, George 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) UCLA

Head coach Dick Motta (Utah State) Assistant coach(es) Jim Brovelli (San Francisco) Gene Littles (High Point) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Utah Jazz	64	18	.780	–	38–3	26–15	19–5
x-Houston Rockets	57	25	.695	7	30–11	27–14	19–5
x-Minnesota Timberwolves	40	42	.488	24	25–16	15–26	16–8
Dallas Mavericks	24	58	.293	40	14–27	10–31	9–15
Denver Nuggets	21	61	.256	43	12–29	9–32	7–17
San Antonio Spurs	20	62	.244	44	12–29	8–33	8–16
Vancouver Grizzlies	14	68	.171	50	8–33	6–35	6–18

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

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

See also

• 1996-97 NBA season