1997 in basketball
The following are the basketball events of the year 1997 throughout the world.
| Years in basketball |
|---|
| See also |
Championships
Professional
- Men
- 1997 NBA Finals: Chicago Bulls over the Utah Jazz 4-2. MVP: Michael Jordan
- Eurobasket: Yugoslavia 61, Italy 49
- Women
- WNBA Finals: Houston Comets over the New York Liberty. MVP: Cynthia Cooper
- Eurobasket Women:
Lithuania def. 
Slovakia
College
- Men
- NCAA
- NAIA
- NAIA Division I: Life University (Ga.) 73, Oklahoma Baptist University 64
- NAIA Division II: Bethel College (Indiana) (IN) 95, Siena Heights College (MI) 94
- NJCAA
- NJCAA Division I: Indian Hills CC, Ottumwa, Iowa 89, San Jacinto College, (TX) 80
- Women
- NCAA
- NAIA
- NAIA Division I: Southern Nazarene University (OK) 78 Union College (TN) (73)
- NAIA Division II Northwest Nazarene University (ID) 64, Black Hills State University (SD) 46
- NJCAA[1]
- Division I Trinity Valley CC 79, Central Florida CC 69
- Division II Kirkwood CC 76, Carl Sandburg College 67
- Division III Anoka-Ramsey CC 80, Monroe CC 57
Preps
Bloomington North defeats Delta to win Indiana's last open-class basketball state championship.
Awards and honors
Professional
- Men
- Women
- WNBA Most Valuable Player Award: Cynthia Cooper, Houston Comets
- WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award: Teresa Weatherspoon, New York Liberty
- Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award: Zheng Haixia, Los Angeles Sparks
- WNBA Coach of the Year Award: Van Chancellor, Houston Comets
- WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award: Cynthia Cooper, Houston Comets
Collegiate
- Men
- John R. Wooden Award: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
- Naismith College Coach of the Year: Roy Williams, Kansas
- Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award: Brevin Knight, Stanford
- Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
- NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player: Jeff Sheppard, Kentucky
- Associated Press College Basketball Coach of the Year: Clem Haskins, Minnesota
- Naismith Outstanding Contribution to Basketball: Phog Allen
- Women
- Naismith College Player of the Year: Kate Starbird, Stanford
- Naismith College Coach of the Year: Geno Auriemma, Connecticut
- Wade Trophy: DeLisha Milton, Florida
- Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award: Jennifer Howard, NC State
- Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year: Kara Wolters, Connecticut
- NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player: Chamique Holdsclaw, Tennessee
- Carol Eckman Award: Amy Ruley, North Dakota State University
- Associated Press College Basketball Coach of the Year: Geno Auriemma, Connecticut
- Class of 1997:[2]
Events
- WNBA played its first season.
Movies
Deaths
- January 8 — Paul Endacott, Hall of Fame player for the Kansas Jayhawks (born 1902)
- February 2 — Raimundo Saporta, former head of Real Madrid basketball and FIBA Hall of Fame member (born 1926)
- March 6 — Roger Brown, player for Indiana Pacers (born 1942)
- April 18 — Francis Johnson, American Olympic gold medalist (1936) (born 1910)
- May 16 — Bones McKinney, former coach of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and early NBA player (born 1919)
- May 17 — Tusten Ackerman, All-American college player at Kansas (born 1901)
- June 5 — Joe Schaaf, All-American college player (Penn) (born 1908)
- September 7 — Bill Strannigan, American college coach (Colorado State, Iowa State, Wyoming) (born 1918)
- December 23 — Lester Harrison, Hall of Fame coach of the 1951 NBA Champion Rochester Royals (born 1904)
See also
References
- ^ "NJCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RECORD BOOK" (PDF). NJCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-14. Retrieved 10 Oct 2014.
- ^ "Hall of Famers". Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 12 Oct 2014.
External links
Media related to 1997 in basketball at Wikimedia Commons