1996–97 Los Angeles Clippers season

1996–97 Los Angeles Clippers season
Head coach	Bill Fitch
Owners	Donald Sterling
Arena	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Arrowhead Pond
Results
Record	36–46 (.439)
Place	Division: 5th (Pacific) Conference: 8th (Western)
Playoff finish	West First Round (Lost to Jazz 0–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KCAL-TV Fox Sports West/Fox Sports West 2 (Ralph Lawler, Bill Walton)
Radio	KNNS (Rory Markas)

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Clippers' 27th season in the National Basketball Association, 13th in Los Angeles and 3rd in which they played occasional home games in Anaheim. During the offseason, the Clippers signed free agents Darrick Martin and former All-Star center Kevin Duckworth. With the loss of Brian Williams to free agency, the Clippers were expected to sink in the bottom of the NBA again. However, with the continued solid play of Loy Vaught, who once again led the team in scoring and rebounding, the Clippers managed to slip into the playoffs as the #8 seed in the Western Conference with a below .500 record of 36–46, fifth in the Pacific Division. However, in the first round of the playoffs, the Clippers were swept by the top-seeded Utah Jazz in three straight games. This would be their final playoff appearance until 2006.

Following the season, Malik Sealy signed as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons, Bo Outlaw signed with the Orlando Magic, Stanley Roberts was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Terry Dehere signed with the Sacramento Kings and Duckworth retired.

Draft picks

Main article: 1996 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	7	Lorenzen Wright	C/PF	United States	Memphis
2	36	Doron Sheffer	F	Israel	UConn

Roster

Los Angeles Clippers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From SG 31 Barry, Brent 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Oregon State PG 24 Dehere, Terry 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Seton Hall C 00 Duckworth, Kevin  7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 300 lb (136 kg) Eastern Illinois C 50 Manning, Rich 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Washington PG 15 Martin, Darrick 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg) UCLA SF 7 Murray, Lamond 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 236 lb (107 kg) California PF 45 Outlaw, Bo 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Houston SG 52 Piatkowski, Eric 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Nebraska PG 2 Richardson, Pooh (C) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) UCLA C 53 Roberts, Stanley  7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 285 lb (129 kg) LSU SF 54 Rogers, Rodney 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Wake Forest C 33 Schintzius, Dwayne  7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 285 lb (129 kg) Florida SG 21 Sealy, Malik 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) St. John's PF 35 Vaught, Loy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Michigan C 55 Wright, Lorenzen 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Memphis

Head coach Bill Fitch (Coe College) Assistant coach(es) Jim Brewer (Minnesota) Barry Hecker (Frostburg State) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: 2009-10-04

Roster Notes

• A number of players from the 1996–97 roster have either died prematurely, or ended up in unfortunate circumstances; these players are center Stanley Roberts (banned from the NBA for drug use in 1999), guard Malik Sealy (died in an automobile accident in 2000 at age 30), center Kevin Duckworth (died of heart failure in 2008 at age 44), forward Rodney Rogers (became paralyzed after a dirt bike accident in 2008 at age 37), forward/center Lorenzen Wright (murdered in 2010 at age 34), and center Dwayne Schintzius (died from cancer complications in 2012 at age 43). Interestingly enough, one player, Brent Barry, would enjoy a long and productive career in the NBA, winning two titles (2005 and 2007) with the San Antonio Spurs, as well as being a consistent starter for the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2000s, but was divorced from his wife Erin in 2011, allegedly due to an extra-martial affair with Tony Parker.

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics	57	25	.695	–	31–10	26–15	16–8
x-Los Angeles Lakers	56	26	.683	1	31–10	25–16	18–6
x-Portland Trail Blazers	49	33	.598	8	29–12	20–21	15–9
x-Phoenix Suns	40	42	.488	17	25–16	15–26	13–11
x-Los Angeles Clippers	36	46	.439	21	21–20	15–26	10–14
Sacramento Kings	34	48	.415	23	22–19	12–29	8–16
Golden State Warriors	30	52	.366	27	18–23	12–29	4–20

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

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	—	3–1	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–1
Boston	1–3	—	0–4	0–4	1–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	1–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	0–2	0–4
Charlotte	3–1	4–0	—	0–4	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	1–2	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	0–2	2–0	3–1
Chicago	3–1	4–0	4–0	—	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	2–2	3–0	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–1
Cleveland	1–3	2–1	1–3	1–3	—	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–2	2–0	4–0	1–3	2–2	3–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–3
Dallas	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	3–1	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	1–3	3–1	0–2
Denver	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	—	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–1	0–4	3–1	1–1
Detroit	3–1	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	0–4	3–1	2–0	4–0	1–2	2–2	2–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	4–0
Golden State	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	0–2	—	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	1–3	4–0	0–4	2–0	0–4	3–1	0–2
Houston	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	1–1	4–0	—	1–1	3–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0
Indiana	1–3	2–1	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	1–3
L.A. Clippers	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	3–1	1–3	0–2	—	2–2	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	2–2	4–0	1–3	2–0	1–3	4–0	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	1–3	1–1	2–2	—	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	2–0
Miami	2–1	4–0	2–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	2–0	4–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	—	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Milwaukee	0–4	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	—	0–2	2–1	1–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–3
Minnesota	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	0–4	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–3	4–0	1–1
New Jersey	1–3	4–0	0–4	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–2	0–2	—	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–3	0–2	2–0	1–3
New York	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–2	—	3–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–0	1–1	2–0	4–0
Orlando	1–3	4–0	2–1	0–3	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–3	—	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	1–3
Philadelphia	0–4	3–1	0–4	0–4	0–3	0–2	1–1	1–2	0–2	0–2	0–3	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–3	2–2	—	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	2–0	1–3
Phoenix	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	—	1–3	4–0	3–1	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–1
Portland	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	—	2–2	4–0	1–3	0–2	2–2	4–0	0–2
Sacramento	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–1	0–4	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	2–0	4–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	—	3–1	1–3	1–1	0–4	4–0	0–2
San Antonio	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–3	—	0–4	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–2
Seattle	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	1–3	1–1	3–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	—	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0
Toronto	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	3–0	0–3	0–4	3–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	—	1–1	1–1	2–2
Utah	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	—	4–0	2–0
Vancouver	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	3–1	0–4	1–1	0–4	—	1–1
Washington	1–2	4–0	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–3	3–1	1–1	3–1	0–4	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	—

Playoffs

West First Round

(1) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Los Angeles Clippers Last Playoff Meeting: 1992 Western Conference First Round (Utah won 3–2)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (UTAH-LAC)	Venue	Recap
1	April 24	Utah	106	L.A. Clippers	86	1-0	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	1
2	April 26	Utah	105	L.A. Clippers	99	2-0	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	2
3	April 28	L.A. Clippers	92	Utah	104	3-0	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles	3
Utah wins series 3–0

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
Brent Barry	59	0	18.5	.409	.324	.817	1.9	2.6	.9	.3	7.5
Terry Dehere	73	3	14.4	.386	.325	.824	1.3	2.2	.4	.0	6.4
Kevin Duckworth	26	22	14.8	.437	.750	.688	2.3	.6	.3	.4	4.0
Rich Manning	10	1	7.3	.412	.000	.500	1.6	.1	.1	.1	3.1
Darrick Martin	82	64	22.2	.407	.389	.872	1.4	4.1	.7	.0	10.9
Lamond Murray	74	1	17.5	.416	.341	.739	3.1	.8	.7	.4	7.4
Bo Outlaw	82	25	26.8	.609	.000	.504	5.5	1.9	1.1	1.7	7.6
Eric Piatkowski	65	0	11.5	.450	.425	.821	1.6	.8	.5	.2	6.0
Pooh Richardson	59	18	18.1	.381	.328	.605	1.7	2.9	.9	.1	5.6
Stanley Roberts	18	2	21.0	.426	.	.703	5.1	.5	.4	1.3	9.5
Rodney Rogers	81	62	30.6	.462	.361	.663	5.1	2.7	1.1	.8	13.2
Dwayne Schintzius	15	0	7.7	.361	.500	.875	1.5	.3	.1	.6	2.3
Malik Sealy	80	79	30.7	.396	.356	.876	3.0	2.1	1.6	.6	13.5
Loy Vaught	82	82	34.6	.500	.167	.702	10.0	1.3	1.0	.3	14.9
Lorenzen Wright	77	51	25.1	.481	.250	.587	6.1	.6	.6	.8	7.3

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Brent Barry	3	0	28.0	.407	.455	.889	2.3	3.3	1.3	.0	11.7
Terry Dehere	2	0	2.5	.000	.000	.	.5	.0	.0	.0	.0
Rich Manning	3	0	7.0	.222	.	.833	1.3	.3	.0	.3	3.0
Darrick Martin	3	3	25.7	.440	.556	.667	.7	4.3	.0	.0	11.0
Lamond Murray	3	0	21.7	.300	.250	1.000	3.7	1.0	.7	1.0	7.0
Bo Outlaw	3	0	22.0	.545	.000	.300	4.7	1.3	.3	.7	5.0
Eric Piatkowski	3	0	12.7	.364	.400	.857	.7	.0	.3	.0	5.3
Pooh Richardson	2	0	9.0	.500	.000	.000	.0	1.5	.5	.0	2.0
Rodney Rogers	3	3	28.3	.414	.200	.750	2.3	2.0	1.3	1.0	10.7
Malik Sealy	3	3	26.3	.480	.200	.733	1.0	1.7	.0	.0	12.0
Loy Vaught	3	3	30.0	.613	.333	.667	9.0	.7	1.0	.7	15.0
Lorenzen Wright	3	3	30.7	.406	.	1.000	7.3	.7	1.0	.7	10.3

Transactions

The Clippers have been involved in the following transactions during the 1996-97 season.

Trades

No trades occurred for this team this season.

Free agents

Additions

Player	Signed	Former team
Darrick Martin	July 11	Vancouver Grizzlies
Dwayne Schintzius	September 19	Indiana Pacers
Kevin Duckworth	October 10	Milwaukee Bucks
Rich Manning	April 1	Vancouver Grizzlies

Subtractions

Player	Left	New team
Keith Tower	waived, July 11	Milwaukee Bucks
Antonio Harvey	free agency, November 15	Seattle SuperSonics
Brian Williams	free agency, April 2	Chicago Bulls

See also

• 1996–97 NBA season