1996–97 New Jersey Nets season

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Nets' 30th season in the National Basketball Association, and 21st season in East Rutherford, New Jersey.[1] In the off-season, the Nets acquired Robert Pack from the Washington Bullets, and signed free agents Tony Massenburg and former All-Star forward Xavier McDaniel. Under new head coach John Calipari, the Nets continued to struggle losing their first five games of the season, which included two games against the Orlando Magic in Tokyo, Japan.[2] At midseason, their transition continued as they traded Pack along with Shawn Bradley, Khalid Reeves and second-year forward Ed O'Bannon to the Dallas Mavericks for Sam Cassell, Jim Jackson, Chris Gatling, Eric Montross and George McCloud, who never played with the Nets and was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers for Joe Kleine.[3]

1996–97 New Jersey Nets season
Head coachJohn Calipari
ArenaContinental Airlines Arena
Results
Record26–56 (.317)
PlaceDivision: 5th (Atlantic)
Conference: 13th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The Nets ended their season with a 26–56 record, finishing fifth in the Atlantic Division. Kendall Gill led them in scoring averaging 21.8 points per game, and top draft pick Kerry Kittles was selected to the All-Rookie Second Team. Following the season, Jackson and Montross were both dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers, Massenburg signed with the Vancouver Grizzlies, and Kleine signed with the Chicago Bulls.

Draft picks
Main article: 1996 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
18Kerry KittlesSG United StatesVillanova

Roster
Roster listing
New Jersey Nets roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
SF 2 Benoit, David  (IN) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Alabama
PG 10 Cassell, Sam  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Florida State
C 33 Dare, Yinka 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 265 lb (120 kg) George Washington
SG 21 Edwards, Kevin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) DePaul
PF 15 Gatling, Chris  6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Old Dominion
SG 13 Gill, Kendall 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Illinois
PF 54 Haley, Jack 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) UCLA
SF 22 Jackson, Jim 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Ohio State
SG 30 Kittles, Kerry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 179 lb (81 kg) Villanova
C 35 Kleine, Joe 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Arkansas
PF 44 Massenburg, Tony 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Maryland
SF 34 McDaniel, Xavier 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Wichita State
C 00 Montross, Eric 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 270 lb (122 kg) North Carolina
PF 55 Williams, Jayson  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) St. John's
SF 7 Williams, Reggie  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Georgetown
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Roster Notes
  • Forward David Benoit missed the entire season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Regular season

Season standings
Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Miami Heat 6121.744–29–1232–916–8
x-New York Knicks 5725.695431–1026–1519–6
x-Orlando Magic 4537.5491626–1519–2213–11
x-Washington Bullets 4438.5371725–1619–2214–10
New Jersey Nets 2656.3173516–2510–3111–13
Philadelphia 76ers 2260.2683911–3011–3011–14
Boston Celtics 1567.1834611–304–371–23
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—

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

Awards and records

References
  1. 1996–97 New Jersey Nets
  2. "Before 38,600 Fans in Tokyo, Nets Run Out of Luck". New York Times. November 8, 1996. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  3. "Nets and Mavericks Clean House and Start Over". New York Times. February 18, 1997. Retrieved July 21, 2017.

See also
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