1996–97 Denver Nuggets season

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Nuggets' 21st season in the National Basketball Association, and 30th season as a franchise.[1] In the off-season, the Nuggets acquired Mark Jackson and Ricky Pierce from the Indiana Pacers,[2] acquired Šarūnas Marčiulionis from the Sacramento Kings, and signed free agent Ervin Johnson. However, after a 4–9 start to the season, Bernie Bickerstaff resigned as head coach and replaced with Dick Motta, where the Nuggets then lost ten straight games. Midway through the season, Jackson was traded back to the Indiana Pacers, while Pierce was dealt to the Charlotte Hornets for second-year guard Anthony Goldwire.[3] The team also signed free agent and three-point specialist Kenny Smith, who won two championships with the Houston Rockets. As the season drew, the Nuggets still struggled losing 26 of their final 30 games, finishing fifth in the Midwest Division with a 21–61 record.[4]

1996–97 Denver Nuggets season
Head coach
General manager
PresidentBernie Bickerstaff
ArenaMcNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record21–61 (.256)
PlaceDivision: 5th (Midwest)
Conference: 12th (Western)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television
RadioKKFN

Despite playing just 55 games due to a knee injury and a ruptured Achilles tendon, LaPhonso Ellis led the team in scoring with a career high of 21.9 points per game. Second-year star Antonio McDyess averaged 18.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, while Dale Ellis provided the team with 16.6 points per game, Bryant Stith contributed 14.9 points per game, and Johnson led them with 11.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game.[5] Following the season, McDyess was traded to the Phoenix Suns,[6] Dale Ellis was traded back to his former team, the Seattle SuperSonics, Johnson was dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks, Tom Hammonds signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Smith and Marčiulionis both retired, and Motta was fired as coach.

Draft picks
Main article: 1996 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
123Efthimios RentziasC GreecePAOK
237Jeff McInnisPG/SG United StatesNorth Carolina

Roster
1996–97 Denver Nuggets roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
SG 53 Allen, Jerome 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1973-01-28 Pennsylvania
SG 17 Askew, Vincent 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1966-02-28 Memphis
SF 3 Ellis, Dale 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1960-08-06 Tennessee
PF 20 Ellis, LaPhonso  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1970-05-05 Notre Dame
PG 5 Goldwire, Anthony 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1971-09-06 Houston
PF 21 Hammonds, Tom 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1967-03-27 Georgia Tech
C 50 Johnson, Ervin 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1967-12-21 New Orleans
SG 13 King, Jimmy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1973-08-09 Michigan
SG 8 Marčiulionis, Šarūnas  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1964-06-13 Lithuania
PF 24 McDyess, Antonio 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1974-09-07 Alabama
PG 30 Smith, Kenny 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1965-03-08 North Carolina
SG 23 Stith, Bryant 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 1970-12-10 Virginia
PG 6 Thompson, Brooks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1970-07-19 Oklahoma State
C 25 Zidek, George 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1973-08-02 UCLA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: April 6, 1997

Roster Notes

Regular season

Season standings
Midwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Utah Jazz 6418.780–38–326–1519–5
x-Houston Rockets 5725.695730–1127–1419–5
x-Minnesota Timberwolves 4042.4882425–1615–2616–8
Dallas Mavericks 2458.2934014–2710–319–15
Denver Nuggets 2161.2564312–299–327–17
San Antonio Spurs 2062.2444412–298–338–16
Vancouver Grizzlies 1468.171508–336–356–18
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
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

Regular season
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
LaPhonso Ellis 55 49 36.4 .439 .367 .773 7.0 2.4 0.8 0.7 21.9
Antonio McDyess 74 73 34.7 .463 .171 .708 7.3 1.4 0.8 1.7 18.3
Dale Ellis 82 51 35.9 .414 .364 .817 3.6 2.0 0.7 0.1 16.6
Bryant Stith 52 52 34.4 .416 .385 .863 4.2 2.6 1.2 0.4 14.9
Mark Jackson 52 52 38.5 .425 .397 .801 5.2 12.3 1.0 0.2 10.4
Ricky Pierce 33 10 18.2 .462 .308 .902 1.6 0.9 0.4 0.2 10.2
Kenny Smith 33 3 19.8 .422 .425 .854 1.1 3.1 0.5 0.0 7.9
Anthony Goldwire 27 21 22.7 .392 .394 .816 1.7 4.6 0.5 0.0 7.3
Ervin Johnson 82 82 31.7 .520 .000 .615 11.1 0.9 0.8 2.8 7.1
Brooks Thompson 65 6 16.1 .400 .398 .632 1.5 2.8 0.8 0.0 6.8
Sarunas Marciulionis 17 0 15.0 .376 .367 .806 1.8 1.5 0.7 0.1 6.8
Tom Hammonds 81 8 21.7 .480 .000 .721 5.0 0.8 0.2 0.3 6.2
Aaron Williams 1 0 10.0 .600 5.0 0.0 0.0 3.0 6.0
Vincent Askew 1 0 9.0 .667 1.000 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.0
Jeff McInnis 13 0 9.0 .469 .462 .700 0.5 1.4 0.2 0.1 5.0
Eric Murdock 12 0 9.5 .455 .400 .917 0.9 2.0 0.8 0.2 3.8
George Zidek 16 0 5.5 .485 .800 1.4 0.3 0.1 0.0 3.3
Jimmy King 2 0 11.0 .333 .500 1.0 1.0 1.5 0.0 3.0
Jerome Allen 25 0 10.0 .284 .206 .600 1.3 1.7 0.2 0.2 2.6
Elmer Bennett 5 0 11.8 .308 .333 .500 0.6 1.4 0.4 0.0 2.4
Darvin Ham 35 3 8.9 .525 .485 1.6 0.4 0.2 0.2 2.3
Melvin Booker 5 0 4.2 .500 .500 0.2 0.6 0.0 0.0 1.0
LaSalle Thompson 17 0 6.2 .188 .500 1.5 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.4

Player Statistics Citation:[5]

References
  1. 1996-97 Denver Nuggets
  2. "Pacers trade Jackson, Pierce to Denver". UPI Archives. June 13, 1996. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  3. "Nuggets made three trades, Hornets and Pacers two each". AP News. February 20, 1997. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  4. "1996–97 Denver Nuggets Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  5. "1996–97 Denver Nuggets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  6. "Suns Make Trade for McDyess". Los Angeles Times. October 2, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2017.

See also
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