NBA
1996-97 Season
Champions: Chicago Bulls (4-2)
Full 1996-97 playoff bracket →
The 1996-97 NBA season featured 29 teams across 1261 recorded games. Chicago Bulls posted the league's best record at 69-13. Chicago Bulls won the championship, defeating Utah Jazz 4-2 in the Finals. Michael Jordan was named Finals MVP; Karl Malone took the regular-season MVP award.
Final Standings
Eastern Conference
- Chicago Bulls 🏆 69-13 0.841
- Miami Heat 61-21 0.744
- New York Knicks 57-25 0.695
- Atlanta Hawks 56-26 0.683
- Detroit Pistons 54-28 0.659
- Charlotte Hornets 54-28 0.659
- Orlando Magic 45-37 0.549
- Washington Bullets 44-38 0.537
- Cleveland Cavaliers 42-40 0.512
- Indiana Pacers 39-43 0.476
- Milwaukee Bucks 33-49 0.402
- Toronto Raptors 30-52 0.366
- New Jersey Nets 26-56 0.317
- Philadelphia 76ers 22-60 0.268
- Boston Celtics 15-67 0.183
Western Conference
- Utah Jazz 64-18 0.780
- Houston Rockets 57-25 0.695
- Seattle SuperSonics 57-25 0.695
- Los Angeles Lakers 56-26 0.683
- Portland Trail Blazers 49-33 0.598
- Phoenix Suns 40-42 0.488
- Minnesota Timberwolves 40-42 0.488
- Los Angeles Clippers 36-46 0.439
- Sacramento Kings 34-48 0.415
- Golden State Warriors 30-52 0.366
- Dallas Mavericks 24-58 0.293
- Denver Nuggets 21-61 0.256
- San Antonio Spurs 20-62 0.244
- Vancouver Grizzlies 14-68 0.171
Season Leaders
Scoring
- 1 Michael Jordan CHI 29.6 PPG
- 2 Karl Malone UTA 27.4 PPG
- 3 Glen Rice CHH 26.8 PPG
- 4 Mitch Richmond SAC 25.9 PPG
- 5 Latrell Sprewell GSW 24.2 PPG
Rebounding
- 1 Dikembe Mutombo ATL 11.6 RPG
- 2 Anthony Mason CHH 11.4 RPG
- 3 Ervin Johnson DEN 11.1 RPG
- 4 Patrick Ewing NYK 10.7 RPG
- 5 Chris Webber WSB 10.3 RPG
Assists
- 1 Mark Jackson TOT 11.4 APG
- 2 John Stockton UTA 10.5 APG
- 3 Kevin Johnson PHO 9.3 APG
- 4 Rod Strickland WSB 8.9 APG
- 5 Damon Stoudamire TOR 8.8 APG
1996 Draft — Top Picks
- #1 Allen Iverson Philadelphia 76ers
- #2 Marcus Camby Toronto Raptors
- #3 Shareef Abdur-Rahim Vancouver Grizzlies