The 1997–98 Los Angeles Clippers season was the 28th season for the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association, their 14th season in Los Angeles, California, and their fourth season in which they played occasional home games in Anaheim, California.

Season summary

Off-season The Clippers had the 14th overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft, and selected power forward Maurice Taylor from the University of Michigan. During the off-season, the team signed free agent James Robinson, and acquired Stojko Vrankovic from the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft day.

Regular season Despite the addition of Taylor, the Clippers struggled losing 14 of their first 16 games of the regular season, as Loy Vaught suffered a back injury after only just ten games, and was out for the remainder of the season; Vaught averaged 7.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. After holding a 5–24 start to the season, the team managed to win four of their next five games, but then lost 12 of their next 13 games afterwards, and held an 11–37 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded Brent Barry to the Miami Heat in exchange for last season's Most Improved Player Isaac Austin, and rookie shooting guard Charles Smith; before the trade, Barry averaged 13.7 points per game in 41 games. The Clippers lost 15 of their final 17 games of the season, including a 10-game losing streak between March and April, and finished in last place in the Pacific Division with a 17–65 record.

Lamond Murray showed improvement becoming the team's starting small forward, averaging 15.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, while Austin averaged 15.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in 26 games after the trade, and Rodney Rogers provided the team with 15.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. In addition, Taylor provided with 11.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, while three-point specialist Eric Piatkowski contributed 11.3 points per game and 106 three-point field goals, Darrick Martin provided with 10.3 points and 4.0 assists per game, and led the Clippers with 107 three-point field goals, and second-year center Lorenzen Wright averaged 9.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Meanwhile, Robinson contributed 7.7 points per game, Pooh Richardson provided with 4.2 points and 3.3 assists per game, and Vrankovic averaged 3.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, Taylor was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Western Conference Rookie team. Murray finished tied in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting. For the fifth consecutive year, the Clippers finished last in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 254,840 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena during the regular season, which was 29th in the league.

Aftermath Following the season, Austin signed as a free agent with the Orlando Magic, while Vaught signed with the Detroit Pistons after eight seasons with the Clippers, and head coach Bill Fitch was fired after four seasons with the Clippers. Fitch's most losses record in NBA history with 1,106 losses stood for five years, until Lenny Wilkens would break his mark later on during the 2002–03 season while coaching for the Toronto Raptors.

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 14 Maurice Taylor PF Michigan

Roster

Roster Notes Rookie center Keith Closs played for the Lakers during the pre-season and had a strong performance; when he was released to free agency, the Clippers quickly signed him to their roster.

Regular season

Season standings

z - clinched division title y - clinched division title x - clinched playoff spot

Game log

Player statistics

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG Lamond Murray 79 65 32.6 48.1 35.3 74.8 6.1 1.8 1.5 0.715.4 Isaac Austin 26 25 34.4 45.4 0.0 65.2 8.7 3.4 0.7 0.815.2 Rodney Rogers 76 70 32.9 45.6 34.0 68.6 5.6 2.7 1.2 0.515.1 Brent Barry 41 36 32.7 42.8 40.0 84.4 3.5 3.2 1.2 0.613.7 Maurice Taylor 71 3 21.3 47.6 0.0 70.9 4.2 0.7 0.5 0.611.5 Eric Piatkowski 67 35 26.0 45.2 40.9 82.4 3.5 1.3 0.8 0.211.3 Darrick Martin 82 63 28.0 37.7 36.5 84.8 2.0 4.0 1.0 0.110.3 Lorenzen Wright 69 38 30.0 44.5 0.0 65.9 8.8 0.8 0.8 1.39.0 70 13 17.6 38.9 32.9 72.0 1.6 1.9 0.5 0.17.7 Loy Vaught 10 6 26.5 42.9 0.0 37.5 6.5 0.7 0.4 0.27.5 23 0 11.3 42.1 31.8 55.6 0.8 0.8 0.4 0.24.7 Pooh Richardson 69 17 18.1 37.2 19.3 69.8 1.4 3.3 0.6 0.04.2 Keith Closs 58 1 12.8 44.9 0.0 59.7 2.9 0.3 0.2 1.44.0 65 38 15.3 42.5 0.0 56.9 4.0 0.6 0.2 1.03.0 James Collins 23 0 4.5 38.2 45.0 57.1 0.6 0.1 0.3 0.12.6

Player statistics citation:

Transactions The Clippers have been involved in the following transactions during the 1997–98 season.

Trades June 25, 1997 To Los Angeles Clippers Stojko Vrankovic To Minnesota Timberwolves Stanley Roberts June 25, 1997 To Los Angeles Clippers Draft rights to James Collins To Philadelphia 76ers 1998 2nd-round draft pick February 19, 1998 To Los Angeles Clippers Isaac Austin, Charles C. Smith & 1998 1st-round draft pick To Miami Heat Brent Barry

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team Keith Closs August 8 Los Angeles Lakers James Robinson August 16 Minnesota Timberwolves

Subtractions Player Left New team Terry Dehere waived, July 2 Sacramento Kings Dwayne Schintzius released, July 2 Boston Celtics Malik Sealy renounced, August 8 Detroit Pistons Bo Outlaw free agency, September 5 Orlando Magic Rich Manning waived, October 28 Oyak Renault (TBL)

Player transactions citation:

See also 1997-98 NBA season

References