1996–97 Golden State Warriors season

The 1996–97 Golden State Warriors season was the 51st season for the Golden State Warriors in the National Basketball Association, and their 35th season in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Season summary

Off-season The Warriors received the eleventh overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and selected center Todd Fuller out of North Carolina State University. Due to extensive renovations at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, the team played their home games at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California this season. During the off-season, the Warriors signed free agent All-Star guard Mark Price, then traded Rony Seikaly to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Felton Spencer, Donald Royal and Jon Koncak at the start of the regular season. However, Koncak was out for the entire season due to a knee injury, and never played for the Warriors.

Regular season With the addition of Price and Spencer, the Warriors struggled losing 10 of their first 13 games of the regular season, and later on held a 17–29 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded Royal to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Scott Burrell. The Warriors posted a seven-game losing streak in March, as B. J. Armstrong only played just 49 games due to a knee injury, and Bimbo Coles only appeared in 51 games due to a hernia injury. The Warriors lost six of their final eight games of the season, and finished in last place in the Pacific Division with a 30–52 record.

Latrell Sprewell averaged 24.2 points, 6.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and led the Warriors with 147 three-point field goals, while second-year star Joe Smith continued to show improvement, averaging 18.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, and Chris Mullin provided the team with 14.5 points, 4.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game. In addition, Price contributed 11.3 points and 4.9 assists per game, along with 112 three-point field goals, while Armstrong contributed 7.9 points and 2.6 assists per game, and Donyell Marshall provided with 7.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Coles contributed 6.1 points and 2.9 assists per game, second-year center Andrew DeClercq averaged 5.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, Spencer averaged 5.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, Burrell contributed 4.9 points per game in 29 games after the trade, and Fuller provided with 4.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Sprewell was selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team. Off the bench, Sprewell scored 19 points along with 2 steals, despite the Western Conference losing to the Eastern Conference, 132–120. The Warriors finished 23rd in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 621,844 at the San Jose Arena during the regular season.

Aftermath This season marked an end of an era, as Mullin was traded to the Indiana Pacers the following season; although he would later on return to Golden State for the 2000–01 season. Meanwhile, Price was traded to the Orlando Magic, Burrell was dealt to the Chicago Bulls, DeClercq signed as a free agent with the Boston Celtics, head coach Rick Adelman was fired after two seasons with the Warriors, and Koncak retired.

Offseason

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 11 Todd Fuller C North Carolina State 2 40 Marcus Mann PF Mississippi Valley State

Roster

Roster Notes Center Jon Koncak was acquired by the Warriors from the Orlando Magic in an early-season trade, but was placed on the injured reserve list due to a knee injury, missed the entire regular season, and never played for the Warriors. Center Mike Peplowski was on the injured reserve list due to a torn knee ligament sustained during the preseason, and missed the entire regular season.

Regular season

Season standings

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

Game log Source:

|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | November 1 | L.A. Clippers

| Rose Garden Arena21,068 | 4–11

Player statistics

Regular season PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG 80 80 38.6 .454 .261 .814 8.5 1.6 .9 1.1 18.7 80 79 41.9 .449 .354 .843 4.6 6.3 1.7 .6 24.2 79 63 34.6 .553 .411 .864 4.0 4.1 1.6 .4 14.5 75 18 12.7 .429 .691 3.3 .3 .1 .3 4.1† 72 64 21.4 .486 .584 5.7 .3 .5 .7 5.1 71 1 15.0 .520 .603 4.2 .5 .5 .4 5.3 70 49 26.8 .447 .396 .906 2.6 4.9 1.0 .0 11.3 61 20 16.8 .413 .315 .622 4.5 .9 .4 .8 7.3 57 1 10.4 .417 .200 .565 2.9 .3 .3 .4 3.1 51 13 23.2 .389 .294 .755 2.3 2.9 .7 .1 6.1 49 17 20.8 .453 .278 .861 1.5 2.6 .5 .0 7.9† 36 1 14.1 .385 .000 .795 2.6 .4 .3 .3 3.8† 29 0 15.8 .379 .361 .652 2.7 1.2 .5 .3 4.9 17 0 6.3 .292 .273 .474 .8 .4 .2 .1 2.4† 16 4 25.6 .436 .314 .900 1.8 3.1 .2 .1 7.3† 1 0 5.0 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Player statistics citation:

Transactions

Trades November 2, 1996 To Golden State WarriorsJon KoncakDonald RoyalFelton Spencer To Orlando MagicClifford RozierRony Seikaly1999 second-round pick February 20, 1997 To Golden State WarriorsScott Burrell To Charlotte HornetsDonald Royal

Free agents AdditionsPlayerDate signedFormer teamMark PriceJuly 21Washington BulletsRay OwesSeptember 30Geelong Supercats (Australia)Henry JamesHouston RocketsLou RoeDetroit PistonsMelvin Booker (10-day)March 19Grand Rapids Hoops (CBA)Melvin Booker (rest of season)April 9Golden State Warriors

SubtractionsPlayerDate signedNew TeamRobert ChurchwellJuly 21La Crosse Bobcats (CBA)Geert HamminkPanionios (Greece)Jerome KerseyLos Angeles LakersJon BarryAtlanta HawksKevin WillisHouston RocketsHenry JamesOctober 27Atlanta Hawks

Player transactions citation:

References

1996–97 Golden State Warriors season

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