Full NBA season
1996-97
Explore the indexed regular season, conference races, divisions, and every playoff matchup from the 1996-97 NBA season.
1261indexed games
15playoff series
Postseason map
Playoff bracket
Follow every series from the opening round toward the NBA Finals.
Swipe through the bracket
1 / 4
First round
Conference semifinals
Conference finals
NBA Finals
Season honors
Awards and leaders
Open an award winner’s season or sort the verified leaders by any column.
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Midseason showcase
All-Star weekend
The event format follows what the league actually used that season, from East–West and captain drafts to multi-game tournaments.
East vs West
The classic conference matchup
The Eastern and Western Conference selections met in the traditional NBA All-Star Game format.
Selected rosters
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Regular season
Conference standings
Western Conference
Conference standings| Seed | Team | W | L | Pct | PF/G | PA/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah Jazz | 64 | 18 | .780 | 103.1 | 94.3 |
| 2 | Houston Rockets | 57 | 25 | .695 | 100.6 | 96.1 |
| 3 | Seattle SuperSonics | 57 | 25 | .695 | 100.9 | 93.2 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Lakers | 56 | 26 | .683 | 100.0 | 95.7 |
| 5 | Portland Trail Blazers | 49 | 33 | .598 | 99.0 | 94.8 |
| 7 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 40 | 42 | .488 | 96.1 | 97.6 |
| 6 | Phoenix Suns | 40 | 42 | .488 | 102.8 | 102.2 |
| 8 | Los Angeles Clippers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 97.2 | 99.5 |
| — | Sacramento Kings | 34 | 48 | .415 | 96.4 | 99.8 |
| — | Golden State Warriors | 30 | 52 | .366 | 99.6 | 104.4 |
| — | Dallas Mavericks | 24 | 58 | .293 | 90.6 | 97.0 |
| — | Denver Nuggets | 21 | 61 | .256 | 97.7 | 104.2 |
| — | San Antonio Spurs | 20 | 62 | .244 | 90.5 | 98.3 |
| — | Vancouver Grizzlies | 14 | 68 | .171 | 89.2 | 99.4 |
Eastern Conference
Conference standings| Seed | Team | W | L | Pct | PF/G | PA/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Bulls | 69 | 13 | .841 | 103.1 | 92.3 |
| 2 | Miami Heat | 61 | 21 | .744 | 94.8 | 89.3 |
| 3 | New York Knicks | 57 | 25 | .695 | 95.4 | 92.2 |
| 4 | Atlanta Hawks | 56 | 26 | .683 | 94.8 | 89.4 |
| 5 | Detroit Pistons | 54 | 28 | .659 | 94.2 | 88.9 |
| 6 | Charlotte Hornets | 54 | 28 | .659 | 98.9 | 97.0 |
| 7 | Orlando Magic | 45 | 37 | .549 | 94.1 | 94.5 |
| 8 | Washington Wizards | 44 | 38 | .537 | 99.4 | 97.7 |
| — | Cleveland Cavaliers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 87.6 | 85.5 |
| — | Indiana Pacers | 39 | 43 | .476 | 95.4 | 94.4 |
| — | Milwaukee Bucks | 33 | 49 | .402 | 95.3 | 97.2 |
| — | Toronto Raptors | 30 | 52 | .366 | 95.5 | 98.6 |
| — | New Jersey Nets | 26 | 56 | .317 | 97.2 | 101.8 |
| — | Philadelphia 76ers | 22 | 60 | .268 | 100.2 | 106.7 |
| — | Boston Celtics | 15 | 67 | .183 | 100.6 | 107.9 |
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