1996–97 Los Angeles Lakers season

1996–97 Los Angeles Lakers season
Kobe Bryant's rookie season Byron Scott returns to the Lakers
Head coach	Del Harris
Owner(s)	Jerry Buss
Arena	Great Western Forum
Results
Record	56–26 (.683)
Place	Division: 2nd (Pacific) Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish	West Semifinals (eliminated 1–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports West, KCAL
Radio	AM 570 KLAC

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Los Angeles Lakers' 49th season in the NBA and 37th in the city of Los Angeles. The preceding offseason was highlighted by the signing of Shaquille O'Neal to a seven-year, $120 million deal, and the trade for the 13th pick of the 1996 NBA draft, Kobe Bryant, in exchange for Vlade Divac. They also signed Byron Scott, who played for the Lakers in the 1980's and early 1990's. The Lakers finished second in the Pacific Division with a 56–26 record. O'Neal and Eddie Jones were selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game (O'Neal did not play, because he was injured). In the postseason, the Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 3–1 in the first round, but lost 4–1 in the semifinals to the Utah Jazz.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	24	Derek Fisher	Guard	United States	Arkansas–Little Rock

Before he was chosen as the 13th overall draft pick by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996, the 17-year-old Bryant had made a lasting impression on then-Lakers general manager Jerry West, who immediately foresaw potential in Bryant's basketball ability during pre-draft workouts. He went on to state that Bryant's workouts against former Lakers players and then assistant coaches Michael Cooper and Larry Drew were the best he had ever seen. Immediately after the draft, Bryant expressed that he did not wish to play for the Hornets and wanted to play for the Lakers instead. Fifteen days later, West traded his starting center, Vlade Divac to the Hornets for the young Kobe Bryant.

Roster

Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From PF 43 Blount, Corie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Cincinnati SG 8 Bryant, Kobe 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 212 lb (96 kg) Lower Merion HS (PA) PF 41 Campbell, Elden 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Clemson PG 2 Fisher, Derek 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Arkansas-Little Rock SF 5 Horry, Robert 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Alabama SG 6 Jones, Eddie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Temple SF 12 Kersey, Jerome 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Longwood University C 40 Knight, Travis 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Connecticut SG 24 McCloud, George 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Florida State C 34 O'Neal, Shaquille 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 325 lb (147 kg) LSU C 45 Rooks, Sean 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Arizona SG 4 Scott, Byron 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Arizona State PG 9 Van Exel, Nick 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Cincinnati	Head coach Del Harris Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions

Regular season

Kobe’s Rookie Season

During his first season, Bryant mostly came off the bench behind guards Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. Initially, he played limited minutes, but as the season continued, he began to see some more playing time. He earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan-favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest.

Season standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics	57	25	.695	–	31–10	26–15	16–8
x-Los Angeles Lakers	56	26	.683	1	31–10	25–16	18–6
x-Portland Trail Blazers	49	33	.598	8	29–12	20–21	15–9
x-Phoenix Suns	40	42	.488	17	25–16	15–26	13–11
x-Los Angeles Clippers	36	46	.439	21	21–20	15–26	10–14
Sacramento Kings	34	48	.415	23	22–19	12–29	8–16
Golden State Warriors	30	52	.366	27	18–23	12–29	4–20

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Utah Jazz	64	18	.780	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	57	25	.695	7
3	x-Houston Rockets	57	25	.695	7
4	x-Los Angeles Lakers	56	26	.683	8
5	x-Portland Trail Blazers	49	33	.598	15
6	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	40	42	.488	24
7	x-Phoenix Suns	40	42	.488	24
8	x-Los Angeles Clippers	36	46	.439	28
9	Sacramento Kings	34	48	.415	30
10	Golden State Warriors	30	52	.366	34
11	Dallas Mavericks	24	58	.293	40
12	Denver Nuggets	21	61	.256	43
13	San Antonio Spurs	20	62	.244	44
14	Vancouver Grizzlies	14	68	.171	50

Playoffs

West First Round

(4) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Portland Trail Blazers Last Playoff Meeting: 1992 Western Conference First Round (Portland won 3–1)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (LAL-POR)	Venue	Recap	Television
1	April 25	L.A. Lakers	95	Portland	77	1-0	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	1	TNT
2	April 27	L.A. Lakers	107	Portland	93	2-0	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	2	NBC
3	April 30	Portland	98	L.A. Lakers	90	2-1	Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon	3	TNT
4	May 2	Portland	91	L.A. Lakers	95	3-1	Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon	4	TNT
L.A. Lakers win series 3–1

West Conference Semifinals

(1) Utah Jazz vs. (4) Los Angeles Lakers Last Playoff Meeting: 1988 Western Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles won 4-3)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (UTAH-LAL)	Venue	Recap	Television
1	May 4	Utah	93	Los Angeles	77	1-0	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	1	NBC
2	May 6	Utah	103	Los Angeles	101	2-0	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	2
3	May 8	Los Angeles	104	Utah	84	2-1	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	3
4	May 10	Los Angeles	95	Utah	110	3-1	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	4	NBC
5	May 12	Utah	98	Los Angeles	93	4-1	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	5	TNT
Utah wins series 4–1

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Season

Player	GP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	AVG
Nick Van Exel	79	2.9	8.5	0.9	0.1	1206	15.3
Derek Fisher	80	1.2	1.5	0.5	0.1	309	3.9
Shaquille O'Neal	51	12.5	3.1	0.9	2.9	1336	26.2

Awards and records

• Shaquille O'Neal, All-NBA Third Team
• Kobe Bryant, NBA All-Rookie Team 2nd Team
• Travis Knight, NBA All-Rookie Team 2nd Team

References

• Lakers on Database Basketball
• Lakers on Basketball Reference