1996–97 New Jersey Nets season

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Nets' 30th season in the National Basketball Association, and 21st season in East Rutherford, New Jersey.[1] The Nets had the eighth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and selected Kerry Kittles out of Villanova University.[2][3][4][5][6] In the off-season, the team signed free agents Robert Pack,[7][8][9] Tony Massenburg,[10] Xavier McDaniel, who played overseas in Greece during the previous season,[11][12] and David Benoit, who missed the entire season with a ruptured Achilles tendon.[13][14] Under new head coach John Calipari,[15][16][17] the Nets continued to struggle losing their first five games of the season, which included two games against the Orlando Magic in Tokyo, Japan.[18][19][20][21] The team held a 13–33 record at the All-Star break.[22]

1996–97 New Jersey Nets season
Head coachJohn Calipari
ArenaContinental Airlines Arena
Results
Record26–56 (.317)
PlaceDivision: 5th (Atlantic)
Conference: 13th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWBIS-TV
SportsChannel New York
RadioWOR

At midseason, the Nets traded Pack along with Shawn Bradley, Khalid Reeves and second-year forward Ed O'Bannon to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Sam Cassell, Jim Jackson, Chris Gatling, Eric Montross and George McCloud, who never played with the Nets and was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Joe Kleine.[23][24][25][26] Gatling only played just three games after the trade due to an ear infection, and was out for the remainder of the season.[27][28][29] The Nets ended their season with a 26–56 record, finishing fifth in the Atlantic Division.[30]

Kendall Gill averaged 21.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game, while Kittles averaged 16.4 points and 1.9 steals per game, and was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. In addition, Jayson Williams continued to show improvement averaging 13.4 points, and leading the team with 13.5 rebounds per game, before sitting out the remainder of the season with a thumb injury after 41 games,[31][32][33] while Massenburg contributed 7.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, and McDaniel averaged 5.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game off the bench.[34] Kittles finished in fifth place in Rookie of the Year voting,[35][36] while Gatling finished in third place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.[37][38][39][40]

Following the season, Jackson and Montross were both traded to the Philadelphia 76ers,[41][42][43][44] while Massenburg signed as a free agent with the Boston Celtics, but was then traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies,[45][46] and Kleine signed with the Chicago Bulls.[47]

Draft picks
Main article: 1996 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
18Kerry KittlesSG United StatesVillanova

Roster
1996–97 New Jersey Nets roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
F 2 Benoit, David Injured (IN) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1968-05-09 Alabama
G 10 Cassell, Sam Injured 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1969-11-18 Florida State
C 33 Dare, Yinka 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1972-10-10 George Washington
G 21 Edwards, Kevin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1965-10-30 DePaul
F 15 Gatling, Chris Injured 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1967-09-03 Old Dominion
G/F 13 Gill, Kendall 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1968-05-25 Illinois
F 54 Haley, Jack 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1964-01-27 UCLA
F 22 Jackson, Jim 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1970-10-14 Ohio State
G 30 Kittles, Kerry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1974-06-12 Villanova
C 35 Kleine, Joe 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1962-01-04 Arkansas
F 44 Massenburg, Tony 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1967-07-31 Maryland
F 34 McDaniel, Xavier 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1963-06-04 Wichita State
C 00 Montross, Eric 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 270 lb (122 kg) 1971-09-23 North Carolina
F 55 Williams, Jayson Injured 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1968-02-22 St. John's
F 7 Williams, Reggie Injured 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1964-03-05 Georgetown
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (IN) Inactive
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Last transaction: {{{access-date}}}

Roster notes
  • Small forward David Benoit missed the entire season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Regular season

Season standings
Atlantic Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Miami Heat 6121.744–29–1232–916–8
x-New York Knicks 5725.695431–1026–1519–6
x-Orlando Magic 4537.5491626–1519–2213–11
x-Washington Bullets 4438.5371725–1619–2214–10
New Jersey Nets 2656.3173516–2510–3111–13
Philadelphia 76ers 2260.2683911–3011–3011–14
Boston Celtics 1567.1834611–304–371–23
1996–97 NBA East standings
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Chicago Bulls6913.841–
2 y-Miami Heat6121.7448
3 x-New York Knicks5725.69512
4 x-Atlanta Hawks5626.68313
5 x-Detroit Pistons5428.65915
6 x-Charlotte Hornets5428.65915
7 x-Orlando Magic4537.54924
8 x-Washington Bullets4438.53725
9 Cleveland Cavaliers4240.51227
10 Indiana Pacers3943.47630
11 Milwaukee Bucks3349.40236
12 Toronto Raptors3052.36639
13 New Jersey Nets2656.31743
14 Philadelphia 76ers2260.26847
15 Boston Celtics1567.18354
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1996-97 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL MIN NJN NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA TOR UTA VAN WAS
Atlanta –3–11–31–33–12–01–11–32–01–13–12–01–11–24–02–03–11–33–14–01–12–02–02–01–14–01–12–02–1
Boston 1–3–0–40–41–21–11–10–41–10–21–20–21–10–41–30–20–40–40–41–31–11–10–21–10–23–10–20–20–4
Charlotte 3–14–0–0–43–11–12–02–22–02–02–21–11–11–22–22–04–03–11–24–01–10–22–02–02–02–20–22–03–1
Chicago 3–14–04–0–3–12–02–03–12–01–14–02–01–12–24–02–03–12–23–04–02–02–02–02–02–03–11–12–02–1
Cleveland 1–32–11–31–3–2–01–12–21–10–23–12–01–10–42–22–04–01–32–23–01–11–12–00–20–23–11–12–01–3
Dallas 0–21–11–10–20–2–3–10–20–40–41–12–20–40–20–21–31–11–11–12–01–31–32–21–31–30–21–33–10–2
Denver 1–11–10–20–21–11–3–0–21–31–30–21–30–40–21–10–41–10–20–21–12–20–42–22–20–41–10–43–11–1
Detroit 3–14–02–21–32–22–02–0–2–01–13–12–01–10–43–12–04–01–22–22–10–21–11–12–01–13–11–12–04–0
Golden State 0–21–10–20–21–14–03–10–2–0–41–11–30–40–21–11–32–00–21–12–00–42–21–34–00–42–00–43–10–2
Houston 1–12–00–21–12–04–03–11–14–0–1–13–13–10–21–14–02–01–10–22–02–22–24–03–13–11–12–23–12–0
Indiana 1–32–12–20–41–31–12–01–31–11–1–2–01–11–32–22–02–21–31–33–01–11–11–11–11–14–00–22–01–3
L.A. Clippers 0–22–01–10–20–22–23–10–23–11–30–2–2–20–22–01–31–10–21–11–12–20–42–24–01–32–01–34–00–2
L.A. Lakers 1–11–11–11–11–14–04–01–14–01–31–12–2–1–12–03–12–01–11–12–04–01–34–02–23–11–11–34–02–0
Miami 2–14–02–12–24–02–02–04–02–02–03–12–01–1–4–01–13–11–32–23–12–01–12–02–00–23–10–22–03–1
Milwaukee 0–43–12–20–42–22–01–11–31–11–12–20–20–20–4–0–22–11–22–23–11–10–20–21–11–13–11–12–01–3
Minnesota 0–22–00–20–20–23–14–00–23–10–40–23–11–31–12–0–2–01–11–11–13–12–20–44–00–41–11–34–01–1
New Jersey 1–34–00–41–30–41–11–10–40–20–22–21–10–21–31–20–2–2–21–32–21–10–21–12–01–10–30–22–01–3
New York 3–14–01–32–23–11–12–02–12–01–13–12–01–13–12–11–12–2–3–13–21–11–12–02–00–23–01–12–04–0
Orlando 1–34–02–10–32–21–12–02–21–12–03–11–11–12–22–21–13–11–3–2–21–12–01–11–11–14–00–21–11–3
Philadelphia 0–43–10–40–40–30–21–11–20–20–20–31–10–21–31–31–12–22–32–2–1–11–10–21–10–21–30–22–01–3
Phoenix 1–11–11–10–21–13–12–22–04–02–21–12–20–40–21–11–31–11–11–11–1–1–34–03–12–20–21–32–21–1
Portland 0–21–12–00–21–13–14–01–12–22–21–14–03–11–12–02–22–01–10–21–13–1–2–24–01–30–22–24–00–2
Sacramento 0–22–00–20–20–22–22–21–13–10–41–12–20–40–22–04–01–10–21–12–00–42–2–3–11–31–10–44–00–2
San Antonio 0–21–10–20–22–03–12–20–20–41–31–10–42–20–21–10–40–20–21–11–11–30–41–3–0–41–11–31–30–2
Seattle 1–12–00–20–22–03–14–01–14–01–31–13–11–32–01–14–01–12–01–12–02–23–13–14–0–2–01–34–02–0
Toronto 0–41–32–21–31–32–01–11–30–21–10–40–21–11–31–31–13–00–30–43–12–02–01–11–10–2–1–11–12–2
Utah 1–12–02–01–11–13–14–01–14–02–22–03–13–12–01–13–12–01–12–02–03–12–24–03–13–11–1–4–02–0
Vancouver 0–22–00–20–20–21–31–30–21–31–30–20–40–40–20–20–40–20–21–10–22–20–40–43–10–41–10–4–1–1
Washington 1–24–01–31–23–12–01–10–42–00–23–12–00–21–33–11–13–10–43–13–11–12–02–02–00–22–20–21–1—

Game log

Player statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Regular season
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Kendall Gill 82 81 39.0 .443 .336 .797 6.1 4.0 1.9 0.6 21.8
Sam Cassell 23 22 33.8 .443 .392 .831 3.6 6.5 1.6 0.3 19.3
Chris Gatling 3 0 30.7 .419 .938 7.3 1.0 1.3 0.0 17.0
Jim Jackson 31 31 37.3 .417 .370 .852 5.9 5.2 0.9 0.5 16.5
Kerry Kittles 82 57 36.7 .426 .377 .771 3.9 3.0 1.9 0.4 16.4
Robert Pack 34 31 34.9 .407 .297 .788 2.5 9.6 1.7 0.1 15.9
Jayson Williams 41 40 34.9 .409 .000 .590 13.5 1.2 0.6 0.9 13.4
Shawn Bradley 40 38 30.7 .436 .000 .664 8.1 0.5 0.6 4.0 12.0
Khalid Reeves 50 18 21.0 .393 .396 .747 1.8 3.4 0.5 0.1 8.3
Tony Massenburg 79 49 24.7 .485 .000 .631 6.5 0.3 0.5 0.6 7.2
Reggie Williams 11 0 15.2 .403 .273 .800 2.2 0.7 0.7 0.4 6.5
Kevin Edwards 32 0 14.9 .377 .349 .860 1.3 1.8 0.5 0.1 5.9
Xavier McDaniel 62 5 18.9 .389 .200 .730 5.1 1.0 0.6 0.3 5.6
Lloyd Daniels 17 0 16.6 .330 .322 .833 2.3 1.5 0.5 0.2 5.4
Eric Montross 31 31 27.2 .451 .393 9.1 0.9 0.4 1.3 5.1
Ed O'Bannon 45 5 14.1 .367 .283 .870 2.5 0.6 0.5 0.2 4.2
Joe Kleine 28 0 16.2 .427 .500 .722 4.1 0.8 0.3 0.4 3.0
Evric Gray 5 0 8.4 .267 .250 1.000 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0 2.6
Jack Haley 20 0 3.7 .351 .737 1.6 0.3 0.1 0.1 2.0
Adrian Caldwell 18 0 11.3 .286 .000 .529 3.1 0.3 0.4 0.1 1.6
Robert Werdann 6 0 5.2 .429 1.000 1.0 0.0 0.3 0.2 1.5
Yinka Dare 41 2 7.6 .352 .514 2.0 0.1 0.1 0.7 1.4
Vincent Askew 1 0 7.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Player Statistics Citation:[34]

Awards and records

References
  1. 1996–97 New Jersey Nets
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  3. Heisler, Mark (June 27, 1996). "The Surprises Are Few". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  4. Cotton, Anthony (June 27, 1996). "For 76ers, Iverson Is No. 1 Choice". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  5. Bembry, Jerry (June 27, 1996). "76ers Make Iverson the 1, Philadelphia Takes Georgetown Guard; Camby Goes Second". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  6. "1996 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
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  9. Asher, Mark (July 25, 1996). "Strickland Risk for Bullets". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  10. "Hungary Faked Qualifying Meet for Olympic Swimming". Los Angeles Times. September 11, 1996. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
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  14. "Bad News for Benoit..." The New York Times. October 10, 1996. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
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  17. Everson, Darren (June 7, 1996). "Calipari Leaves U-Mass for Nets". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  18. Brown, Phil (November 7, 1996). "Magic Defeat Nets, 108-95". Associated Press. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
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  20. Johnson, L.C. (November 8, 1996). "Magic Beat the Clock, the Nets". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
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  32. "Nets' Williams Under Pain's Thumb". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 5, 1997. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  33. Roberts, Selena (March 1, 1997). "Trying Loss as the Nets Lack Effort". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  34. "1996–97 New Jersey Nets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
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  37. "Sixth Man Award for Starks". The New York Times. April 24, 1997. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  38. "Knicks' Starks Turns Demotion Into Honor". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. April 24, 1997. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
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  41. "NBA Trade Sends No. 2 Pick Van Horn to New Jersey". Chicago Tribune. June 27, 1997. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  42. Roberts, Selena (June 28, 1997). "The Nets Decide the Future Can't Wait". The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  43. "Van Horn Finally on His Way to New Jersey in 76er Trade". Los Angeles Times. Staff and Wire Reports. June 28, 1997. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  44. Kepner, Tyler (June 28, 1997). "Nets Get Van Horn from 76ers". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  45. "Grizzlies Acquire Massenburg, Mack". Associated Press. October 28, 1997. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  46. "Transactions". The New York Times. October 29, 1997. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  47. "Bulls Sign Wennington for 1 Year". Chicago Tribune. September 9, 1997. Retrieved December 27, 2022.

See also
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