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1996–97 Atlanta Hawks season

NBA professional basketball team season

NBA professional basketball team season

FieldValue
teamAtlanta Hawks
end_year1997
wins56
losses26
divisionCentral
division_place2
conf_place4
coachLenny Wilkens
gmPete Babcock
ownersTed Turner / Turner Broadcasting System
arenaOmni Coliseum
playoffs[Conference Semi-finals](1997-nba-playoffs-bracket)
(lost to [Bulls](1996-97-chicago-bulls-season) 1–4)
bbr_teamATL
radioWCNN

(lost to Bulls 1–4)

  • WATL
  • Fox Sports South The 1996–97 Atlanta Hawks season was the 48th season for the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association, and their 29th season in Atlanta, Georgia. During this season, Hawks owner Ted Turner was the then-vice chairman of Time Warner after acquiring Turner Broadcasting System. In an effort to improve their team, the Hawks strengthened their defense by signing free agent All-Star center Dikembe Mutombo. During the off-season, the team signed free agents Tyrone Corbin and Willie Burton; Corbin previously played for the Hawks during the 1994–95 season. The team also signed Eldridge Recasner, and former Georgia Tech University guard Jon Barry.

The Hawks struggled with a 5–6 start to the regular season, but soon played above .500 in winning percentage, as the team signed three-point specialist Henry James in December, and later on released Burton to free agency in January after playing 24 games. The Hawks posted a 14–2 record in January, which included a ten-game winning streak, then later on held a 31–15 record at the All-Star break, and posted a 7-game winning streak in March; the team also won 20 consecutive home games from November 12, 1996 to February 12, 1997. The Hawks finished in second place in the Central Division with a 56–26 record, and earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, qualifying for the NBA playoffs for the fifth consecutive year; the team also posted a successful 36–5 home record at the Omni Coliseum, which was the third-best in the league. The Hawks had the third best team defensive rating in the NBA.

Mutombo averaged 13.3 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game, and was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second time, and was also named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition, Steve Smith averaged 20.1 points and 4.2 assists per game, and contributed 130 three-point field goals, while Christian Laettner provided the team with 18.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, Mookie Blaylock provided with 17.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.7 steals per game, led the Hawks with 221 three-point field goals, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and Corbin contributed 9.5 points and 1.3 steals per game. Off the bench, James contributed 6.7 points per game in 53 games, while second-year forward Alan Henderson averaged 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, but only played just 30 games due to a mysterious illness known as "acute viral pancreatitis", Recasner provided with 5.7 points per game, and Barry contributed 4.9 points per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Mutombo and Laettner were both selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was Laettner's first and only All-Star appearance. Mutombo also finished tied in 13th place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Smith finished tied in 17th place; Blaylock finished in third place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and head coach Lenny Wilkens finished tied in sixth place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1997 NBA playoffs, the Hawks faced off against the 5th–seeded Detroit Pistons, who were led by All-Star forward Grant Hill, All-Star guard Joe Dumars, and Lindsey Hunter. The Hawks won Game 1 at home, 89–75 at the Omni Coliseum, but then lost the next two games as the Pistons took a 2–1 series lead. However, the Hawks managed to win Game 4 on the road, 94–82 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, then defeat the Pistons in Game 5 at the Omni Coliseum, 84–79, thus winning in a hard-fought five-game series.

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the top–seeded, and defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls, who won the Central Division title, and were led by the trio of All-Star guard Michael Jordan, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, and rebound-specialist Dennis Rodman. After losing Game 1 at the United Center, 100–97, the Hawks managed to defeat the Bulls in Game 2 on the road, 103–95, in which Blaylock scored 26 points, and made 8 out of 9 three-point field-goal attempts. However, the Hawks lost the next two games to the Bulls at the Omni Coliseum, then lost Game 5 at the United Center, 107–92, thus losing the series in five games. The Bulls would go on to defeat the Utah Jazz in six games in the 1997 NBA Finals, winning their second consecutive NBA championship, and their fifth championship in seven years.

The Hawks finished 27th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 549,414 at the Omni Coliseum during the regular season, which was the third-lowest in the league. This was also the Hawks' final season playing at "The Omni", which was scheduled for demolition after the season, and hosted its final game in a Game 4 loss to the Bulls during the second round of the playoffs, 89–80 on May 11, 1997.

Following the season, Barry signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers, while James re-signed with his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Ken Norman, who only played just 17 games this season due to a back injury, retired.

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 1996 NBA draft

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityCollege
128(from Seattle)CenterUnited StatesPeristeri BC (Greece)

Roster

  • Lenny Wilkens
  • Bill Hanzlik
  • Dick Helm
  • Gary Wortman

Roster Notes

  • Shooting guard Donnie Boyce was waived on March 4, 1997.
  • Small forward Willie Burton was waived on January 7, 1997.
  • Small forward Darrin Hancock played in two separate stints with the Hawks during the regular season; he was signed by the team after being waived by the Phoenix Suns, who acquired him from the Milwaukee Bucks. After the Hawks waived him, he signed with the San Antonio Spurs, where he would only play just one game for them before being released, and re-signed by the Hawks for the remainder of the season.
  • Rookie center Priest Lauderdale holds both American and Bulgarian dual citizenship.

Regular season

Season standings

:z = clinched division title :y = clinched division title :x = clinched playoff spot

Game log

|- | 1 || November 1 || @ Miami Heat ||L 81-94 || || Miami Arena 15,133 || 0–1

-
2
16,378
-
-
3
21,567
-
-
4
17,072
-
-
5
17,317
-
-
6
16,097
-
-
7
-
-
8
13,184
-
-
9
16,378
-
-
10
23,939
-
-
11
14,182
-
-
12
14,698
-
-
13
16,838
-
-
14
-
-
15
17,248
-
-
16
12,457
-
-
17
-
-
18
14,574
-
-
19
11,422
-
-
20
-
-
21
12,473
-
-
22
14,805
-
-
23
12,884
-
-
24
24,042
-
-
25
19,763
-
-
26
16,378
-
-
27
11,797
-
-
28
14,310
-
-
29
16,378
-
-
30
-
-
31
17,248
-
-
32
15,877
-
-
33
14,565
-
-
34
14,032
-
-
35
16,378
-
-
36
16,378
-
-
37
16,378
-
-
38
14,853
-
-
39
15,325
-
-
40
16,378
-
-
41
-
-
42
19,911
-
-
43
15,205
-
-
44
13,122
-
-
45
13,111
-
-
46
19,023
-
-
47
13,846
-
-
48
16,378
-
-
49
26,809
-
-
50
16,285
-
-
51
16,378
-
-
52
16,378
-
-
53
16,378
-
-
54
15,660
-
-
55
13,285
-
-
56
16,378
-
-
57
21,454
-
-
58
15,404
-
-
59
13,802
-
-
60
14,906
-
-
61
16,931
-
-
62
14,475
-
-
63
14,824
-
-
64
16,378
-
-
65
23,984
-
-
66
15,708
-
-
67
14,099
-
-
68
13,809
-
-
69
18,533
-
-
70
15,256
-
-
71
13,876
-
-
72
14,942
-
-
73
24,042
-
-
74
16,378
-
-
75
16,378
-
-
76
16,549
-
-
77
16,403
-
-
78
18,874
-
-
79
14,458
-
-
80
19,763
-
-
81
16,457
-
-
82
18,702
-

Playoffs

|- | 1 | April 25 | Detroit | W 89–75 | Dikembe Mutombo (26) | Dikembe Mutombo (15) | Christian Laettner (4) | Omni Coliseum 15,795

1–0
2
April 27
Detroit
L 80–93
Steve Smith (22)
Mookie Blaylock (9)
Mookie Blaylock (7)
Omni Coliseum
16,378
1–1
-
3
April 29
@ Detroit
L 91–99
Christian Laettner (25)
Dikembe Mutombo (21)
Mookie Blaylock (10)
The Palace of Auburn Hills
20,059
1–2
-
4
May 2
@ Detroit
W 94–82
Steve Smith (28)
Mutombo, Laettner (12)
Mookie Blaylock (9)
The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,454
2–2
-
5
May 4
Detroit
W 84–79
Christian Laettner (23)
Mutombo, Blaylock (9)
Blaylock, Corbin (5)
Omni Coliseum
16,378
3–2
-
-
1
May 6
@ Chicago
L 97–100
Mookie Blaylock (31)
Mookie Blaylock (12)
Christian Laettner (6)
United Center
24,397
0–1
-
2
May 8
@ Chicago
W 103–95
Steve Smith (27)
Dikembe Mutombo (15)
Mookie Blaylock (9)
United Center
24,544
1–1
-
3
May 10
Chicago
L 80–100
Dikembe Mutombo (16)
Dikembe Mutombo (13)
Mookie Blaylock (6)
Omni Coliseum
16,378
1–2
-
4
May 11
Chicago
L 80–89
Christian Laettner (21)
Christian Laettner (12)
Mookie Blaylock (4)
Omni Coliseum
16,378
1–3
-
5
May 13
@ Chicago
L 92–107
Christian Laettner (23)
Dikembe Mutombo (12)
Mookie Blaylock (8)
United Center
24,544
1–4
-

Player statistics

Season

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
205.5.000..0002.0.0.0.0.0
58816.6.407.387.8041.72.0.9.14.9
****787839.2.432.366.7535.35.92.7.317.4
2227.0.333.125.500.7.6.5.22.5
24215.8.336.283.8381.7.5.3.16.2
****706532.9.422.356.7964.21.81.3.19.5
1406.1.481..667.9.5.5.12.4
30016.7.475..6003.9.8.7.26.6
531517.8.408.420.8331.5.4.2.06.7
****828238.3.486.352.8168.82.71.2.818.1
3505.1.551.000.5651.2.3.0.33.2
1014.0.000..7.0.0.0.0.0
****808037.2.527..70511.61.4.63.313.3
72211.8.440..3852.8.3.4.21.4
17012.9.287.158.3332.3.7.4.23.8
71417.0.423.414.8791.61.3.5.15.7
****727239.1.429.335.8473.34.2.9.320.1

Playoffs

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
204.5.000.000......
****101044.1.396.329.6677.06.52.1.216.4
****101036.4.457.3511.0004.32.0.4.210.6
605.5.400.000.000.8.2.2.2.7
10013.6.559..7693.3..1.35.8
805.6.231.333..1.3.1.1.0
****101040.3.405.190.8577.22.61.0.817.6
302.3.000...7....
****101041.5.628..71912.31.3.12.615.4
301.7....3.3...
10012.1.423.364.6251.1.9.2.3.1
****101042.1.396.327.8243.91.7.4.118.9

Player statistics citation:

Awards and records

Awards

  • Dikembe Mutombo, NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award
  • Dikembe Mutombo, NBA All-Defensive First Team
  • Mookie Blaylock, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

Records

Transactions

Trades

July 15, 1996

  • Traded Stacey Augmon, and Grant Long to the Detroit Pistons for a 1997 second round draft pick, a 1999 first round draft pick, and a 1999 second round draft pick.

Free agents

July 15, 1996

  • Signed Dikembe Mutombo as a free agent.

August 13, 1996

  • Signed Jon Barry as a free agent.

September 12, 1996

  • Signed Willie Burton as a free agent.
  • Signed Tyrone Corbin as a free agent.

September 27, 1996

  • Signed Eldridge Recasner as a free agent.

October 2, 1996

  • Signed Ivano Newbill as a free agent.
  • Signed Melvin Booker as a free agent.

October 28, 1996

  • Waived Willie Burton.
  • Waived Melvin Booker.

November 13, 1996

  • Signed Derrick Alston as a free agent.

November 14, 1996

  • Signed Willie Burton as a free agent.
  • Signed Anthony Miller as a free agent.

November 26, 1996

  • Waived Derrick Alston.

December 20, 1996

  • Signed Henry James as a free agent.

January 2, 1997

  • Signed Darrin Hancock as a free agent.

January 7, 1997

  • Waived Darrin Hancock.
  • Waived Willie Burton.

March 4, 1997

  • Waived Donnie Boyce.

March 5, 1997

  • Signed Darrin Hancock to the first of two 10-day contracts.

March 25, 1997

  • Signed Darrin Hancock to a contract for the rest of the season.

Additions

Dikembe MutomboDenver Nuggets

Subtractions

Player Transactions Citation:

References

References

  1. [https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/ATL/1997.html 1996-97 Atlanta Hawks]
  2. (July 18, 1996). "Time Warner-Turner Pact Okayed". Tampa Bay Times.
  3. (October 10, 1996). "TBS Holders Approve Time Warner Deal". United Press International.
  4. Mulligan, Thomas S.. (October 11, 1996). "Turner-Time Warner Merger Approved by Shareholders". Los Angeles Times.
  5. (July 16, 1996). "Hawks Get Big with Mutombo". Los Angeles Times.
  6. Asher, Mark. (July 16, 1996). "Mutombo Heading to Hawks". The Washington Post.
  7. (July 16, 1996). "Hawks Sign Mutombo, Trade Augmon, Long". Tampa Bay Times.
  8. (September 13, 1996). "Hawks Sign Corbin and Burton". The New York Times.
  9. (September 13, 1996). "Iverson Set to Sign Three-Year Contract with Philadelphia". The Spokesman-Review.
  10. Winderman, Ira. (October 26, 1996). "Corbin Starting for Hawks". Sun Sentinel.
  11. (August 14, 1996). "Sports Briefs". Deseret News.
  12. Johnson, K.C.. (May 6, 1997). "Team of Cohesive Elements Pours from Hawks' Beaker". Chicago Tribune.
  13. (January 21, 1997). "Hawks Win Their 10th Straight". The New York Times.
  14. "NBA Games Played on February 6, 1997". Basketball-Reference.
  15. (February 15, 1997). "Bulls Halt the Hawks' Home Streak at 20". The New York Times.
  16. Armour, Terry. (February 15, 1997). "Bulls 89, Hawks 88". Chicago Tribune.
  17. "1996–97 Atlanta Hawks Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.
  18. [http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/atlanta/atlhawks.html Atlanta Hawks (1968-Present)]
  19. "Teams Defense". [[NBA.com]].
  20. (April 25, 1997). "Mutombo Picks Up Defensive Award". The New York Times.
  21. (May 5, 1997). "Mutombo Is the Difference for Hawks". Los Angeles Times.
  22. "NBA & ABA Defensive Player of the Year Award Winners". Basketball-Reference.
  23. (November 21, 1996). "Alan Henderson's Condition Improves". Associated Press.
  24. Shapiro, Mark. (November 22, 1996). "Heartbeat Back to Normal, Olajuwon Released from Hospital". Chicago Tribune.
  25. Glier, Ray. (April 22, 1998). "Hawks' Henderson Is a Bird in Hand". The Washington Post.
  26. "1996–97 Atlanta Hawks Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.
  27. Fry, Darrell. (February 8, 1997). "On to the Next Stage". Tampa Bay Times.
  28. (September 13, 2021). "1997 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com.
  29. "1997 NBA All-Star Game: East 132, West 120". Basketball-Reference.
  30. "1996–97 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference.
  31. Atkins, Harry. (April 29, 1997). "Pistons Soar Past Hawks, 99-91". The Washington Post.
  32. (April 30, 1997). "Hunter, Pistons Defeat Atlanta". The Oklahoman.
  33. (April 30, 1997). "Houston Moves On; Orlando Stays Alive". Deseret News.
  34. (May 4, 1997). "Hawks 84, Pistons 79". The Washington Post.
  35. (May 5, 1997). "Hawks Earn Date with Bulls". The New York Times.
  36. "1997 NBA Eastern Conference First Round: Pistons vs. Hawks". Basketball-Reference.
  37. Nadel, Mike. (May 8, 1997). "Hawks 103, Bulls 95". The Washington Post.
  38. Berkow, Ira. (May 9, 1997). "Chicago's Late Heroics Fail to Arrive in Game 2". The New York Times.
  39. Bagnato, Andrew. (May 9, 1997). "When Push Comes to Shove". Chicago Tribune.
  40. Roberts, Selena. (May 14, 1997). "Bulls, Led by Rodman, Keep Going". The New York Times.
  41. Nadel, Mike. (May 14, 1997). "Bulls Send Hawks Flying, 107-92". The Washington Post.
  42. "1997 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals: Hawks vs. Bulls". Basketball-Reference.
  43. Wise, Mike. (June 14, 1997). "A Fistful of Rings: Bulls Grab Fifth Title of 90's". The New York Times.
  44. Howard-Cooper, Scott. (June 14, 1997). "Bulls Get Fifth Element". Los Angeles Times.
  45. "1997 NBA Finals: Jazz vs. Bulls". Basketball-Reference.
  46. "1996–97 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.
  47. (April 27, 1997). "Atlanta Barely Notes the Passing of the Omni Arena; Enters Its Final Days During NBA Playoffs". The Spokesman-Review.
  48. Hill, Karen. (July 22, 1997). "Demolition Experts Place Explosives Around Omni". Associated Press.
  49. (July 26, 1997). "Crowd Has a Blast at Omni". The Washington Post.
  50. Newberry, Paul. (May 11, 1997). "Bulls 89, Hawks 80". The Washington Post.
  51. Roberts, Selena. (May 12, 1997). "Bulls' Laugher Suddenly Turns Serious". The New York Times.
  52. "The Omni". Basketball Ballparks.
  53. Howard-Cooper, Scott. (August 27, 1997). "Fox Hunt Finally Over for Lakers". Los Angeles Times.
  54. (September 23, 1997). "Transactions". The New York Times.
  55. (November 5, 1996). "Pacers Trade Williams for Askew". Los Angeles Times.
  56. (June 25, 1996). "Hawks Regain First-Round Draft Pick in Sonics Trade".
  57. "1996–97 NBA Transactions". Basketball-Reference.
  58. [https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1997.html 1996–97 NBA season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com]
  59. "1996–97 Atlanta Hawks Transactions". Basketball-Reference.
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