1997 in basketball

Championships

Professional

• Men
  • 1997 NBA Finals: Chicago Bulls over the Utah Jazz 4-2. MVP: Michael Jordan
    • 1997 NBA Playoffs
    • 1996–97 NBA season
    • 1997 NBA draft
    • 1997 NBA All-Star Game
  • Eurobasket: Yugoslavia 61, Italy 49
• Women
  • WNBA Finals: Houston Comets over the New York Liberty. MVP: Cynthia Cooper
    • 1997 WNBA Playoffs
    • 1997 WNBA season
    • 1997 WNBA draft
  • Eurobasket Women: [[Image:Flag of Lithuania.svg|20px]] Lithuania def. [[Image:Flag of Slovakia.svg|20px]] Slovakia

College

• Men
  • NCAA
    • Division I: University of Arizona 84, University of Kentucky 79
    • National Invitation Tournament: University of Michigan def. Florida State University
    • Division II: Cal State Bakersfield 57, Northern Kentucky University 56
    • Division III: Illinois Wesleyan University 89, Nebraska Wesleyan University 86
  • NAIA
    • NAIA Division I: Life University (Ga.) 73, Oklahoma Baptist University 64
    • NAIA Division II: Bethel College (Indiana) (IN) 95, Siena Heights College (MI) 94
  • NJCAA
    • NJCAA Division I: Indian Hills CC, Ottumwa, Iowa 89, San Jacinto College, (TX) 80
• Women
  • NCAA
    • Division I: University of Tennessee 68, Old Dominion University 59
    • Division II: North Dakota State University 94, University of Southern Indiana 78
    • Division III New York University 72, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire 70
  • NAIA
    • NAIA Division I: Southern Nazarene University (OK) 78 Union College (TN) (73)
    • NAIA Division II Northwest Nazarene University (ID) 64, Black Hills State University (SD) 46
  • NJCAA
    • Division I Trinity Valley CC 79, Central Florida CC 69
    • Division II Kirkwood CC 76, Carl Sandburg College 67
    • Division III Anoka-Ramsey CC 80, Monroe CC 57

Preps

Bloomington North defeats Delta to win Indiana's last open-class basketball state championship.

Awards and honors

Professional

• Men
  • NBA Most Valuable Player Award: Karl Malone
  • NBA Rookie of the Year Award: Allen Iverson
  • NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award: Dikembe Mutombo
  • NBA Coach of the Year Award: Pat Riley, Miami Heat
• Women
  • WNBA Most Valuable Player Award: Cynthia Cooper, Houston Comets
  • WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award: Teresa Weatherspoon, New York Liberty
  • Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award: Zheng Haixia, Los Angeles Sparks
  • WNBA Coach of the Year Award: Van Chancellor, Houston Comets
  • WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award: Cynthia Cooper, Houston Comets

Collegiate

• Men
  • John R. Wooden Award: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
  • Naismith College Coach of the Year: Roy Williams, Kansas
  • Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award: Brevin Knight, Stanford
  • Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
  • NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player: Jeff Sheppard, Kentucky
  • Associated Press College Basketball Coach of the Year: Clem Haskins, Minnesota
  • Naismith Outstanding Contribution to Basketball: Phog Allen
• Women
  • Naismith College Player of the Year: Kate Starbird, Stanford
  • Naismith College Coach of the Year: Geno Auriemma, Connecticut
  • Wade Trophy: DeLisha Milton, Florida
  • Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award: Jennifer Howard, NC State
  • Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year: Kara Wolters, Connecticut
  • NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player: Chamique Holdsclaw, Tennessee
  • Carol Eckman Award: Amy Ruley, North Dakota State University
  • Associated Press College Basketball Coach of the Year: Geno Auriemma, Connecticut

[[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame]]

• Class of 1997:
  • Pete Carril
  • Joan Crawford
  • Denise Curry
  • Antonio Díaz-Miguel
  • Alex English
  • Don Haskins
  • Bailey Howell

Events

• WNBA played its first season.

Movies

• Air Bud
• The Sixth Man

Deaths

• January 8 — Paul Endacott, Hall of Fame player for the Kansas Jayhawks (born 1902)
• February 2 — Raimundo Saporta, former head of Real Madrid basketball and FIBA Hall of Fame member (born 1926)
• March 6 — Roger Brown, player for Indiana Pacers (born 1942)
• April 18 — Francis Johnson, American Olympic gold medalist (1936) (born 1910)
• May 16 — Bones McKinney, former coach of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and early NBA player (born 1919)
• May 17 — Tusten Ackerman, All-American college player at Kansas (born 1901)
• June 5 — Joe Schaaf, All-American college player (Penn) (born 1908)
• September 7 — Bill Strannigan, American college coach (Colorado State, Iowa State, Wyoming) (born 1918)
• December 23 — Lester Harrison, Hall of Fame coach of the 1951 NBA Champion Rochester Royals (born 1904)

References

References

1. "NJCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RECORD BOOK". NJCAA.
2. "Hall of Famers". Basketball Hall of Fame.