1996–97 Atlanta Hawks season

Atlanta Hawks
1996–97 Atlanta Hawks season
Head coach	Lenny Wilkens
Owner(s)	Ted Turner
Arena	The Omni
Results
Record	56–26 (.683)
Place	Division: 2nd (Central); Conference: 4th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East Conference Semifinals; (eliminated 1-4)
	Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports South, WTBS, WATL
Radio	WCNN
< 1995–96	1997–98 >

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Hawks' 48th season in the NBA and 29th season in Atlanta.^[1] In an effort to improve their team, the Hawks strengthened their defense by picking up free agent center Dikembe Mutombo. He would capture the Defensive Player of the Year honors by finishing 2nd in the NBA in rebounding and blocked shots. Mutombo was not the only member of the club to excel on defense. Guard Mookie Blaylock led the NBA in steals as the Hawks finished in 2nd in the Central Division with a 56-26 record. Mutombo and Christian Laettner were both selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game.

In the playoffs, the Hawks would be put to the test as they needed five games to get past the Detroit Pistons in the first round. However, the Hawks would provide little challenge to the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference semifinals as they fell in five games to the eventual Champions.^[2]

Offseason

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	28	Priest Lauderdale (from Seattle)^[3]	Center	United States	Peristeri BC (Greece)

^[4]

Roster

Atlanta Hawks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Height	Weight	DOB (YYYY–MM–DD)
SG	17	Barry, Jon	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Georgia Tech
PG	10	Blaylock, Mookie	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Oklahoma
SF	33	Corbin, Tyrone	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	DePaul
SF	35	Hancock, Darrin	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Kansas
PF	44	Henderson, Alan	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Indiana
SF	42	James, Henry	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Saint Mary's
PF	32	Laettner, Christian	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Duke
C	15	Lauderdale, Priest	7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)	325 lb (147 kg)	Central State
PF	2	Miller, Anthony	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Michigan State
C	55	Mutombo, Dikembe	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)	260 lb (118 kg)	Georgetown
PF	28	Newbill, Ivano	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Georgia Tech
SF	3	Norman, Ken	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Illinois
PG	5	Recasner, Eldridge	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Washington
SG	8	Smith, Steve	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Michigan State

Head coach

Lenny Wilkens

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster • Transactions

Roster Notes

Priest Lauderdale holds American and Bulgarian dual citizenship.

Regular season

The Hawks struggled with a 5-6 start in their first eleven games, but would end up with a 14-2 record in January, including a ten game winning streak. They also won 20 consecutive home games from November 12 to February 12, they had the third best home record in the league (36-5). Atlanta would end the season with a 56-26 record, finishing second in the Central Division, and fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Chicago Bulls	69	13	.841	–	39–2	30–11	24–4
x-Atlanta Hawks	56	26	.683	13	36–5	20–21	17–11
x-Detroit Pistons	54	28	.659	15	30–11	24–17	17–11
x-Charlotte Hornets	54	28	.659	15	30–11	24–17	14–14
Cleveland Cavaliers	42	40	.512	27	25–16	17–24	13–15
Indiana Pacers	39	43	.476	30	21–20	18–23	11–17
Milwaukee Bucks	33	49	.402	36	20–21	13–28	10–18
Toronto Raptors	30	52	.366	39	18–23	12–29	6–22

^[5]

#	Eastern Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Chicago Bulls	69	13	.841	–
2	y-Miami Heat	61	21	.744	8
3	x-New York Knicks	57	25	.695	12
4	x-Atlanta Hawks	56	26	.683	13
5	x-Detroit Pistons	54	28	.659	15
6	x-Charlotte Hornets	54	28	.659	15
7	x-Orlando Magic	45	37	.549	24
8	x-Washington Bullets	44	38	.537	25

9	Cleveland Cavaliers	42	40	.512	27
10	Indiana Pacers	39	43	.476	30
11	Milwaukee Bucks	33	49	.402	36
12	Toronto Raptors	30	52	.366	39
13	New Jersey Nets	26	56	.317	43
14	Philadelphia 76ers	22	60	.268	47
15	Boston Celtics	15	67	.183	54

z = clinched division title

y = clinched division title

x = clinched playoff spot

Game log

1996–97 game log
Total: 56–26 (Home: 36–5; Road: 20–21)

November: 9–7 (Home: 4–1; Road: 5–6)

Game	Date Time	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
1	November 1	at Miami Heat	L 81-94	Miami Arena 15,133	0-1
2	November 2	vs Detroit Pistons	L 78-90	Omni Coliseum 16,378	0-2
3	November 4	at Portland Trail Blazers	W 94-76	Rose Garden Arena 21,567	1-2
4	November 5	at Seattle SuperSonics	W 117-95	KeyArena at Seattle Center 17,072	2-2
5	November 7	at Sacramento Kings	W 91-87	ARCO Arena 17,317	3-2
6	November 10	at Los Angeles Lakers	L 85-92	Great Western Forum 16,097	3-3
7	November 12	vs Cleveland Cavaliers	W 87-83	Omni Coliseum	4-3
8	November 13	at Boston Celtics	L 85-103	FleetCenter 13,184	4-4
9	November 15	vs Miami Heat	W 85-77	Omni Coliseum 16,378	5-4
10	November 16	at Chicago Bulls	L 69-97	United Center 23,939	5-5
11	November 19	at Cleveland Cavaliers	L 63-73	Gund Arena 14,182	5-6
12	November 21	at Milwaukee Bucks	W 73-65	Bradley Center 14,698	6-6
13	November 23	at Toronto Raptors	W 91-88	SkyDome 16,838	7-6
14	November 26	vs Vancouver Grizzlies	W 101-80	Omni Coliseum	8-6
15	November 27	at Orlando Magic	L 75-79	Orlando Arena 17,248	8-7
16	November 29	vs Washington Bullets	W 110-81	Omni Coliseum 12,457	9-7

December: 7–4 (Home: 6–0; Road: 1–4)

Game	Date Time	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
17	December 3	vs Boston Celtics	W 105-95	Omni Coliseum	10-7
18	December 4	at Detroit Pistons	L 90-100	The Palace of Auburn Hills 14,574	10-8
19	December 7	vs Toronto Raptors	W 101-75	Omni Coliseum 11,422	11-8
20	December 10	vs Denver Nuggets	W 89-88	Omni Coliseum	12-8
21	December 14	vs Philadelphia 76ers	W 106-81	Omni Coliseum 12,473	13-8
22	December 17	at Dallas Mavericks	W 109-73	Reunion Arena 14,805	14-8
23	December 20	vs New Jersey Nets	W 109-95	Omni Coliseum 12,884	15-8
24	December 21	at Charlotte Hornets	L 93-98	Charlotte Coliseum 24,042	15-9
25	December 23	at New York Knicks	L 76-82	Madison Square Garden 19,763	15-10
26	December 26	vs Chicago Bulls	W 108-103	Omni Coliseum 16,378	16-10
27	December 28	at Washington Bullets	L 86-97	US Airways Arena 11,797	16-11

January: 14–2 (Home: 9–0; Road: 5–2)

Game	Date Time	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
28	January 3	at New Jersey Nets	W 95-85	Continental Airlines Arena 14,310	17-11
29	January 4	vs New York Knicks	W 88-71	Omni Coliseum 16,378	18-11
30	January 7	vs Phoenix Suns	W 105-103 (OT)	Omni Coliseum	19-11
31	January 9	at Orlando Magic	W 97-92 (OT)	Orlando Arena 17,248	20-11
32	January 11	vs San Antonio Spurs	W 87-82 (OT)	Omni Coliseum 15,877	21-11
33	January 13	at Cleveland Cavaliers	W 93-79	Gund Arena 14,565	22-11
34	January 14	vs Minnesota Timberwolves	W 95-93	Omni Coliseum 14,032	23-11
35	January 16	vs Orlando Magic	W 78-67	Omni Coliseum 16,378	24-11
36	January 18	vs Milwaukee Bucks	W 94-71	Omni Coliseum 16,378	25-11
37	January 20	vs Charlotte Hornets	W 106-97	Omni Coliseum 16,378	26-11
38	January 21	at Miami Heat	L 91-94	Miami Arena 14,853	26-12
39	January 24	vs Washington Bullets	W 117-105 (OT)	Omni Coliseum 15,325	27-12
40	January 25	vs Boston Celtics	W 95-90	Omni Coliseum 16,378	28-12
41	January 28	at Los Angeles Clippers	W 112-96	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	29-12
42	January 30	at Utah Jazz	L 96-102	Delta Center 19,911	29-13
43	January 31	at Vancouver Grizzlies	W 87-76	General Motors Place 15,205	30-13

February: 8–5 (Home: 5–2; Road: 3–3)

Game	Date Time	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
44	February 2	at Denver Nuggets	L 104-115	McNichols Sports Arena 13,122	30-14
45	February 4	at Golden State Warriors	W 107-85	San Jose Arena 13,111	31-14
46	February 5	at Phoenix Suns	L 81-99	America West Arena 19,023	31-15
47	February 12	vs Toronto Raptors	W 106-84	Omni Coliseum 13,846	32-15
48	February 14	vs Chicago Bulls	L 88-89	Omni Coliseum 16,378	32-16
49	February 15	at San Antonio Spurs	W 109-89	Alamodome 26,809	33-16
50	February 17	at Houston Rockets	L 98-127	The Summit 16,285	33-17
51	February 19	vs Indiana Pacers	W 100-87	Omni Coliseum 16,378	34-17
52	February 21	vs Houston Rockets	W 76-74	Omni Coliseum 16,378	35-17
53	February 22	vs Charlotte Hornets	L 92-93	Omni Coliseum 16,378	35-18
54	February 24	vs Golden State Warriors	W 106-100	Omni Coliseum 15,660	36-18
55	February 26	at Milwaukee Bucks	W 79-72	Bradley Center 13,285	37-18
56	February 28	vs Los Angeles Lakers	W 86-75	Omni Coliseum 16,378	38-18

March: 12–4 (Home: 9–1; Road: 3–3)

Game	Date Time	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
57	March 2	at Detroit Pistons	L 75-82	The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454	38-19
58	March 4	vs Cleveland Cavaliers	W 93-88	Omni Coliseum 15,404	39-19
59	March 6	at Philadelphia 76ers	W 117-104	CoreStates Center 13,802	40-19
60	March 7	vs Milwaukee Bucks	W 90-80	Omni Coliseum 14,906	41-19
61	March 9	at Boston Celtics	W 114-90	FleetCenter 16,931	42-19
62	March 11	vs Utah Jazz	W 106-99	Omni Coliseum 14,475	43-19
63	March 12	at Indiana Pacers	L 82-92	Market Square Arena 14,824	43-20
64	March 14	vs Seattle SuperSonics	L 91-97	Omni Coliseum 16,378	43-21
65	March 15	at Chicago Bulls	L 79-99	United Center 23,984	43-22
66	March 17	vs Orlando Magic	W 112-107 (OT)	Omni Coliseum 15,708	44-22
67	March 19	vs Indiana Pacers	W 107-95	Omni Coliseum 14,099	45-22
68	March 21	vs Dallas Mavericks	W 93-72	Omni Coliseum 13,809	46-22
69	March 23	at Toronto Raptors	W 90-79	SkyDome 18,533	47-22
70	March 25	vs Portland Trail Blazers	W 96-89	Omni Coliseum 15,256	48-22
71	March 27	vs Los Angeles Clippers	W 103-88	Omni Coliseum 13,876	49-22
72	March 29	vs Sacramento Kings	W 88-74	Omni Coliseum 14,942	50-22

April: 6–4 (Home: 3–1; Road: 3–3)

Game	Date Time	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
73	April 2	at Charlotte Hornets	L 84-95	Charlotte Coliseum 24,042	50-23
74	April 4	vs Detroit Pistons	W 103-89	Omni Coliseum 16,378	51-23
75	April 5	vs New York Knicks	L 97-102	Omni Coliseum 16,378	51-24
76	April 9	at Philadelphia 76ers	W 116-101	CoreStates Center 16,549	52-24
77	April 11	at Indiana Pacers	W 104-92	Market Square Arena 16,403	53-24
78	April 12	at Minnesota Timberwolves	W 80-66	Target Center 18,874	54-24
79	April 15	vs New Jersey Nets	W 109-101	Omni Coliseum 14,458	55-24
80	April 16	at New York Knicks	L 92-96	Madison Square Garden 19,763	55-25
81	April 19	vs Philadelphia 76ers	W 136-104	Omni Coliseum 16,457	56-25
82	April 20	at New Jersey Nets	L 92-108	Continental Airlines Arena 18,702	56-26

1996–97 season schedule

Playoffs

In the first round, Atlanta would need five games to get past the Detroit Pistons. But in the semifinals, they would lose five games to the Chicago Bulls. The Hawks won Game 2 at the United Center 103-95.

Eastern Conference First Round

(4) Atlanta Hawks vs. (5) Detroit Pistons Last Playoff Meeting: 1991 Eastern Conference First Round (Detroit won 3-2)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (ATL-DET)	Venue	Recap	Television
1	April 25	Atlanta	89	Detroit	75	1-0	Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia	1
2	April 27	Atlanta	80	Detroit	93	1-1	Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia	2
3	April 29	Detroit	99	Atlanta	91	1-2	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan	3
4	May 2	Detroit	82	Atlanta	94	2-2	Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan	4
5	May 4	Atlanta	84	Detroit	79	3-2	Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia	5	NBC
Atlanta wins series 3–2

Eastern Conference Semifinals

(1) Chicago Bulls vs. (4) Atlanta Hawks Last Playoff Meeting: 1993 Eastern Conference First Round (Chicago won 3-0)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (CHI-ATL)	Venue	Recap	Television
1	May 6	Chicago	100	Atlanta	97	1-0	United Center, Chicago, Illinois	1	TNT
2	May 8	Chicago	95	Atlanta	103	1-1	United Center, Chicago, Illinois	2	TNT
3	May 10	Atlanta	80	Chicago	100	2-1	Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia	3	NBC
4	May 11	Atlanta	80	Chicago	89	3-1	Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia	4	NBC
5	May 13	Chicago	107	Atlanta	92	4-1	United Center, Chicago, Illinois	5	TNT
Chicago wins series 4–1

Player statistics

Legend

3

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Derrick Alston	2	0	5.5	.000	.	.000	2.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Jon Barry	58	8	16.6	.407	.387	.804	1.7	2.0	.9	.1	4.9
Mookie Blaylock	78	78	39.2	.432	.366	.753	5.3	5.9	2.7	.3	17.4
Donnie Boyce	22	2	7.0	.333	.125	.500	.7	.6	.5	.2	2.5
Willie Burton	24	2	15.8	.336	.283	.838	1.7	.5	.3	.1	6.2
Tyrone Corbin	70	65	32.9	.422	.356	.796	4.2	1.8	1.3	.1	9.5
Darrin Hancock	14	0	6.1	.481	.	.667	.9	.5	.5	.1	2.4
Alan Henderson	30	0	16.7	.475	.	.600	3.9	.8	.7	.2	6.6
Henry James	53	15	17.8	.408	.420	.833	1.5	.4	.2	.0	6.7
Christian Laettner	82	82	38.3	.486	.352	.816	8.8	2.7	1.2	.8	18.1
Priest Lauderdale	35	0	5.1	.551	.000	.565	1.2	.3	.0	.3	3.2
Anthony Miller	1	0	14.0	.000	.	.	7.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Dikembe Mutombo	80	80	37.2	.527	.	.705	11.6	1.4	.6	3.3	13.3
Ivano Newbill	72	2	11.8	.440	.	.385	2.8	.3	.4	.2	1.4
Ken Norman	17	0	12.9	.287	.158	.333	2.3	.7	.4	.2	3.8
Eldridge Recasner	71	4	17.0	.423	.414	.879	1.6	1.3	.5	.1	5.7
Steve Smith	72	72	39.1	.429	.335	.847	3.3	4.2	.9	.3	20.1

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Jon Barry	2	0	4.5	.000	.000	.	.	.	.	.	.
Mookie Blaylock	10	10	44.1	.396	.329	.667	7.0	6.5	2.1	.2	16.4
Tyrone Corbin	10	10	36.4	.457	.351	1.000	4.3	2.0	.4	.2	10.6
Darrin Hancock	6	0	5.5	.400	.000	.000	.8	.2	.2	.2	.7
Alan Henderson	10	0	13.6	.559	.	.769	3.3	.	.1	.3	5.8
Henry James	8	0	5.6	.231	.333	.	.1	.3	.1	.	1.0
Christian Laettner	10	10	40.3	.405	.190	.857	7.2	2.6	1.0	.8	17.6
Priest Lauderdale	3	0	2.3	.000	.	.	.7	.	.	.	.
Dikembe Mutombo	10	10	41.5	.628	.	.719	12.3	1.3	.1	2.6	15.4
Ivano Newbill	3	0	1.7	.	.	.	.3	.3	.	.	.
Eldridge Recasner	10	0	12.1	.423	.364	.625	1.1	.9	.2	.	3.1
Steve Smith	10	10	42.1	.396	.327	.824	3.9	1.7	.4	.1	18.9

Awards and records

Awards

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

Player	Signed	Former team
Dikembe Mutombo		Denver Nuggets

Subtractions

Player	Left	New team

References

↑ 1996-97 Atlanta Hawks
↑ Atlanta Hawks (1968-Present)
↑ The Hawks traded #45 and #47 picks to the Supersonics for #28 pick on June 25, 1996.
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
↑ Atlanta Hawks (1949 - ) 1996 Stats, History, Awards and More
↑ 1996–97 NBA season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com

[1] 1996-97 Atlanta Hawks

[2] Atlanta Hawks (1968-Present)

[Hawksonics-3] The Hawks traded #45 and #47 picks to the Supersonics for #28 pick on June 25, 1996.
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

[4] Atlanta Hawks (1949 - ) 1996 Stats, History, Awards and More

[5] 1996–97 NBA season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

1996–97 Atlanta Hawks season

Contents

Offseason

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

Regular season

Season standings

Game log

Playoffs

Eastern Conference First Round

Eastern Conference Semifinals

Player statistics

Legend

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Transactions

Trades

Free Agents

Additions

Subtractions

See also

References

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