# 1996–97 Golden State Warriors season

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Warriors' 51st season in the National Basketball Association, and 35th in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Warriors had the eleventh overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and selected Todd Fuller out of North Carolina State University. Due to extensive renovations at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, the team played their home games at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California this season. In the off-season, the Warriors signed free agent All-Star guard Mark Price, then traded Rony Seikaly to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Felton Spencer, Donald Royal and Jon Koncak at the start of the season. However, Koncak was out for the entire season due to a knee injury, and never played for the Warriors.
The team struggled with a 1–5 start to the regular season, then later on held a 17–29 record at the All-Star break, and lost seven straight games in March, as B. J. Armstrong only played 49 games due to a knee injury, and Bimbo Coles played just 51 games due to a hernia injury. At mid-season, the team traded Royal to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Scott Burrell. The Warriors lost six of their final eight games, and finished in last place in the Pacific Division with a 30–52 record.
Latrell Sprewell led the team with 24.2 points, 6.3 assists, 1.7 steals per game, and 147 three-point field goals, and was selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland, Ohio, while second-year star Joe Smith continued to show improvement, averaging 18.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, Chris Mullin provided the team with 14.5 points per game, and Price contributed 11.3 points and 4.9 assists per game. In addition, Armstrong contributed 7.9 points and 2.6 assists per game, while Donyell Marshall provided with 7.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, Coles contributed 6.1 points and 2.9 assists per game, and Spencer averaged 5.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
This season also marked an end of an era, as Mullin was traded to the Indiana Pacers the following season (although he would later on return to Golden State for the 2000–01 season). Also following the season, Price was dealt to the Orlando Magic, while Burrell was sent to the Chicago Bulls, second-year center Andrew DeClercq signed as a free agent with the Boston Celtics, head coach Rick Adelman was fired, and Koncak retired.

## Offseason
### Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 11 | Todd Fuller | C | United States | North Carolina State |
| 2 | 40 | Marcus Mann | PF | United States | Mississippi Valley State |

## Roster
### Roster Notes

* Center Jon Koncak was acquired by the Warriors from the Orlando Magic in an early-season trade, but missed the entire season due to a knee injury, and never played for the Warriors.
* Center Mike Peplowski missed the entire season due to a torn knee ligament sustained during the preseason.

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Pacific Divisionvte | 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 |
1996–97 NBA West standings :
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | 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 |
    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 | – | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Boston | 1–3 | – | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 |
| Charlotte | 3–1 | 4–0 | – | 0–4 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| Chicago | 3–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | – | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Cleveland | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 |
| Dallas | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–2 |
| Denver | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | – | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Detroit | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Golden State | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | – | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 0–2 |
| Houston | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | – | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Indiana | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 |
| L.A. Clippers | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | – | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 0–2 |
| L.A. Lakers | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| Miami | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| Milwaukee | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | – | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 |
| Minnesota | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 1–1 |
| New Jersey | 1–3 | 4–0 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | – | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 |
| New York | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | – | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Orlando | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | – | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| Philadelphia | 0–4 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 |
| Phoenix | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 1–3 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Portland | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | – | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 0–2 |
| Sacramento | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 2–2 | – | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 0–2 |
| San Antonio | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–3 | – | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 |
| Seattle | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | – | 2–0 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| Toronto | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Utah | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | – | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| Vancouver | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–4 | – | 1–1 |
| Washington | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — |

### Game log
## Player statistics
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Joe Smith | 80 | 80 | 38.6 | .454 | .261 | .814 | 8.5 | 1.6 | .9 | 1.1 | 18.7 |
| Latrell Sprewell | 80 | 79 | 41.9 | .449 | .354 | .843 | 4.6 | 6.3 | 1.7 | .6 | 24.2 |
| Chris Mullin | 79 | 63 | 34.6 | .553 | .411 | .864 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 1.6 | .4 | 14.5 |
| Todd Fuller | 75 | 18 | 12.7 | .429 | | .691 | 3.3 | .3 | .1 | .3 | 4.1 |
| Felton Spencer$^†$ | 72 | 64 | 21.4 | .486 | | .584 | 5.7 | .3 | .5 | .7 | 5.1 |
| Andrew DeClercq | 71 | 1 | 15.0 | .520 | | .603 | 4.2 | .5 | .5 | .4 | 5.3 |
| Mark Price | 70 | 49 | 26.8 | .447 | .396 | .906 | 2.6 | 4.9 | 1.0 | .0 | 11.3 |
| Donyell Marshall | 61 | 20 | 16.8 | .413 | .315 | .622 | 4.5 | .9 | .4 | .8 | 7.3 |
| Ray Owes | 57 | 1 | 10.4 | .417 | .200 | .565 | 2.9 | .3 | .3 | .4 | 3.1 |
| Bimbo Coles | 51 | 13 | 23.2 | .389 | .294 | .755 | 2.3 | 2.9 | .7 | .1 | 6.1 |
| B. J. Armstrong | 49 | 17 | 20.8 | .453 | .278 | .861 | 1.5 | 2.6 | .5 | .0 | 7.9 |
| Donald Royal$^†$ | 36 | 1 | 14.1 | .385 | .000 | .795 | 2.6 | .4 | .3 | .3 | 3.8 |
| Scott Burrell$^†$ | 29 | 0 | 15.8 | .379 | .361 | .652 | 2.7 | 1.2 | .5 | .3 | 4.9 |
| Lou Roe | 17 | 0 | 6.3 | .292 | .273 | .474 | .8 | .4 | .2 | .1 | 2.4 |
| Melvin Booker$^†$ | 16 | 4 | 25.6 | .436 | .314 | .900 | 1.8 | 3.1 | .2 | .1 | 7.3 |
| Clifford Rozier$^†$ | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | .000 | | | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
* $^†$ Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Warriors only.
Player Statistics Citation:

## Transactions
### Trades

| November 2, 1996 | To Golden State WarriorsJon Koncak Donald Royal Felton Spencer | To Orlando MagicClifford Rozier Rony Seikaly 1999 second-round pick |
| February 20, 1997 | To Golden State WarriorsScott Burrell | To Charlotte HornetsDonald Royal |

### Free agents

Additions :
| Player | Date signed | Former team |
| Mark Price | July 21 | Washington Bullets |
| Ray Owes | September 30 | Geelong Supercats (Australia) |
| Henry James | September 30 | Houston Rockets |
| Lou Roe | September 30 | Detroit Pistons |
| Melvin Booker (10-day) | March 19 | Grand Rapids Hoops (CBA) |
| Melvin Booker (rest of season) | April 9 | Golden State Warriors |
Subtractions :
| Player | Date signed | New Team |
| Robert Churchwell | July 21 | La Crosse Bobcats (CBA) |
| Geert Hammink | July 21 | Panionios (Greece) |
| Jerome Kersey | July 21 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Jon Barry | July 21 | Atlanta Hawks |
| Kevin Willis | July 21 | Houston Rockets |
| Henry James | October 27 | Atlanta Hawks |
Player Transactions Citation: