# 1996–97 British Basketball League season

The 1996–97 BBL season was known as the Budweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The league retained a total of 13 teams, playing 36 games each. The main change featured the return of Crystal Palace after several seasons of rejected applications. Palace replaced Doncaster Panthers following the liquidation of the South Yorkshire club.
The League's two London-based teams dominated throughout the season, with the Leopards team claiming their first silverware in its franchise history after winning the Budweiser League and Sainsbury's Classic Cola Cup double. Their Capital foes, London Towers were equally successful throughout the campaign, clinching the 7 Up Trophy and pipping Leopards to the play-off title, with a one-point victory in the final at Wembley Arena against their rivals.

## Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Leopards | 36 | 28 | 8 | 0.778 | 56 |
| 2 | London Towers | 36 | 26 | 10 | 0.722 | 52 |
| 3 | Sheffield Sharks | 36 | 26 | 10 | 0.722 | 52 |
| 4 | Birmingham Bullets | 36 | 26 | 10 | 0.722 | 52 |
| 5 | Chester Jets | 36 | 24 | 12 | 0.667 | 48 |
| 6 | Manchester Giants | 36 | 22 | 14 | 0.611 | 44 |
| 7 | Newcastle Eagles | 36 | 21 | 15 | 0.583 | 42 |
| 8 | Leicester Riders | 36 | 15 | 21 | 0.416 | 30 |
| 9 | Derby Storm | 36 | 14 | 22 | 0.389 | 28 |
| 10 | Thames Valley Tigers | 36 | 14 | 22 | 0.389 | 28 |
| 11 | Worthing Bears | 36 | 12 | 24 | 0.333 | 24 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 36 | 5 | 31 | 0.138 | 10 |
| 13 | Hemel & Watford Royals | 36 | 2 | 34 | 0.055 | 4 |
* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

### Playoffs
#### Quarter-finals

(1) Leopards vs. (8) Leicester Riders
* 12 April 1997
| Leicester Riders | 122–130 | Leopards |
* 13 April 1997
| Leopards | 114–105 | Leicester Riders |
| Leopards wins series, 2–0 |||
(2) London Towers vs. (7) Newcastle Eagles
* 11 April 1997
| Newcastle Eagles | 79–91 | London Towers |
* 15 April 1997
| London Towers | 70–80 | Newcastle Eagles |
* 20 April 1997
| London Towers | 96–80 | Newcastle Eagles |
| London wins series, 2–1 |||
(3) Sheffield Sharks vs. (6) Manchester Giants
* 13 April 1997
| Manchester Giants | 72–77 | Sheffield Sharks |
* 15 April 1997
| Sheffield Sharks | 74–68 | Manchester Giants |
| Sheffield wins series, 2–0 |||
(4) Birmingham Bullets vs. (5) Chester Jets
* 13 April 1997
| Chester Jets | 86–78 | Birmingham Bullets |
* 16 April 1997
| Birmingham Bullets | 82–72 | Chester Jets |
* 18 April 1997
| Birmingham Bullets | 78–81 | Chester Jets |
| Chester wins series, 2–1 |||

#### Semi-finals

* 3 May 1997
| Leopards | 102–101 | Chester Jets |
* Wembley Arena, London
* 3 May 1997
| London Towers | 80–72 | Sheffield Sharks |
* Wembley Arena, London

#### Final

* 4 May 1997
* Report
| London Towers | 89–88 | Leopards |
| Pts: Keith Robinson (MVP) 25, Danny Lewis 22, Neville Austin 11, Roger Duhaney, Tony Windless, Alan Cunningham, Paul Deppisch, Karl Brown | | Pts: Eric Burks 22, Ronnie Baker 20, Tim Davis 16, Robert Youngblood, John Tresvant, John White |
* Wembley Arena, London Attendance: ? Towers coach Kevin Cadle Leopards coach Billy Mims

## National League Division 1 (Tier 2)
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Ware Rebels | 26 | 21 | 5 | 0.808 | 47 |
| 2 | Plymouth Raiders | 26 | 20 | 6 | 0.769 | 46 |
| 3 | Coventry Crusaders | 26 | 18 | 8 | 0.693 | 44 |
| 4 | Guildford Swifts | 26 | 18 | 8 | 0.693 | 44 |
| 5 | Oxford Devils | 26 | 16 | 10 | 0.615 | 42 |
| 6 | Westminster Warriors | 26 | 15 | 11 | 0.578 | 41 |
| 7 | Stockton Mohawks | 26 | 14 | 12 | 0.538 | 40 |
| 8 | Cardiff Phoenix | 26 | 14 | 12 | 0.538 | 40 |
| 9 | Nottingham Knights | 26 | 12 | 14 | 0.462 | 37 |
| 10 | Bury & Bolton Wildcats | 26 | 11 | 15 | 0.423 | 36 |
| 11 | Mid-Sussex Magic | 26 | 10 | 16 | 0.385 | 36 |
| 12 | Brixton TopCats | 26 | 7 | 19 | 0.269 | 33 |
| 13 | Liverpool Atac | 26 | 6 | 20 | 0.231 | 32 |
| 14 | Solent Stars | 26 | 0 | 26 | 0.000 | 26 |
* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

### Playoffs

Semi-finals
* 19 April 1997
| Plymouth Raiders | 56–48 | Coventry Crusaders |
* 20 April 1997
| Ware Rebels | 83–77 | Oxford Devils |
Final
* 4 May 1997
| Ware Rebels | 106–118 | Plymouth Raiders |
* Wembley Arena

## National League Division 2 (Tier 3)
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Solihull Chiefs | 26 | 25 | 1 | 0.962 | 51 |
| 2 | London Towers II | 26 | 22 | 4 | 0.846 | 48 |
| 3 | Thames Valley Tigers II | 26 | 20 | 6 | 0.769 | 46 |
| 4 | South Wales SS | 26 | 17 | 9 | 0.654 | 43 |
| 5 | South Bank Leopards | 26 | 15 | 11 | 0.578 | 41 |
| 6 | Derby Storm II | 26 | 15 | 11 | 0.578 | 41 |
| 7 | Slough Chargers | 26 | 14 | 12 | 0.538 | 40 |
| 8 | Northampton 89ers | 26 | 11 | 15 | 0.423 | 37 |
| 9 | Aston Adante | 26 | 9 | 17 | 0.346 | 35 |
| 10 | Swindon Sonics | 26 | 8 | 18 | 0.308 | 34 |
| 11 | Flintshire Flyers | 26 | 7 | 19 | 0.269 | 33 |
| 12 | Chessington Wildcats | 26 | 7 | 19 | 0.269 | 33 |
| 13 | Sheffield Forgers | 26 | 6 | 20 | 0.231 | 31 |
| 14 | Bournemouth Dolphins | 26 | 5 | 21 | 0.192 | 30 |
* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

### Playoffs

Final
| Thames Valley Tigers II | 91–83 | Solihull Chiefs |
* Wembley Arena

## Sainsbury's Classic Cola National Cup
### Fourth round

| Team 1 | Team 2 | Score |
| Manchester Giants | Crystal Palace | 91-61 |
| Coventry Crusaders | Sheffield Sharks | 56-86 |
| Birmingham Bullets | Hemel & Watford Royals | 91-84 |
| Cardiff Phoenix | London Towers | 55-95 |
| Ware Rebels | Newcastle Eagles | 70-102 |
| Thames Valley Tigers | Derby Storm | 80-79 |
| Worthing Bears | Leicester Riders | 74-84 |
| Chester Jets | Leopards | 103-112 |

### Quarter-finals

| Team 1 | Team 2 | Score |
| Sheffield Sharks | Leicester Riders | 103-98 |
| London Towers | Manchester Giants | 83-74 |
| Newcastle Eagles | Birmingham Bullets | 99-93 |
| Thames Valley Tigers | Leopards | 87-102 |

### Semi-finals

| Team 1 | Team 2 | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg |
| Sheffield Sharks | Newcastle Eagles | 91-80 | 75-84 |
| Leopards | London Towers | 93-92 | 72-70 |

### Final

* 19 January 1997
| Leopards | 87–79 | Sheffield Sharks |
| Pts: Eric Burks (MVP) 28, John White 28, Robert Youngblood 16, John Tresvant, Tim Davis, Ronnie Baker | | Pts: Roger Huggins 26, Voise Winters 19, Todd Cauthorn, Deon Hames, Isaac Morgan, Ian McKinney, Jason Swaine, Chris Finch |
* Sheffield Arena Attendance: ? Leopards coach Billy Mims Sheffield coach Jim Brandon

## 7 Up Trophy
### Group stage

Northern Group
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.Sheffield Sharks | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Chester Jets | 8 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.800 |
| 3.Leicester Riders | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.400 |
| 4.Manchester Giants | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.400 |
| 5.Derby Storm | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0.200 |
| 6.Newcastle Eagles | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0.200 |
Southern Group
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.Leopards | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Thames Valley Tigers | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 |
| 3.Worthing Bears | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 |
| 4.Birmingham Bullets | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 |
| 5.Crystal Palace | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0.400 |
| 6.Hemel & Watford Royals | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0.000 |
Leicester finished ahead of Manchester by having the best head-to-head record between the teams, whilst Birmingham qualify as fourth-placed finishers with the best record. London received a bye into Quarter-finals.

### Quarter-finals

Birmingham Bullets vs. Leicester Riders
| Birmingham Bullets | 77–95 | Leicester Riders |
| Leicester Riders | 69–79 | Birmingham Bullets |
| Leicester win on aggregate, 164–156 |||
Leopards vs. London Towers
| Leopards | 79–111 | London Towers |
| London Towers | 92–90 | Leopards |
| London win on aggregate, 203–169 |||
Thames Valley Tigers vs. Chester Jets
| Thames Valley Tigers | 85–91 | Chester Jets |
| Chester Jets | 89–89 | Thames Valley Tigers |
| Chester win on aggregate, 180–174 |||
Worthing Bears vs. Sheffield Sharks
| Worthing Bears | 81–83 | Sheffield Sharks |
| Sheffield Sharks | 97–85 | Worthing Bears |
| Sheffield win on aggregate, 180–166 |||

### Semi-finals

Chester Jets vs. Leicester Riders
| Chester Jets | 92–88 | Leicester Riders |
| Leicester Riders | 92–93 | Chester Jets |
| Chester win on aggregate, 185–180 |||
Sheffield Sharks vs. London Towers
| Sheffield Sharks | 75–74 | London Towers |
| London Towers | 80–71 | Sheffield Sharks |
| London win on aggregate, 154–146 |||

### Final

* 2 March 1997
| London Towers | 67–59 | Chester Jets |
| Pts: Karl Brown (MVP) 16, Neville Austin 14, Danny Lewis 13, Tony Windless 11, Keith Robinson, Alan Cunningham, Paul Deppisch | | Pts: Hillary Scott 16, Billy Singleton 15, Ricardo Leonard 11, Russ Saunders 10, Nigel Palmer, Mark Ogley |
* National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham Attendance: ? Towers coach Kevin Cadle Chester coach Mike Burton

## Seasonal awards

* Most Valuable Player: John White (Leopards)
* Coach of the Year: Mike Burton (Chester Jets)
* All-Star Team:
** John White (Leopards)
** Ralph Blalock (Newcastle Eagles)
** Eric Burks (Leopards)
** Tony Dorsey (Birmingham Bullets)
** James Hamilton (Worthing Bears)
** Roger Huggins (Sheffield Sharks)
** Danny Lewis (London Towers)
** Nigel Lloyd (Birmingham Bullets)
** Billy Singleton (Chester Jets)
** Voise Winters (Sheffield Sharks)