1996–97 Washington Bullets season

1996–97 Washington Bullets season
Ben Wallace's rookie season
Head coach	Jim Lynam Bernie Bickerstaff
Arena	US Airways Arena
Results
Record	44–38 (.537)
Place	Division: 4th (Atlantic) Conference: 8th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East First Round (eliminated 0-3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Bullets' 36th season in the NBA, With a record of 22-24 at midseason, the Bullets fired head coach Jim Lynam and hired Bernie Bickerstaff. Under Bickerstaff, the Bullets finished the season winning 16 of their final 21 games to slip into the playoffs with a 44-38 record (4th in the Atlantic Division), ending an eight year playoff drought. Chris Webber made his first All-Star appearance in the 1997 NBA All-Star Game. In the first round of the playoffs, the Bullets were swept by the defending champion Chicago Bulls in three straight games. Game 3 of that series at US Airways Arena was officially their final game as the "Bullets". Following the season, the team changed its name to the "Wizards".

Draft picks

Main article: 1996 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	55	Ronnie Henderson		United States	LSU

Roster

Washington Bullets roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From SG 40 Cheaney, Calbert 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 209 lb (95 kg) Indiana PF 44 Grant, Harvey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Oklahoma SF 5 Howard, Juwan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Michigan SG 32 Jackson, Jaren 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Georgetown SG 23 Legler, Tim 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) La Salle C 77 Mureșan, Gheorghe 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) 303 lb (137 kg) Romania SF 35 Murray, Tracy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) UCLA PG 1 Strickland, Rod 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) DePaul PF 30 Wallace, Ben 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Virginia Union PF 4 Webber, Chris 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Michigan PG 12 Whitney, Chris 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 168 lb (76 kg) Clemson C 43 Williams, Lorenzo 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Stetson	Head coach Bernie Bickerstaff (San Diego) Assistant coach(es) Buzz Braman Bob Staak (Connecticut) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Miami Heat	61	21	.744	–	29–12	32–9	16–8
x-New York Knicks	57	25	.695	4	31–10	26–15	19–6
x-Orlando Magic	45	37	.549	16	26–15	19–22	13–11
x-Washington Bullets	44	38	.537	17	25–16	19–22	14–10
New Jersey Nets	26	56	.317	35	16–25	10–31	11–13
Philadelphia 76ers	22	60	.268	39	11–30	11–30	11–14
Boston Celtics	15	67	.183	46	11–30	4–37	1–23

#	Eastern Conference
	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

Playoffs

East First Round

(1) Chicago Bulls vs. (8) Washington Bullets

• Last Playoff Meeting: This was the first meeting of the two teams in the playoffs.

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (CHI-WAS)	Venue	Recap	Television
1	April 25	Chicago	98	Washington	86	1-0	United Center, Chicago, Illinois	1	TNT
2	April 27	Chicago	109	Washington	104	2-0	United Center, Chicago, Illinois	2	NBC
3	April 30	Washington	95	Chicago	96	3-0	US Airways Arena, Landover, Maryland	3	TNT
Chicago wins series 3–0

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

See also

• 1996-97 NBA season