Miami beat out Riley’s former team, the New York Knicks, for the Atlantic crown, then bested the Knicks in a heated seven-game playoff series before bowing to the Bulls in the Conference finals. Alonzo Mourning (19.8 ppg, 9.9 rpg) was solid as always, but also key to the Heat’s success were point guard Tim Hardaway’s resurgence (20.3 ppg, 8.6 apg) and surprising contributions from unheralded players like Voshon Lenard and Isaac Austin, who won the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award. Miami climbed to the top of the Atlantic Division with a franchise-record 61 victories in its second season under coach and team president Pat Riley. Surprising Charlotte, in its first year under coach Dave Cowens, and resurgent Detroit finished with 54 wins apiece, two games behind Atlanta. ![]() The Bulls easily outdistanced the field in the Eastern Conference, winning the Central Division by 13 games over the improved Atlanta Hawks, who added Defensive Player of the Year Dikembe Mutombo (3.3 bpg, second in the NBA behind Shawn Bradley’s 3.4) to ballhawking Mookie Blaylock (a league-leading 2.7 spg) and came up with very stingy defense. Only three losses in their final four games, by which time the Bulls already were focused on the upcoming playoffs, kept Chicago from unprecedented back-to-back 70-win seasons. Led by scoring champion Jordan (29.6 ppg), versatile Scottie Pippen (20.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg and team-highs of 5.7 apg and 1.8 spg) and rebounding king Dennis Rodman (16.1 rpg), the Bulls glided through the regular season to a 69-13 record, matching the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers for the second-best record in NBA history. Once again, though, Michael Jordan and the Bulls remained the top storyline in the NBA. Lakers also made a power move by signing free agent All-Star center Shaquille O’Neal before the season.Ī highlight of the season came during the All-Star weekend at the then-Gund Arena in Cleveland, where the NBA’s 50th Anniversary celebration culminated in a moving on-court appearance by virtually all of the players honored as the NBA’s 50 greatest of all time. 1 Draft pick Allen Iverson and fellow rookies Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen and Steve Nash - made their NBA debuts. ![]() Many of the league’s eventual stars - such as No. The 1996-97 season marked the 50th anniversary of the NBA, and while the league’s past was celebrated with the naming of the 50 greatest players in league history, fans got their first glimpse of the future of the NBA.
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