1996-97 NBA Season Trivia Quiz

Answer: Karl Malone

Karl Malone, 'the Mailman', notched his first of two regular season NBA MVP awards in 1997. He also managed the feat in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season. Malone was named NBA Player of the Week three times in the 1996-97 season, including twice in a row in the month of March.

Not surprisingly, Malone was the NBA Player of the Month for March, as well. Karl Malone, with much help from John Stockton and teammates, of course, helped the Jazz achieve first place in the Western Conference going into the playoffs this season.

They were a full seven games ahead of the second place Seattle SuperSonics (57-25), ending the regular season with a record of 64-18.

Answer: Vancouver Grizzlies

The 1996-1997 NBA season was the first time in NBA history that multiple teams finished the regular season with a winning percentage below .200 (although it happened twice more in the 1990s). The hapless Grizzlies went 14-68 in their second season in the NBA, having gone 15-67 in 1995-96. Vancouver fired head coach Brian Winters after the team went 8-35 for the season, and replacement coach Stu Jackson was fired at the end of the season.

The Denver Nuggets had a record of 21-61 in the 1996-97 NBA season, and the San Antonio Spurs ended the year at 20-62. The Houston Rockets made it to the Western Conference Finals, and ended the regular season with a 57-25 record.

Answer: Allen Iverson

All four of these players were rookies in the talented 1996 pool of players. It is Allen Iverson, 'The Answer', who is the answer in this case -- he was the Rookie of the Year. Ray Allen was the fifth pick in the first round of the 1996 draft, Kobe Bryant was 13th, and Steve Nash was 15th. Allen Iverson played in the NBA for 14 seasons, and was an All-Star 11 times. Iverson was the NBA MVP for the 2000-2001 season.

Answer: Michael Jordan

The four players given ended the 1996-97 NBA season as the top four players in PPG. Michael Jordan topped the list by more than two points per game (Karl Malone had 27.4 PPG). He also achieved the highest total numbers of points for the 1996-97 season, with 2431 points to Karl Malone's second-highest 2249. During his 13 seasons playing for the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan achieved a mark of more than 30 points per game in eight separate seasons.

He ended his 15-year career with 30.1 PPG.

Answer: Dennis Rodman

While Dikembe Mutombo led the league in total rebounds in 1997 with 929, Dennis Rodman played in only 55 games and led the NBA with 16.1 rebounds per game. Dennis Rodman, 'the Worm', was always a prolific rebounder. He amassed 11954 regular season rebounds during his 14 seasons playing in the NBA.

Answer: Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe Bryant played for the Lakers for his entire NBA career, from 1996-2016. Shaquille O'Neal was signed as a free agent after four years with the Orlando Magic. These two played together for eight years as Lakers, winning the NBA championship three times. O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, and Bryant won a total of five NBA championship titles with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Answer: Cleveland, Ohio

The February 9, 1997 NBA All-Star Game commemorated the 50th anniversary of the NBA. It was played at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The East defeated the West in this game, 132 to 120, and Glen Rice of the Charlotte Hornets won the All-Star Game MVP award.

Answer: Toronto Raptors

The Timberwolves made the playoffs for the first time since joining the NBA in 1989. They were the sixth seed in the Western Conference, and lost in the first round to Houston. Phoenix made the playoffs as the seventh seed in the Western Conference, and Charlotte was the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Toronto Raptors ended the season in 12th place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 30-52. This was the second season in the NBA for the Raptors, and they improved on the record they had in their inaugural season (21-61) by 9 games.

Answer: Pat Riley

Pat Riley won the Coach of the Year award for the 1996-1997 NBA season, coaching the Miami Heat. The Heat lost to the eventual champion Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals this year. Pat Riley coached the Lakers to four championships in the 1980s, and the Miami Heat to their first championship in 2006. Of the incorrect answer choices, Lenny Wilkens coached the Atlanta Hawks in 1996-97, Rudy Tomjanovich was coaching the Houston Rockets, and Phil Jackson coached the Bulls.

Answer: Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan acquired his fifth NBA Finals MVP award in 1997, in his fifth appearance in an NBA Finals series. The Bulls would go on to win a sixth title in the 1990s the very next year (1998), and Michael Jordan was the NBA Finals MVP all six times. So much could be said about Michael Jordan and his achievements. I like the thought of ending simply with this: he undoubtedly contributed to increasing the popularity of the NBA around the world.