The 1996–97 BBL season was known as the

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrelat ...

League for sponsorship reasons. The league retained a total of 13 teams, playing 36 games each. The main change featured the long-awaited return of

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

after several seasons of rejected applications. Palace replaced

Doncaster Panthers {{cleanup, reason=no lead paragraph, no subheadings, disorganised article structure, date=March 2015 The Doncaster Panthers Basketball Club was established in 1954 by Morris Wordsworth and played out of Balby High School Gym in their formative yea ...

following the liquidation of the South Yorkshire club. The League's two London-based teams dominated throughout the season, with the

Leopards The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, ...

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 London Towers were a professional basketball team based in London, England. They enjoyed considerable success in the 1990s and early 2000s, collecting 3 titles in the British Basketball League (BBL) as well as regularly competing in European c ...

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 Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

against their rivals.

Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)

Final standings

The play-offs

Quarter-finals

(1) Leopards vs. (8) Leicester Riders (2) London Towers vs. (7) Newcastle Eagles (3) Sheffield Sharks vs. (6) Manchester Giants (4) Birmingham Bullets vs. (5) Chester Jets

Semi-finals

Final

National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

Final standings

Playoffs

Semi-finals Final

National League Division 2 (Tier 3)

Final standings

Playoffs

Final

Sainsbury's Classic Cola National Cup

Fourth round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

7 Up Trophy

Group stage

Northern Group

Southern Group

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 Leopards vs. London Towers Thames Valley Tigers vs. Chester Jets Worthing Bears vs. Sheffield Sharks

Semi-finals

Chester Jets vs. Leicester Riders Sheffield Sharks vs. London Towers

Final

Seasonal awards

* Most Valuable Player: John White (

) * Coach of the Year: Mike Burton (

Chester Jets The Cheshire Phoenix are a professional basketball team based in Ellesmere Port, England. Founded in 1984, they are members of the British Basketball League and play their home games at the Cheshire Oaks Arena. From 1993 until 2015 the team was ...

) * All-Star Team: ** John White (

) ** Ralph Blalock (

Newcastle Eagles The Newcastle Eagles are a professional basketball team based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Playing in the top-tier British Basketball League and holding the franchise for Tyne & Wear, they are the most successful team in the League's histor ...

) **

Eric Burks Eric Burks (born February 22, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He had a 10-year career, most of which was spent playing in the British Basketball League (BBL). Burks was a four-time BBL All-Star and one-time BBL MVP. C ...

(

) **

Tony Dorsey Anthony Jerald Dorsey (born July 15, 1970) is an American-born British former professional basketball player. He was born in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. At a height of 6'7" (2.01 m) tall, and a weight of 220 lbs. (100 kg), he played at ...

(

Birmingham Bullets The Birmingham Bullets were a British professional basketball team from Birmingham, England who competed in the British Basketball League (BBL). The club was founded in 1974 as Coventry Granwood before moving to Birmingham in 1980 as part of the ...

) ** James Hamilton (

Worthing Bears Brighton Bears was a British basketball team based in Brighton, Sussex. From 1984 to 1999 the club was known as the Worthing Bears and was based in the town of Worthing, 12 miles west of Brighton. The Bears played in the top-flight British Bas ...

) ** Roger Huggins (

Sheffield Sharks The Sheffield Sharks, currently known as "B.Braun Sheffield Sharks" for sponsorship reasons, are a professional basketball team from the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The Sharks play in the British Basketball League and play thei ...

) ** Danny Lewis (

) **

Nigel Lloyd Nigel ( ) is an English language, English masculine given name. The English ''Nigel'' is commonly found in records dating from the Middle Ages; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians. For instance, Walte ...

(

) **

Billy Singleton Billy Singleton (born June 1, 1968, in New York City) is a former professional basketball player, most notable for his career in the British Basketball League. Singleton is the 4th leading scorer in British basketball history & 5th leading reboun ...

(

) **

Voise Winters Voise Lee Winters (born October 12, 1962) is an American former basketball player. He played for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his senior season (1980-1981) at Gage Park High School in Chicago, Wint ...

(

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1996-97 British Basketball League season British Basketball League seasons 1

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...