The

1996–97 NBA season The 1996–97 NBA season was the 51st season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league used this season to celebrate its 50th anniversary, which included the unveiling of the league's list of its 50 greatest players. This particu ...

was the 51st season for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. Celebrating its 50th anniversary as one of the NBA's original franchises, the Celtics received the sixth overall pick in the

1996 NBA draft The 1996 NBA draft was the 50th NBA draft, draft in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held on June 26, 1996–97 NBA season, 1996, at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In this draft, NBA teams took turns s ...

, and selected power forward

Antoine Walker Antoine Devon Walker (born August 12, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft out of the University of Kentucky and played in the NBA from 1996 to 2008. Walker ...

from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. During the off-season, the team signed free agents

Frank Brickowski Francis Anthony Brickowski (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, who started his career playing 3 seasons overseas before playing 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). College and overse ...

and Marty Conlon. However, after a 4–8 start to the regular season, the Celtics lost 13 of their next 14 games as players like

Dino Radja Dino may refer to: Prefix * dino-, a common prefix in taxonomy, meaning "terrible", "formidable" **Dinosaur ** Dinosaurus People * Dino (given name), a masculine given name and a nickname * Dino (surname), a surname found in Albania and Turkey ...

Dana Barros Dana Bruce Barros (born April 13, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player from the National Basketball Association (NBA). In college, he played at Boston College, finishing as one of the school's all-time leading scorers. He w ...

, Dee Brown, Greg Minor and

Pervis Ellison Pervis Ellison (born April 3, 1967) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Nicknamed "Never Nervous Pervis" for his clutch play with the University of Louisville, after leading Louisville to a national championship, E ...

were all out for long stretches of the season due to injuries. The team suffered through their worst season ever, holding an 11–35 record at the All-Star break, then posting a 13-game losing streak between February and March, and losing ten straight games near the end of the regular season. The Celtics lost 34 of their final 38 games, finishing in last place in the Atlantic Division with a dreadful 15–67 record, which is currently the team's worst record in franchise history. Walker averaged 17.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, and was named to the

NBA All-Rookie First Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

, while

David Wesley David Barakau Wesley (born November 14, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Early life David graduated from Longview High School in Longview, Texas. He was classma ...

averaged 16.8 points, 7.3 assists and 2.2 steals per game, and contributed 103 three-point field goals, and

Rick Fox Ulrich Alexander Fox (born July 24, 1969) is a Bahamian-Canadian actor and former basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association for the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, and played college basketball for the North Caro ...

provided the team with 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game, and with 101 three-point field goals. In addition, second-year forward

Eric Williams Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician. He has been dubbed as the " Father of the Nation", having led the then-British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October 1956, ...

contributed 15.0 points per game, and

Todd Day Todd Fitzgerald Day (born January 7, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. Day is the all-time leading scorer at the University of Arkansas, and pla ...

provided with 14.5 points per game, and led the Celtics with 126 three-point field goals. Meanwhile, Radja averaged 14.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game in 25 games due to a left knee injury, Barros averaged 12.5 points and 3.2 assists per game in 24 games, Minor contributed 9.6 points per game in 23 games, Brown provided with 7.6 points, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game in 21 games, and Conlon averaged 7.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Walker also finished in fourth place in Rookie of the Year voting, while Wesley finished in eleventh place in Most Improved Player voting, and Fox finished tied in sixth place in

Defensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY or DPOTY) is the name of an award given in sports for outstanding defensive play by a single player over the course of a season. Many sports leagues award this type of award. League awards for Defensive Player o ...

voting. Following the season, head coach

M.L. Carr Michael Leon Carr (born January 9, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA), and former head coach and General Manager of the Boston Celtics. ...

resigned, while Fox signed as a free agent with the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, Wesley signed with the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

, Williams was traded to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

, Day signed with the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

, and Brickowski, Conlon and

Alton Lister Alton Lavelle Lister (born October 1, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player. He is currently serving as an assistant coach for TNT Tropang Giga in the Philippine Basketball Association and the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the Univ ...

were all released to free agency. This was also the final season for Radja; after failing his physical exam, voiding an off-season trade that would have sent him to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

in exchange for

Clarence Weatherspoon Clarence Weatherspoon Sr. (born September 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) born in Crawford, Mississippi. He is currently the head coach for Meridian Community College. ...

and

Michael Cage Michael Jerome Cage Sr. (born January 28, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and current broadcast analyst for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Basketball career A 6'9" power forward/ center from San Diego State, he is the Az ...

, he returned to play overseas in Europe, signing a contract to play in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, and ending his four-year career in the NBA with the Celtics. For the season, the Celtics updated their primary logo of a leprechaun spinning a basketball, adding gold, black and mahogany colors; the logo is still present as of 2025.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , 24 , , 8 , , 29.5 , , .435 , , .410 , , .860 , , 2.0 , , 3.4 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 12.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 17 , , 2 , , 15.0 , , .438 , , .350 , , .714 , , 2.0 , , .9 , , .3 , , .2 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 21 , , 2 , , 24.9 , , .367 , , .308 , , .818 , , 2.3 , , 3.2 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 74 , , 15 , , 21.8 , , .471 , , .200 , , .842 , , 4.4 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .2 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 81 , , 27 , , 28.1 , , .398 , , .362 , , .773 , , 4.1 , , 1.4 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 15 , , 0 , , 8.8 , , .302 , , .000 , , .714 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , .2 , , .1 , , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 6 , , 4 , , 20.8 , , .375 , , , , .600 , , 4.3 , , .7 , , .8 , , 1.5 , , 2.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 76 , , 75 , , 34.9 , , .456 , , .363 , , .787 , , 5.2 , , 3.8 , , 2.2 , , .5 , , 15.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 35 , , 3 , , 7.7 , , .526 , , .000 , , .552 , , 1.7 , , .2 , , .1 , , .1 , , 2.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 29 , , 0 , , 11.2 , , .426 , , .323 , , .800 , , 1.1 , , 2.2 , , .6 , , .0 , , 2.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 5 , , 0 , , 6.6 , , .714 , , , , .667 , , 1.8 , , .2 , , .0 , , .2 , , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 53 , , 2 , , 9.7 , , .416 , , , , .742 , , 3.2 , , .2 , , .2 , , .3 , , 1.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 23 , , 15 , , 23.8 , , .480 , , .125 , , .861 , , 3.5 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , .1 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 25 , , 25 , , 35.0 , , .440 , , .000 , , .718 , , 8.4 , , 1.9 , , .9 , , 1.9 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 70 , , 24 , , 9.5 , , .446 , , .000 , , .738 , , 2.4 , , .2 , , .2 , , .5 , , 2.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 82 , , 68 , , 36.2 , , .425 , , .327 , , .631 , , 9.0 , , 3.2 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , 17.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 74 , , 73 , , 40.4 , , .468 , , .360 , , .781 , , 3.6 , , 7.3 , , 2.2 , , .2 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 72 , , 67 , , 33.8 , , .456 , , .250 , , .752 , , 4.6 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 15.0

Awards and records

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

1st Team

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Regular season

Awards and records

Transactions

References

See also