The 1996–97 BBL season was known as the

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company 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 is a filte ...

League for sponsorship reasons. The league retained a total of 13 teams, playing 36 games each. The main change featured the return of Crystal Palace after several seasons of rejected applications. Palace replaced

Doncaster Panthers {{Use British English, date=February 2024 The Doncaster Panthers Basketball Club was a basketball club in Doncaster, England, which existed between 1954 and 1985. Another local team originally called the Doncaster Eagles then changed its name to D ...

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 cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

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 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, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...

against their rivals.

Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)

Final standings

Playoffs

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

) ** Ralph Blalock (

Newcastle Eagles The Newcastle Eagles are a professional basketball club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. They play in Super League Basketball, the top-tier professional basketball league in Britain for men and women, and the European North Basketball Leag ...

) ** Eric Burks (

) ** Tony Dorsey (

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 James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

(

Worthing Bears Brighton Bears were 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, England. The Sharks compete in the Super League Basketball and play their home matches at ...

) ** Danny Lewis ( London Towers) **

Nigel Lloyd Nigel A Lloyd is a Barbadian-British basketball coach and former player. Career Born in Barbados, Lloyd came to the United States at age 6. He first picked up a basketball in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. In the 1980s, he attended the ...

(

) ** Billy Singleton ( Chester Jets) ** Voise Winters (

)

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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...