The

1997–98 NBA season The 1997–98 NBA season was the 52nd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Chicago Bulls winning their third straight championship and sixth in the last eight years, beating the Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 in ...

was the 28th season for the

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

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 ...

, their 14th season in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and their fourth season in which they played occasional home games in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

. During the off-season, the Clippers signed free agent James Robinson, and acquired Stojko Vrankovic from the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

. With

Loy Vaught Loy Stephen Vaught (born February 27, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who spent ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), primarily with the Los Angeles Clippers. Vaught played at East Kentwood High S ...

going down early into the regular season with a back injury after only just ten games, averaging 7.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, the Clippers struggled losing 14 of their first 16 games. After holding a 5–24 start, the team managed to win four of their next five games, but then lost 12 of their next 13 games afterwards, and held an 11–37 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded

Brent Barry Brent Robert Barry (born December 31, 1971), also known by the nickname "Bones", is an American basketball coach, executive, broadcaster and former player. He is the assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NB ...

to 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 ...

in exchange for last year's Most Improved Player

Isaac Austin Isaac Edward "Ike" Austin (born August 18, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played for several different teams in the National Basketball Association between 1991 and 2002. He is the uncle of former Baylor Universit ...

, and rookie guard Charles Smith. The Clippers lost 15 of their final 17 games, including a 10-game losing streak between March and April, finishing in last place in the Pacific Division with a 17–65 record. Lamond Murray showed improvement becoming the team's starting small forward, averaging 15.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, and finishing tied in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting, while

Rodney Rogers Rodney Ray Rogers (born June 20, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Early life R ...

averaged 15.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and top draft pick

Maurice Taylor Maurice De Shawn Taylor (born October 30, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He played power forward and center positions. Originally from Detroit, Taylor played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines and was ...

averaged 11.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game off the bench, and was named to the

NBA All-Rookie Second 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 ...

. In addition, three-point specialist Eric Piatkowski contributed 11.3 points per game and 106 three-point field goals, while

Darrick Martin Darrick David Martin (born March 6, 1971) is an American basketball coach, most recently head coach for the Reno Bighorns of the NBA G League. He played basketball for more than a decade, shuttling between the Continental Basketball Association ...

provided the team with 10.3 points and 4.0 assists per game, and led them with 107 three-point field goals, and second-year center

Lorenzen Wright Lorenzen Vern-Gagne Wright (November 4, 1975 – July 19, 2010) was an American professional basketball player for thirteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted seventh overall in the 1996 NBA draft by the Los An ...

provided with 9.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Following the season, Austin signed as a free agent with the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

, while Vaught signed with the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

after eight seasons with the Clippers, and head coach

Bill Fitch William Charles Fitch (May 19, 1932 – February 2, 2022) was an American professional basketball coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He developed multiple teams into playoff contenders and won an NBA championship with the Bos ...

was fired. Fitch's most losses record in NBA history with 1,106 losses stood for five years, until

Lenny Wilkens Leonard Randolph Wilkens (born October 28, 1937) is an American former professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been inducted three times into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, fi ...

broke his mark during the 2002–03 season while coaching for the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

* Rookie center Keith Closs played for the Lakers during the pre-season and had a strong performance. When he was released, the Clippers quickly signed him to their roster.

Regular season

Season standings

:z - clinched division title :y - clinched division title :x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Player Statistics Citation:

Awards and records

Transactions

The Clippers have been involved in the following transactions during the 1997–98 season.

Trades

Free agents

Additions

Subtractions

Player Transactions Citation:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1997-98 Los Angeles Clippers season

1997 in Los Angeles 1998 in Los Angeles 1997 in sports in California 1998 in sports in California Los Angeles Clippers seasons