NBA 1995/96

National Basketball Association
◄ previous	1995/96 season		next ►
Duration		November 3, 1995 - April 21, 1996
Season games per team		82
Number of teams		29
Regular season
Best record		United States Chicago Bulls
Season MVP		United States Michael Jordan
Playoffs
Eastern - Champion		United States Chicago Bulls
Runner-up team		United States Orlando Magic
Western - Champion		United States Seattle SuperSonics
Runner-up team		United States Utah Jazz
Finals
NBA champions		United States Chicago Bulls
Runner-up		United States Seattle SuperSonics
Finals MVP		United States Michael Jordan

The 1995–96 NBA season marked the National Basketball Association's 50th season . It ended with a 4-2 win for the Chicago Bulls against the Seattle SuperSonics in the final series.

Season Notes

With the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies , teams number 28 and 29 came new to the league.
The Chicago Bulls ended the season including playoffs with 87 wins and 13 losses, with the regular season alone being 72:10. That new record lasted until the 2015/16 season when the Golden State Warriors managed to hit a 73-9 record after the regular season. However, since the Warriors lost the final against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs , and gave up more games on the way, their overall balance was 88:18.
Pat Riley became the new head coach of the Miami Heat . The Heat, which had been unsuccessful in the last few seasons, was strengthened by Riley with Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway . The heat then improved by 10 wins compared to the previous year and reached the playoffs.

Final results

S = wins, N = defeats, PCT = percentage of wins, P = deficit on division leaders

The placements in the seed lists of the respective conference playoffs are listed in brackets.

#	team	S.	N	PCT	P
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
1	Orlando Magic (2)	60	22nd	.732	-
2	New York Knicks (5)	47	35	.573	13
3	Miami Heat (8)	42	40	.512	18th
4th	Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	21st
5	Boston Celtics	33	49	.402	27
6th	New Jersey Nets	30th	52	.366	30th
7th	Philadelphia 76ers	18th	64	.220	42
Central Division
#	team	S.	N	PCT	P
1	Chicago Bulls (1)	72	10	.878	-
2	Indiana Pacers (3)	52	30th	.634	20th
3	Cleveland Cavaliers (4)	47	35	.573	25th
4th	Atlanta Hawks (6)	46	36	.561	26th
5	Detroit Pistons (7)	46	36	.561	26th
6th	Charlotte Hornets	41	41	.500	31
7th	Milwaukee Bucks	25th	57	.305	47
8th	Toronto Raptors	21st	61	.256	51

#	team	S.	N	PCT	P
Western Conference
Midwest Division
1	San Antonio Spurs (2)	59	23	.72	-
2	Utah Jazz (3)	55	27	.671	4th
3	Houston Rockets (5)	48	34	.585	11
4th	Denver nuggets	35	47	.427	24
5	Dallas Mavericks	26th	56	.317	33
6th	Minnesota Timberwolves	26th	56	.317	33
7th	Vancouver grizzlies	15th	67	.183	44
Pacific Division
#	team	S.	N	PCT	P
1	Seattle SuperSonics (1)	64	18th	.780	-
2	Los Angeles Lakers (4)	53	29	.646	11
3	Portland Trail Blazers (6)	44	38	.537	20th
4th	Phoenix Suns (7)	41	41	.500	23
5	Sacramento Kings (8)	39	43	.476	25th
6th	Golden State Warriors	36	46	.439	28
7th	Los Angeles Clippers	29	53	.354	35

The winner of a division is guaranteed at least second place on the seeding list that is decisive for the play-offs , even if more than one team has achieved a higher number of wins.

Honors

Most Valuable Player : Michael Jordan , Chicago Bulls
Defensive Player of the Year : Gary Payton , Seattle SuperSonics
Rookie of the Year : Damon Stoudamire , Toronto Raptors
Sixth Man of the Year : Toni Kukoč , Chicago Bulls
Most Improved Player : Gheorghe Mureșan , Washington Bullets
Coach of the Year : Phil Jackson , Chicago Bulls
All-NBA First Team :
- F - Karl Malone , Utah Jazz
- F - Scottie Pippen , Chicago Bulls
- C - David Robinson , San Antonio Spurs
- G - Michael Jordan , Chicago Bulls
- G - Penny Hardaway , Orlando Magic
All-NBA Second Team:
- F - Shawn Kemp , Seattle SuperSonics
- F - Grant Hill , Detroit Pistons
- C - Hakeem Olajuwon , Houston Rockets
- G - Gary Payton , Seattle SuperSonics
- G - John Stockton , Utah Jazz
All-NBA Third Team:
- F - Charles Barkley , Phoenix Suns
- F - Juwan Howard , Washington Bullets
- C - Shaquille O'Neal , Orlando Magic
- G - Mitch Richmond , Sacramento Kings
- G - Reggie Miller , Indiana Pacers
NBA All-Defensive First Team :
- F - Dennis Rodman , Chicago Bulls
- F - Scottie Pippen , Chicago Bulls
- C - David Robinson , San Antonio Spurs
- G - Michael Jordan , Chicago Bulls
- G - Gary Payton , Seattle SuperSonics
NBA All-Defensive Second Team:
- F - Horace Grant , Orlando Magic
- F - Derrick McKey , Indiana Pacers
- C - Hakeem Olajuwon , Houston Rockets
- G - Bobby Phills , Cleveland Cavaliers
- G - Mookie Blaylock , Atlanta Hawks
All-NBA Rookie First Team :
All-NBA Rookie Second Team:

Play-offs

The first play-off round was played in best-of-five mode , all subsequent rounds in best-of-seven mode .

First round			Conference semifinals			Conference Finals			NBA finals

1	Seattle	3
8th	Sacramento	1
			1	Seattle	4th

			5	Houston	0
4th	LA Lakers	1

5	Houston	3
						1	Seattle	4th
Western Conference
						3	Utah	3
3	Utah	3

6th	Portland	2
			3	Utah	4th

			2	San Antonio	2
2	San Antonio	3

7th	Phoenix	1
									W1	Seattle	2

									E1	Chicago	4th
1	Chicago	3

8th	Miami	0
			1	Chicago	4th

			5	new York	1
4th	Cleveland	0

5	new York	3
						1	Chicago	4th
Eastern Conference
						2	Orlando	0
3	Indiana	2

6th	Atlanta	3
			6th	Atlanta	1

			2	Orlando	4th
2	Orlando	3

7th	Detroit	0

Web links

The 1995/96 season at basketball-reference.com (engl.)