The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), although this anniversary was not celebrated until the following season. The Chicago Bulls defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals to win their fourth championship.
The 1995 NBA lockout was the first lockout of four in the history of the NBA. When the previous collective bargaining agreement expired after the 1993–94 season a no-strike, no-lockout agreement was made in October 1994, with a moratorium on signing or restructuring player contracts. That moratorium expired the day after the 14 June NBA finals. The 24 June expansion draft and the 28 June NBA draft were allowed to take place but all other league business, including trades, free-agent signings, contract extensions and summer leagues stopped, from 1 July 1995 until 12 September 1995, with no games affected. Among the key issues in the labor dispute were the salary cap, free agency, a rookie salary cap and revenue sharing.
The NBA established its first Canadian teams, as the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies made their debuts as the NBA's 28th and 29th franchises. The Grizzlies began play at GM Place (now Rogers Arena) as a member of the Midwest Division while the Raptors set up shop at the SkyDome (now Rogers Centre) as a member of the Central Division. Each franchise won its first game, although Toronto would only win 21 games in the season, and Vancouver 15 games.
The Chicago Bulls finished the season with a combined regular season and postseason record of 87-13, the best in NBA history. Prior to the start of the NBA Playoffs, the Bulls shocked the basketball world by wearing black socks, claiming this as redemption to the city's most infamous sports moment, the Black Sox Scandal of 1919. The socks would become a Bulls playoff tradition, which other teams soon follow. However, this was not the first time a team or a particular player wore black socks; earlier in the season, Orlando Magic forward Dennis Scott wore black socks while competing in the AT&T Three-Point Shootout at NBA All-Star Weekend.
The Miami Heat hired Pat Riley as the team's new head coach and president of basketball operations. Riley's first moves were the acquisition of Alonzo Mourning from the Charlotte Hornets for Glen Rice, and the trade for Tim Hardaway from the Golden State Warriors for Kevin Willis. Hardaway and Mourning would turn the struggling Heat into contenders in the coming seasons.
NBA debuts for four future All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Michael Finley, Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse. Toronto Raptors point guard Damon Stoudamire won Rookie of the Year.
Michael Jordan became the only player to win the NBA Finals MVP Award at least four times. He would also become the second player to earn the MVP treble since Willis Reed in 1970, having won All-Star, Regular Season and Finals MVP in the same season; an achievement he also accomplished in 1998, and later on by Shaquille O'Neal in 2000.
Michael Jordan won his NBA record 8th scoring title.
The Boston Celtics played their first game at the FleetCenter (now TD Garden).
The 1996 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, with the East defeating the West 129–118. Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls was named the game's MVP. Los Angeles Clippers guard Brent Barry won the Slam Dunk Contest.
Referees were locked out to begin the season, but reached an agreement to return to work in December 1995.
Magic Johnson comes out of retirement to play in 32 games for Los Angeles before retiring again at the end of the season.
The Philadelphia 76ers play their final game at The Spectrum. At the time, it was named the CoreStates Spectrum; the CoreStates name was later added on their future home arena under construction at the time. The 76ers would return to the renamed Wachovia Spectrum for a farewell game in the 2008–09 season before its eventual demolition.
Hakeem Olajuwon passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leader in blocked shots in the last game of the season. John Stockton also became the all-time steals and assists leader, passing Maurice Cheeks and Magic Johnson, respectively. Robert Parish also passed Abdul-Jabbar for the most games played in the NBA.
Portland Trail Blazers' longest sellout streak by any team in professional sports ends at 814, during which the team played its first season at higher-capacity Rose Garden, now the Moda Center.
The Sacramento Kings made their first playoff appearance since 1986.
Notes
z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
y – Clinched division title
x – Clinched playoff spot
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.
Most Valuable Player: Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
Rookie of the Year: Damon Stoudamire, Toronto Raptors
Defensive Player of the Year: Gary Payton, Seattle SuperSonics
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 – Anfernee 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:
Damon Stoudamire, Toronto Raptors
Joe Smith, Golden State Warriors
Jerry Stackhouse, Philadelphia 76ers
Antonio McDyess, Denver Nuggets
Arvydas Sabonis, Portland Trail Blazers
Michael Finley, Phoenix Suns
All-NBA Rookie Second Team:
Rasheed Wallace, Washington Bullets
Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves
Bryant Reeves, Vancouver Grizzlies
Brent Barry, Los Angeles Clippers
Tyus Edney, Sacramento Kings
Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com
The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.
The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.
The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.
The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.
