1997–98 Golden State Warriors season

The 1997–98 NBA season was the 52nd season for the Golden State Warriors in the National Basketball Association, and their 36th season in the San Francisco Bay Area.^[1] The Warriors received the eighth overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft, and selected center Adonal Foyle out of Colgate University.^[2][3][4] The Warriors also moved into their new arena, known as The Arena in Oakland.^[5] During the off-season, the team acquired second-year center Erick Dampier from the Indiana Pacers,^[6][7][8] and Brian Shaw from the Orlando Magic.^[9][10] Early into the regular season, they traded B. J. Armstrong to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Muggsy Bogues and second-year guard Tony Delk.^[11][12][13] However, under new head coach P.J. Carlesimo,^[14][15] the Warriors struggled losing their first nine games, which led to an awful 1–14 start.

1997–98 Golden State Warriors season
Head coach	P. J. Carlesimo
Owners	Chris Cohan
Arena	The Arena in Oakland
Results
Record	19–63 (.232)
Place	Division: 6th (Pacific) Conference: 12th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KTVU KICU-TV SportsChannel/Fox Sports Bay Area
Radio	KNBR
< 1996–97 1998–99 >

Things would get even worse on December 1, 1997, as All-Star guard Latrell Sprewell choked, and assaulted Carlesimo during practice,^[16][17][18] and was suspended for the remainder of the season, which was 68 games left in the Warriors' schedule.^[19][20][21] Sprewell averaged 21.4 points, 4.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game in only just 14 games.

Without their star guard, the Warriors showed slight improvement before suffering a 14-game losing streak between December and January, and held a miserable 8–37 record at the All-Star break.^[22] At mid-season, the team traded Shaw along with Joe Smith to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Jim Jackson and Clarence Weatherspoon,^[23][24][25] and acquired Jason Caffey from the Chicago Bulls.^[26][27][28] The Warriors won their final three games of the season, and finished in sixth place in the Pacific Division with an awful 19–63 record.^[29]

Donyell Marshall showed improvement becoming the team's starting small forward, averaging 15.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, and finished in third place in Most Improved Player voting,^[30][31] while Dampier provided the team with 11.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, and Delk contributed 10.4 points per game off the bench. In addition, Bimbo Coles provided with 8.0 points and 4.7 assists per game, but only played 53 games due to hamstring and foot injuries,^[32][33] and Bogues contributed 5.8 points and 5.5 assists per game.^[34]

Following the season, Sprewell was traded to the New York Knicks after six seasons in Oakland,^[35][36][37] while Jackson signed as a free agent with the Portland Trail Blazers, and Weatherspoon signed with the Miami Heat.^[38]

For the season, the Warriors changed their primary logo, which showed a warrior holding a lightning bolt in front of a basketball,^[39] and got new uniforms adding dark navy and orange to their color scheme.^[40][41] The uniforms lasted until 2002, where they added side panels to their jerseys and shorts, while the logo remained in use until 2010.

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 1997 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	8	Adonal Foyle	C/PF	United States	Colgate
2	37	Marc Jackson	C	United States	Temple

Roster

1997–98 Golden State Warriors roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 1 Muggsy Bogues 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) 136 lb (62 kg) 1965–01–09 Wake Forest F 21 Jason Caffey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1973–06–12 Alabama G 12 Bimbo Coles  6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1968–04–22 Virginia Tech C 35 Erick Dampier 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1975–07–14 Mississippi State G 00 Tony Delk 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 1974–01–28 Kentucky F 33 Duane Ferrell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1965–02–28 Georgia Tech F 31 Adonal Foyle 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 270 lb (122 kg) 1975–03–09 Colgate C 52 Todd Fuller 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1974–07–25 NC State G 20 Jeff Grayer 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1965–12–17 Iowa State G 22 Jim Jackson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1970–10–14 Ohio State G 2 Gerald Madkins 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1969–04–18 UCLA F 3 Donyell Marshall  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1973–05–18 Connecticut C 50 Felton Spencer 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1968–01–15 Louisville G 15 Latrell Sprewell (S & C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970–09–08 Alabama F 30 Clarence Weatherspoon 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1970–09–08 Southern Miss

Head coach P. J. Carlesimo Assistant(s) Rod Higgins Bob Staak Paul Westhead Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: April 9, 1998

Roster Notes

• Shooting guard Latrell Sprewell was suspended for 68 games for choking, and assaulting head coach P.J. Carlesimo during practice on December 1, 1997.

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	–	35–6	26–15	19–5
x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	–	33–8	28–13	16–8
x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	5	30–11	26–15	17–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	15	26–15	20–21	14–10
Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	34	21–20	6–35	6–18
Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	42	12–29	7–34	6–18
Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	44	11–30	6–35	6–18

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Utah Jazz	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	1
3	x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	1
4	x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	6
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	6
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	16
7	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	45	37	.549	17
8	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	21
9	Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	35
10	Dallas Mavericks	20	62	.244	42
11	Vancouver Grizzlies	19	63	.232	43
11	Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	43
13	Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	45
14	Denver Nuggets	11	71	.134	51

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1997-98 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	–	2–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	4–0
Boston	1–2	–	1–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
Charlotte	0–4	2–1	–	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Chicago	3–1	3–1	3–1	–	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	3–1
Cleveland	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	–	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–2
Dallas	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	–	3–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–1	0–4	4–0	1–1
Denver	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	–	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1
Detroit	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	2–0	–	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–2	2–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	0–2	0–2	2–2
Golden State	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	–	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	–	1–1	4–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–0	0–4	3–1	1–1
Indiana	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	–	2–0	0–2	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	4–0
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	–	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	–	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	4–0	1–3	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1
Miami	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	–	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Milwaukee	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–3	–	1–1	0–4	3–1	2–1	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–2
Minnesota	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–1	–	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
New Jersey	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2	–	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
New York	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–4	2–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	–	4–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
Orlando	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–2	2–0	1–3	0–4	–	4–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Philadelphia	1–3	1–3	1–2	1–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	0–4	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	–	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	3–1
Phoenix	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	–	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Portland	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	–	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–3	–	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	0–4	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	–	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Seattle	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	–	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Toronto	0–4	0–3	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–0	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	–	0–2	1–1	0–3
Utah	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–0	–	4–0	0–2
Vancouver	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	3–1	2–0	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	0–4	–	1–1
Washington	0–4	2–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–1	—

Game log

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Erick Dampier	82	82	32.4	.445	.000	.669	8.7	1.1	.5	1.7	11.8
Tony Delk†	74	9	22.3	.392	.263	.738	2.3	2.3	1.0	.2	10.4
Donyell Marshall	73	73	35.8	.414	.313	.731	8.6	2.2	1.3	1.0	15.4
Felton Spencer	68	0	12.0	.457		.557	3.3	.3	.3	.5	2.4
Muggsy Bogues†	59	31	26.3	.437	.250	.894	2.2	5.5	1.1	.1	5.8
Todd Fuller	57	1	10.8	.420	.000	.688	3.4	.2	.1	.3	4.0
Adonal Foyle	55	1	11.9	.406	.000	.435	3.3	.3	.2	.9	3.0
Bimbo Coles	53	44	27.8	.379	.228	.886	2.3	4.7	1.0	.2	8.0
Duane Ferrell	50	5	9.2	.369	.000	.545	.9	.5	.4	.1	1.9
Joe Smith†	49	49	33.6	.429	.000	.769	6.9	1.4	.9	.8	17.3
Brian Shaw†	39	32	26.4	.336	.313	.727	3.9	4.4	.9	.4	6.4
Jim Jackson†	31	31	40.6	.402	.278	.805	5.6	5.1	1.2	.1	18.9
Clarence Weatherspoon†	31	31	33.4	.458		.748	8.3	1.6	1.4	.7	10.7
Jason Caffey†	29	6	24.6	.472	.000	.649	5.9	1.1	.4	.1	10.9
David Vaughn III†	22	0	14.6	.404	.000	.647	4.6	.8	.5	.3	5.2
Gerald Madkins	19	0	12.8	.382	.400	.714	.8	2.4	.7	.1	1.9
Dickey Simpkins†	19	0	10.3	.458	.000	.385	2.4	.8	.3	.1	2.8
Latrell Sprewell	14	13	39.1	.397	.188	.745	3.6	4.9	1.4	.4	21.4
Carl Thomas†	10	0	13.9	.385	.238	.700	1.0	.9	.5	.1	6.2
Brandon Williams	9	2	15.6	.320	.333	.500	1.7	.3	.7	.3	4.1
B. J. Armstrong†	4	0	14.8	.316	.000	.714	1.8	1.5	1.0	.0	4.3
Jeff Grayer†	4	0	5.8	.571	.667		1.0	.3	.5	.0	2.5

• ^† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Warriors only.

Awards and records

Transactions

Trades

August 12, 1997

To Golden State Warriors Erick Dampier Duane Ferrell

To Indiana Pacers Chris Mullin

September 22, 1997

To Golden State Warriors Dickey Simpkins

To Chicago Bulls Scott Burrell

October 28, 1997

To Golden State Warriors Brian Shaw David Vaughn

To Orlando Magic Mark Price

November 7, 1997

To Golden State Warriors Muggsy Bogues Tony Delk

To Charlotte Hornets B. J. Armstrong

February 17, 1998

To Golden State Warriors Jim Jackson Clarence Weatherspoon

To Philadelphia 76ers Brian Shaw Joe Smith

February 19, 1998

To Golden State Warriors Jason Caffey

To Chicago Bulls David Vaughn 1998 second-round pick 2000 second-round pick

June 24, 1998

To Golden State Warriors Antawn Jamison

To Toronto Raptors Vince Carter Cash considerations

Free agents

Additions
Player	Date signed	Former team
Carl Thomas	September 26	Cleveland Cavaliers
Antonio Lang	October 7	Cleveland Cavaliers
Carl Thomas (10-day)	January 9	Orlando Magic
Brandon Williams (10-day)	February 10	none
Gerald Madkins (10-day)	March 5	Rockford Lightning (CBA)
Gerald Madkins (rest of season)	March 25	Golden State Warriors
Jeff Grayer (10-day)	April 9	Charlotte Hornets

Subtractions
Player	Date signed	New Team
Antonio Lang	October 27	Grand Rapids Hoops (CBA)
Carl Thomas	November 7	Golden State Warriors
Dickey Simpkins	February 17	Chicago Bulls

Player Transactions Citation:^[42]