The 1996–97 Houston Rockets season saw the Rockets acquire Charles Barkley.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	30	Othella Harrington Othella Harrington Othella Harrington is a retired American professional basketball player and current coach. After he finished his high school career at Murrah High School, he played in college at Georgetown University where he teamed with NBA superstar Allen Iverson...	(PF/C)		Georgetown
2	42	Randy Livingston Randy Livingston Randy Livingston is a former American professional basketball player who last played point guard for the NBA Development League's Idaho Stampede. He stands 6 ft 4 in and weighs 209 lb...	(SG)		LSU LSU Tigers basketball The Louisiana State Tigers basketball team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. The team is currently coached by Trent Johnson and has enjoyed recent success, including a Final Four run in the 2005–2006 season. Past coaches include John Brady, Press...
2	50	Terrell Bell Terrell Bell (basketball) Terrell Bell is an American professional basketball player from the University of Georgia. He was drafted by Houston Rockets in the second round of the 1996 NBA Draft, but he was later released....	(C)		Georgia

Regular season

In his first game with the Houston Rockets, Charles Barkley

Charles Barkley

Charles Wade Barkley is a former American professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Sir Charles" and "The Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley established himself as one of the National Basketball Association's most dominating power forwards...

 would get thirty three rebounds, a career high.

Season standings

Midwest Division

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Utah Jazz Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...	64	18	.780	-
Houston Rockets Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...	57	25	.695	7
Minnesota Timberwolves Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Founded in 1989, the team is currently owned by Glen Taylor...	40	42	.488	24
Dallas Mavericks Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...	24	58	.293	40
Denver Nuggets Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...	21	61	.256	43
San Antonio Spurs San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....	20	62	.244	44
Vancouver Grizzlies Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a professional basketball team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Toronto Raptors, as part of the NBA's...	14	68	.171	50

Game log

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Team points	Opponent score	Record	Streak	OT

Playoffs

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Team points	Opponent score	Record	Streak	OT

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Playoffs

Defeated Minnesota Timberwolves, 3-0, First Round

Defeated Seattle Supersonics, 4-3, Conference Semifinals

Lost to Utah Jazz, 4-2, Conference Finals

Additions

{| cellspacing="0"
| valign="top" |
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|- align="center" bgcolor="#dddddd"
| style="width:140px"|Player || style="width:70px"|Signed || style="width:210px"|Former team
|- style="height:40px"
| || style="font-size: 80%"| ||
|}

Subtractions

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|- align="center" bgcolor="#dddddd"
| style="width:140px"|Player || style="width:70px"|Left || style="width:210px"|New team
|- style="height:40px"
| || style="font-size: 80%"| ||
|}

See also

• 1996–97 NBA season