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2006–07 NBA season

2006–07 NBA season

The 2006–07 NBA season was the 61st season of the National Basketball Association. The San Antonio Spurs were crowned the champions after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.

2006–07 NBA season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationOctober 31, 2006 – April 18, 2007
April 21 – June 2, 2007 (Playoffs)
June 7 – 14, 2007 (Finals)
Number of games82
Number of teams30
TV partner(s)ABC, TNT, ESPN, NBA TV
Draft
Top draft pickAndrea Bargnani
Picked byToronto Raptors
Regular season
Top seedDallas Mavericks
Season MVPDirk Nowitzki (Dallas)
Top scorerKobe Bryant (Lakers)[1]
Playoffs
Eastern championsCleveland Cavaliers
  Eastern runners-upDetroit Pistons
Western championsSan Antonio Spurs
  Western runners-upUtah Jazz
Finals
ChampionsSan Antonio Spurs
  Runners-upCleveland Cavaliers
Finals MVPTony Parker (San Antonio Spurs)

Notable occurrences

  • The first NBA draft under the new CBA rules was conducted, where draftees must be at least a year removed from high school graduation and are at least 19 years old to be eligible. Andrea Bargnani of Italy was selected by the Toronto Raptors as the No. 1 pick, becoming the second foreign player without U.S. collegiate basketball background to be selected No. 1. Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy was named Rookie of the Year.

  • A new design for the official NBA game ball was revealed on June 28, 2006, at the NBA draft. Amid complaints by players and coaches, the league switched back to the previous ball on January 1, 2007.

  • The 2007 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 18, 2007, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, the first time the event was held in a non-NBA city. The West defeated the East 153-132, with Kobe Bryant winning the game's MVP award.[2]

  • For the second straight year, the Hornets played a split home schedule between New Orleans, Louisiana and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, due to Hurricane Katrina.

  • The Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks entered into a brawl near the end of a December 16 match up. All ten players on the court at the time, including Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony (the league's leading scorer at the time), were ejected. Seven players were suspended as a result of the incident, the most notable of which was Carmelo Anthony's 15-game suspension.

  • After 11 seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, All-Star guard Allen Iverson was traded to the Denver Nuggets with rookie Ivan McFarlin for Andre Miller and Joe Smith.[3]

  • After the 2006 Playoff controversy, the format of team seeds changed. Each division winner may be seeded no lower than 4th, but the top non-division-winning playoff team may seed higher than a divisional champ if they have a better win-loss record. Home court advantage is given to the team with the better record, regardless of seeding.

  • The Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks notched multiple 12+ game win-streaks during the course of the regular season. The Suns rattled off streaks of 15 and 17 games straight (tied for fifth longest in NBA history), while the Mavericks' streaks stretched to 12, 13, and 17 games straight.[4] The San Antonio Spurs joined these two teams by notching a 13-game winning streak.

  • Kobe Bryant notched four consecutive 50+ point games against the Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets; his streak ranks fourth behind streaks by Wilt Chamberlain.[5]

  • Jason Kidd and Vince Carter of the New Jersey Nets become only the tenth pair of teammates in NBA history to record triple doubles in the same game. Nearly 20 years had passed since the last tandem, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, performed this feat.

  • The Toronto Raptors won their first division title in the franchise's twelve-year history. It also marked the first time a Canadian-based NBA team had won a division title.[6]

  • The Golden State Warriors, who had not qualified for the playoffs since 1994, became the first 8 seed to defeat a 1 seed in a best-of-seven playoff series, defeating the 67-win Dallas Mavericks in 6 games.[7]

  • Dirk Nowitzki won the NBA MVP Award and Tony Parker won the NBA Finals MVP Award,[8] the first time either award was won by a European-born player.

  • Long-time Boston Celtics coach and executive Red Auerbach died on October 28 of heart attack at age 89. Reeling with the loss of their patriarch, and being down two key contributors in Paul Pierce and Tony Allen, the Celtics finished the season with the second-worst record in the NBA, at 24-58, which included a franchise record 18-game losing streak. Another Celtics legend, Dennis Johnson, died on February 22, 2007 of the same ailment at age 52.

  • The 2007 NBA Finals, won by the San Antonio Spurs 4-0 over the Cleveland Cavaliers, was the least-watched Finals series in NBA History, with a rating of 6.2.

Coaching changes

Offseason
Team2005–06 coach2006–07 coach
Golden State WarriorsMike MontgomeryDon Nelson
New York KnicksLarry BrownIsiah Thomas
Sacramento KingsRick AdelmanEric Musselman
In-season
TeamOutgoing coachIncoming coach
Memphis GrizzliesMike FratelloTony Barone
Milwaukee BucksTerry StottsLarry Krystkowiak
Minnesota TimberwolvesDwane CaseyRandy Wittman

Final standings

By division

By conference

Playoffs

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.

First RoundConference SemifinalsConference FinalsNBA Finals
E1Detroit4
E8Orlando0
E1Detroit4
E5Chicago2
E4Miami*0
E5Chicago4
E1Detroit*2
Eastern Conference
E2Cleveland4
E3Toronto*2
E6New Jersey4
E6New Jersey2
E2Cleveland4
E2Cleveland4
E7Washington0
E2Cleveland0
W3San Antonio4
W1Dallas*2
W8Golden State4
W8Golden State1
W4Utah4
W4Utah*4
W5Houston3
W4Utah*1
Western Conference
W3San Antonio4
W3San Antonio4
W6Denver1
W3San Antonio4
W2Phoenix*2
W2Phoenix4
W7LA Lakers1
  • Division winner Bold Series winner Italic Team with home-court advantage

Statistics leaders

CategoryPlayerTeamStat
Points per gameKobe BryantLos Angeles Lakers31.6
Rebounds per gameKevin GarnettMinnesota Timberwolves12.8
Assists per gameSteve NashPhoenix Suns11.6
Steals per gameBaron DavisGolden State Warriors2.14
Blocks per gameMarcus CambyDenver Nuggets3.30
Field goal percentageMikki MooreNew Jersey Nets.608
Free throw percentageKyle KorverPhiladelphia 76ers.914
Three-point field goal percentageJason KaponoMiami Heat.514

Awards

Yearly awards

  • Most Valuable Player: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks[9]

  • Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Camby, Denver Nuggets[10]

  • Rookie of the Year: Brandon Roy, Portland Trail Blazers[11]

  • Sixth Man of the Year: Leandro Barbosa, Phoenix Suns[12]

  • Most Improved Player: Monta Ellis, Golden State Warriors[13]

  • Coach of the Year: Sam Mitchell, Toronto Raptors[14]

  • Executive of the Year: Bryan Colangelo, Toronto Raptors[15]

  • Sportsmanship Award: Luol Deng, Chicago Bulls[16]

Players of the month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month.

MonthEastern ConferenceWestern ConferenceRef.
October – NovemberDwight Howard(Orlando Magic) (1/1)Yao Ming(Houston Rockets) (1/1)
DecemberGilbert Arenas(Washington Wizards) (1/1)Kobe Bryant(Los Angeles Lakers) (1/3)
JanuaryChris Bosh(Toronto Raptors) (1/1)Steve Nash(Phoenix Suns) (1/1)
FebruaryChauncey Billups(Detroit Pistons) (1/1)Dirk Nowitzki(Dallas Mavericks) (1/1)
MarchLeBron James(Cleveland Cavaliers) (1/1)Kobe Bryant(Los Angeles Lakers) (2/3)
AprilVince Carter(New Jersey Nets) (1/1)Kobe Bryant(Los Angeles Lakers) (3/3)

Rookies of the month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month.

MonthEastern ConferenceWestern ConferenceRef.
October – NovemberAdam Morrison(Charlotte Bobcats) (1/1)Rudy Gay(Memphis Grizzlies) (1/1)[19]
DecemberJorge Garbajosa(Toronto Raptors) (1/1)Randy Foye(Minnesota Timberwolves) (1/1)[20]
JanuaryAndrea Bargnani(Toronto Raptors) (1/2)Brandon Roy(Portland Trail Blazers) (1/3)[21]
FebruaryAndrea Bargnani(Toronto Raptors) (2/2)Brandon Roy(Portland Trail Blazers) (2/3)[22]
MarchWálter Herrmann(Charlotte Bobcats) (1/1)Brandon Roy(Portland Trail Blazers) (3/3)[23]
AprilShelden Williams(Atlanta Hawks) (1/1)Tarence Kinsey(Memphis Grizzlies) (1/1)[24]

See also

  • 2007 NBA All-Star Game

  • 2007 NBA Playoffs

  • 2007 NBA Finals

References

[1]
Citation Linkwww.landofbasketball.comhttps://www.landofbasketball.com/year_by_year_stats/2006_2007_leaders_points_pg_rs.htm
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[2]
Citation Linkwww.nba.comNBA All-Star Game, nba.com/allstar2007, accessed April 25, 2007.
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[3]
Citation Linksports.espn.go.comMiller, Smith go to Sixers in deal for Iverson, sports.espn.go.com, December 20, 2006, accessed April 25, 2007.
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[4]
Citation Linkweb.archive.orgAll-Time Winning Streaks Archived 2010-03-21 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, March 13, 2007, accessed May 1, 2007.
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[5]
Citation Linkscores.espn.go.comAssociated Press. Kobe scores 50 (again), leads Lakers past Hornets, scores.espn.go.com, March 23, 2007, accessed May 1, 2007.
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[6]
Citation Linksports.yahoo.comAssociated Press. Gelston, Dan, Toronto 94, Philadelphia 85, sports.yahoo.com, April 6, 2007, accessed April 25, 2007.
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Citation Linkweb.archive.orgWarriors Make History, Close Out Mavs Archived 2011-02-10 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, May 7, 2007, accessed November 16, 2007.
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[8]
Citation Linkwww.webcitation.orgParker, Spurs Close Out Cavs for Fourth Title Archived 2012-02-02 at WebCite, nba.com, June 15, 2007, accessed June 15, 2007.
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Citation Linkweb.archive.org"Dirk Nowitzki Wins 2006–07 MVP Award" Archived 2011-03-15 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, May 15, 2007, accessed May 15, 2007.
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[10]
Citation Linkwww.webcitation.orgNuggets’ Camby Wins NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award Archived 2012-02-20 at WebCite, nba.com, April 27, 2007, accessed April 27, 2007.
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Citation Linkweb.archive.orgRoy Headlines 2006–07 NBA T-Mobile All-Rookie Team Archived 2009-03-07 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, May 8, 2007, accessed May 12, 2007.
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[12]
Citation Linkwww.webcitation.orgPhoenix's Barbosa Wins 2006–07 NBA Sixth Man Award Archived 2013-06-29 at WebCite, nba.com, April 23, 2007, accessed April 25, 2007.
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[13]
Citation Linkweb.archive.orgGolden State's Ellis Wins 2006–07 NBA Most Improved Player Award Archived 2013-12-03 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, April 26, 2007, accessed April 26, 2007.
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[14]
Citation Linkwww.nba.comSam Mitchell Named 2006–07 Coach of the Year, nba.com/raptors, April 24, 2007, accessed April 24, 2007.
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[15]
Citation Linkweb.archive.orgRaptors’ Bryan Colangelo Named Executive of the Year Archived 2010-03-21 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, May 14, 2007, accessed May 15, 2007.
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[16]
Citation Linkweb.archive.orgChicago's Deng wins sportsmanship award Archived 2010-06-15 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, May 3, 2007, accessed May 8 2007.
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[17]
Citation Linkweb.archive.orgPhoenix Duo Highlights All-NBA First Team Archived 2015-01-09 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, May 10, 2007, accessed May 12, 2007.
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[18]
Citation Linkwww.webcitation.orgSan Antonio Teammates Bowen and Duncan Top 2006–07 NBA All-Defensive Team Selections Archived 2012-02-02 at WebCite, nba.com, April 30, 2007, accessed May 12, 2007.
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[19]
Citation Linkwww.nba.com"Morrison, Gay Named T-Mobile Rookies of the Month". NBA. 2007-12-01. Retrieved 2010-03-05.
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[20]
Citation Linkwww.nba.com"Garbajosa, Foye Named T-Mobile Rookies of the Month". NBA. 2010-01-02. Retrieved 2010-03-05.
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