2016–17 NBA season


The 2016–17 NBA season was the 71st season of the National Basketball Association. The regular season began on October 25, 2016, with the 2016 NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers hosting a game against the New York Knicks. The 2017 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 19, 2017, with the West defeating the East 192–182. Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans was named the All Star Game MVP after breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record by scoring 52 points in the All Star Game. The original host of the game, Charlotte's Spectrum Center, was removed as the host on July 21, 2016 due to the league's opposition against North Carolina's Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act. The regular season ended on April 12, 2017, and the playoffs began on April 15, 2017 and ended on June 12, 2017, with the Golden State Warriors going 16-1 in the playoffs and beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games during their third consecutive matchup in the NBA Finals.

Transactions

Retirement

negotiations began on Friday, July 1, 2016 at 12:01 a.m. e.t. Players can sign starting on July 6, after the July moratorium ended.

Coaching changes

Off-season

There were no head coaching changes during the regular season. This was the first time since the 1963–64 NBA season that there was no in-season coaching changes, the fourth time this happened in league history.

Preseason

The preseason began on October 1, 2016 and ended on October 21, 2016.

Regular season

The regular season began on Tuesday, October 25, 2016. Christmas Day games were played on Sunday, December 25, 2016. The regular season ended on Wednesday, April 12, 2017. The schedule was released at 6:00 p.m. ET on August 11, 2016.
;Eastern Conference
;Western Conference

By conference

Notes
;Eastern Conference
;Western Conference
The 2017 NBA Playoffs began on April 15, 2017. In May 2017, ESPN aired the Western Conference Finals and TNT aired the Eastern Conference Finals. The season ended with the 2017 NBA Finals which began on June 1, 2017 and ended on June 12, 2017 on ABC.

Bracket

Statistics

Individual statistic leaders

Individual game highs

Team statistic leaders

Awards

Yearly awards

Awards were presented at the NBA Awards ceremony, which were held on June 26. Finalists for voted awards were announced during the playoffs and winners were presented at the award ceremony. The All-NBA Teams were announced in advance in order for teams to have all the necessary information to make off-season preparations.
AwardRecipientRunner-up/Finalists
Most Valuable PlayerRussell Westbrook James Harden
Kawhi Leonard
Defensive Player of the YearDraymond Green Rudy Gobert
Kawhi Leonard
Rookie of the YearMalcolm Brogdon Joel Embiid
Dario Šarić
Sixth Man of the YearEric Gordon Andre Iguodala
Lou Williams
Most Improved PlayerGiannis Antetokounmpo Rudy Gobert
Nikola Jokić
Coach of the YearMike D'Antoni Gregg Popovich
Erik Spoelstra
Executive of the YearBob Myers
NBA Sportsmanship AwardKemba Walker
J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship AwardLeBron James
Twyman–Stokes Teammate of the Year AwardDirk Nowitzki
Community Assist AwardIsaiah Thomas

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week.
WeekEastern ConferenceWestern ConferenceRef.
October 25–30
October 31 – November 6
November 7–13
November 14–20
November 21–27
November 28 – December 4
December 5–11
December 12–18
December 19–25
December 26 – January 1
January 2–8
January 9–15
January 16–22
January 23–29
January 30 – February 5
February 6–12
February 27 – March 5
March 6–12
March 13–19
March 20–26
March 27 – April 2
April 3–9

Players of the Month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month.
MonthEastern ConferenceWestern ConferenceRef.
October/November
December
January
February
March
April

Rookies of the Month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month.
MonthEastern ConferenceWestern ConferenceRef.
October/November
December
January
February
March
April

Coaches of the Month

The following coaches were named the Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month.
MonthEastern ConferenceWestern ConferenceRef.
October/November
December
January
February
March
April

Arenas

This was the first season of the new nine-year U.S. television contracts with ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV.
In Canada, rights were divided between the TSN and Sportsnet groups of channels and NBA TV Canada. These rights are of indefinite duration, as NBA TV Canada is owned by the Toronto Raptors' ownership group, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which in turn is controlled by the parent companies of TSN and Sportsnet. TSN and Sportsnet each have rights to 41 Toronto Raptors regular season games and over 100 other regular season games, and were expected to share coverage of NBA All-Star Weekend, and split coverage of the playoffs and the NBA Finals. NBA TV Canada carried 105 additional regular season games, plus replays of other games carried on TSN and Sportsnet.

Uniforms