The 2006–07 NBA season was the 61st season of the National Basketball Association. The regular season began on November 1, 2006 and ran through June 14, 2007. The league fielded 30 teams, each playing an 82 game regular season schedule. The top eight seeds from each conference reached the NBA Playoffs, which began on April 21, 2007 and ended on June 14, 2007. The San Antonio Spurs were crowned the champions after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
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.[1]
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.[2]
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.[3] 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 Hornets; his streak ranks fourth behind streaks by Wilt Chamberlain.[4]
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.[5]
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.[6]
Dirk Nowitzki won the NBA MVP Award and Tony Parker won the NBA Finals MVP Award,[7] 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 a myocardial infarction 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.
Final standings[]
Eastern Conference[]
Atlantic Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Toronto Raptors-y (3)
47
35
.573
-
New Jersey Nets-x (6)
41
41
.500
6
Philadelphia 76ers
35
47
.427
12
New York Knicks
33
49
.402
14
Boston Celtics
24
58
.293
23
Central Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Detroit Pistons-z (1)
53
29
.646
-
Cleveland Cavaliers-x (2)
50
32
.610
3
Chicago Bulls-x (5)
49
33
.598
4
Indiana Pacers
35
47
.427
18
Milwaukee Bucks
28
54
.341
25
Southeast Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Miami Heat-y (4)
44
38
.537
-
Washington Wizards-x (7)
41
41
.500
3
Orlando Magic-x (8)
40
42
.488
4
Charlotte Bobcats
33
49
.402
11
Atlanta Hawks
30
52
.366
14
Western Conference[]
Northwest Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Utah Jazz-y (4)
51
31
.622
-
Denver Nuggets-x (6)
45
37
.549
6
Portland Trail Blazers
32
50
.390
19
Minnesota Timberwolves
32
50
.390
19
Seattle SuperSonics
31
51
.378
20
Southwest Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Dallas Mavericks -z (1)
67
15
.817
-
San Antonio Spurs-x (3) C
58
24
.707
9
Houston Rockets-x (5)
52
30
.634
15
NO/OKC Hornets
39
43
.476
28
Memphis Grizzlies
22
60
.268
45
Pacific Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Phoenix Suns-y (2)
61
21
.744
-
Los Angeles Lakers-x (7)
42
40
.512
19
Golden State Warriors-x (8)
42
40
.512
19
Los Angeles Clippers
40
42
.488
21
Sacramento Kings
33
49
.402
28
x - Clinched playoff berth
y - Clinched division title
z - Clinched top conference record
(1) - (8) - Playoff seedings
C - NBA Champions[8]
Statistics leaders[]
Category
Player
Team
Stat
Points per game
Kobe Bryant
Los Angeles Lakers
31.6
Rebounds per game
Kevin Garnett
Minnesota Timberwolves
12.8
Assists per game
Steve Nash
Phoenix Suns
11.6
Steals per game
Baron Davis
Golden State Warriors
2.14
Blocks per game
Marcus Camby
Denver Nuggets
3.3
Field goal percentage
Mikki Moore
New Jersey Nets
.608
Free throw percentage
Kyle Korver
Philadelphia 76ers
.914
Three-point field goal percentage
Jason Kapono
Miami Heat
.514
NBA awards[]
Yearly awards[]
Most Valuable Player: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks[9]
Rookie of the Year: Brandon Roy, Portland Trail Blazers[10]
Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Camby, Denver Nuggets[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]
