1995-96 NBA ATS Standings

Here are the final NBA standings for the 1995-96 basketball season. Included are the straight up records, ats records, offensive efficiency, and defensive efficiency for the teams.

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

View ATS and straight up records for the previous NBA seasons below.

Recap of the 1995-96 NBA Basketball Season

The '95 - '96 season was one for the record books.

In 1995, the NBA went truly international with the addition of two expansion teams: the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies. Both Canadian teams started off strong; they both won their debut games, and their draft picks introduced the league to two of its future stars in Damon Stoudamire (Toronto) and Bryant (Big Country) Reeves (Vancouver).

Another new face - or rather, a revisiting of an old one - was seen on the courts when Magic Johnson returned, midway through the year, after a four-year hiatus. He played 32 games for the Lakers before retiring for good at the end of the season.

Hakeem Olajuwon surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, during the last game of the season, as the NBA's all-time leading shot blocker. John Stockton became the NBA's all-time leader in steals, and garnered his ninth assists title in a row, breaking Bob Cousy's record of eight. Robert Parish played his twentieth season, becoming only the second player (besides Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) to reach such a milestone, as well as the all-time leader in games played.

The Chicago Bulls, in the prime of the Jordan era and having just acquired the infamous rebounder Dennis Rodman, dominated the season with an amazing 72 - 10 record. This edged out the previous mark of 69 wins that had been set during the '71 - '72 season by the Los Angeles Lakers. The Bulls made history again by finishing with an 87 -13 post-playoff record; they suffered only one back-to-back loss all season, and of the games they did lose, only one of them was by more than a 10 point margin.

Michael Jordan won his NBA record eighth scoring title, to surpass Wilt Chamberlain's record of seven, and was only the second player to be awarded the NBA's Triple Crown by capturing MVP honors in the regular season, the All-Star game and the Finals. With the latter award, Jordan became the only player to receive the NBA Finals MVP four times.

Other honors included the Defensive Player of the Year award, given to Gary Payton of the Seattle Supersonics, and the Sixth Man of the Year award, presented to Toni Kukoc of the Chicago Bulls. Damon Stoudamire, of the Toronto Raptors, took home the Rookie of the Year award, while Phil Jackson, also of the Bulls, was named Coach of the Year; Gheorghe Muresan was honored with the Most Improved Player award.

The Bulls continued their dominance of the league into the post-season, losing only three games in four series as they swept the first and third rounds of the playoffs. They took the second round 4-1, and the NBA Finals 4-2. The Finals were played between the Bulls and the Supersonics, with the Bulls holding home court advantage for the best-of-seven series. Chicago jumped out to a 3 - 0 lead, and even a spirited two-game, home-court comeback for Seattle wasn't enough to hold back the dynasty. Chicago went on to win what would be the first notch of their second three-peat in eight years.