Seasons
1996-97
Record: 27-29, third in American Conference of 11-team league.
Playoffs: The Thunder won two straight at home after trailing their best-of-five opening series to Grand Rapids 0-2, but lost the clincher on the road.
Scoring leaders: Jimmy Oliver 19.3, Joe Courtney 18.8, Jesse Pate 18.1, Jimmy King 17.9.
Rebounding leaders: Kurt Portmann 7.8, Erick Strickland 5.5, Rich Manning 5.1
Assist leaders: Rick Brunson 6.7, King 4.0.
Year in review: An eight-game, December losing streak forced the team to fight from behind much of the year. A 110-100 season-ending loss to Eric Musselmann and the Florida Beachdogs booked the only losing season in Thunder history. Still, Dan Panaggio often referred to ’96 as one of his favorite years in coaching. That’s because he lost with young players such as King, Brunson and Pate, who learned as the season progressed.