| Competition: | National Professional Soccer League |
| Season: | 1996–97 |
| Winners: | Kansas City Attack 2nd title |
| League Topscorer: | Hector Marinaro (104) |
| Matches: | 300 |
| Highest Attendance: | 17,617 Wichita – Milwaukee (February 28) |
| Average Attendance: | 5,650 |
| Nextseason: | 1997–98 |
The 1996–97 National Professional Soccer League season was the thirteenth season for the league.
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | Hector Marinaro | align=left | Cleveland | 36 | 104 | 65 | 265 | |
| align=left | Zoran Karic | align=left | Cleveland | 34 | 81 | 81 | 242 | |
| align=left | Dennis Brose | align=left | Detroit | 39 | 102 | 51 | 236 | |
| align=left | Michael King | align=left | Milwaukee | 38 | 72 | 44 | 185 | |
| align=left | Joe Reiniger | align=left | St. Louis | 39 | 62 | 39 | 174 | |
| align=left | align=left | St. Louis | 37 | 82 | 24 | 165 | ||
| align=left | Franklin McIntosh | align=left | Cincinnati | 36 | 48 | 65 | 161 | |
| align=left | Goran Hunjak | align=left | Kansas City | 39 | 61 | 42 | 151 | |
| align=left | Bojan Vučković | align=left | Baltimore | 40 | 61 | 33 | 150 | |
| align=left | Nikola Vignjević | align=left | Cleveland | 40 | 58 | 35 | 149 |
| First Team | Position | Second Team | Third Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor Nogueira, Milwaukee | align=center | G | Carlos Peña, Cincinnati | Scott Hileman, Edmonton | |
| Daryl Doran, St. Louis | align=center | D | Randy Prescott, Detroit | Genoni Martinez, Wichita | |
| Wes Wade, Kansas City | align=center | D | Ricky Mobley, Milwaukee | Kim Røntved, Wichita | |
| Zoran Karić, Cleveland | align=center | M | Joe Reiniger, St. Louis | Franklin McIntosh, Cincinnati | |
| Hector Marinaro, Cleveland | align=center | F | Michael King, Milwaukee | Bojan Vučković, Baltimore | |
| Dennis Brose, Detroit | align=center | F | Mark Moser, St. Louis | Goran Hunjak, Kansas City |
| First Team | Position | Second Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pete Pappas, Philadelphia | align=center | G | Jim McCombs, Baltimore | |
| Drew Callahan, Columbus | align=center | D | René Rivas, Buffalo | |
| John Ball, Cleveland | align=center | D | Shayne Campbell, Edmonton | |
| Adolfo Mella, Toronto | align=center | M | Michael Stephenson, Harrisburg | |
| Jason Dunn, Wichita | align=center | F | Saša Zorić, Baltimore | |
| Carmen D'Onofrio, Edmonton | align=center | F | Martin Dugas, EdmontonEmeka Moneme, Milwaukee |