| Sport: | basketball |
| Year: | 1996–97 |
| Team: | North Carolina Tar Heels |
| Conference: | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Short Conf: | ACC |
| Coachrank: | 4 |
| Aprank: | 4 |
| Record: | 28–7 |
| Conf Record: | 11–5 |
| Head Coach: | Dean Smith |
| Hc Year: | 36th |
| Asst Coach1: | Bill Guthridge |
| Ac1 Year: | 30th |
| Asst Coach2: | Phil Ford |
| Ac2 Year: | 9th |
| Asst Coach3: | Dave Hanners |
| Ac3 Year: | 7th |
| Mvp Year: | 1997 |
| Arena: | Dean Smith Center |
| Champion: | ACC tournament champions |
| Tourney: | NCAA tournament |
| Tourney Result: | Final Four |
The 1996–97 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Dean Smith in his 36th and final season at the school. The team played its home games in the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
|-!colspan=6 style="background:#56A0D3; color:#FFFFFF;"| Regular season|-!colspan=6 style="background:#56A0D3; color:#FFFFFF;"| ACC tournament|-!colspan=6 style="background:#56A0D3; color:#FFFFFF;"| NCAA tournament
See main article: 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.