1998%E2%80%9399_NBA_season

1998–99 NBA season

1998–99 NBA season

53rd NBA season


The 1998–99 NBA season was the 53rd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Due to a lockout, the season did not start until February 5, 1999, after a new six-year Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association. All 29 teams played a shortened 50-game-per-team regular season schedule and the 16 teams who qualified for the playoffs played a full post-season schedule. That season's All-Star Game, which would have been held in Philadelphia, was also canceled. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs winning the franchise's first NBA championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the 1999 NBA Finals. This was the 50th season since the BAA and NBL had merged into the NBA.

Quick Facts League, Sport ...

Lockout

The third lockout in the history of the NBA lasted from July 1, 1998, to January 20, 1999. NBA owners were seeking changes to the league's salary cap system and a ceiling on individual player salaries. The National Basketball Players Association opposed the owners' plans and wanted raises for players who earned the league's minimum salary.

As the labor dispute continued into September, the preseason was shortened to just two games instead of the normal eight, and training camps were postponed indefinitely.[1] By October, it became the first time in NBA history that games were canceled due to a labor dispute.[2] Further games were canceled by November and December, including the league's Christmas games (which had been played on an annual basis since 1947)[3] and All-Star Game, which had been scheduled to be played on February 14, 1999. The preseason consisted of 2 exhibition games.

An agreement between the owners and players was eventually reached on January 18, 1999. When play resumed, the regular season was shortened to 50 games per team, as opposed to the normal 82. To preserve games between teams in the same conference, much of the time missed was made up for by skipping well over half of the games played between teams in the opposite conference. As a result, some teams did not meet each other at all during the course of the shortened season.

Notable occurrences

1998–99 NBA changes

  • The Indiana Pacers added new gold pinstripe alternate uniforms with dark navy blue side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
  • The Minnesota Timberwolves added new black alternate uniforms.
  • The New Jersey Nets added new gray alternate uniforms with dark navy blue side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
  • The Orlando Magic changed their uniforms, replacing the pinstripes with slightly visible stars on their jerseys.
  • The Sacramento Kings added new purple alternate uniforms with black side panels to their shorts.
  • The Toronto Raptors moved into Air Canada Centre during the regular season.
  • The Utah Jazz added new black alternate uniforms with brown side panels to their jerseys and shorts.

Final standings

By division

More information Atlantic Division, W ...
More information Central Division, W ...
More information W, L ...
More information W, L ...

By conference

More information Eastern Conference, # ...

Notes

  • z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
  • c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
  • y – Clinched division title
  • x – Clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.

First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals
            
E1 Miami* 2
E8 New York 3
E8 New York 4
E4 Atlanta 0
E4 Atlanta 3
E5 Detroit 2
E8 New York 4
Eastern Conference
E2 Indiana* 2
E3 Orlando 1
E6 Philadelphia 3
E6 Philadelphia 0
E2 Indiana* 4
E2 Indiana* 3
E7 Milwaukee 0
E8 New York 1
W1 San Antonio* 4
W1 San Antonio* 3
W8 Minnesota 1
W1 San Antonio* 4
W4 LA Lakers 0
W4 LA Lakers 3
W5 Houston 1
W1 San Antonio* 4
Western Conference
W2 Portland* 0
W3 Utah 3
W6 Sacramento 2
W3 Utah 2
W2 Portland* 4
W2 Portland* 3
W7 Phoenix 0
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage

Statistics leaders

More information Category, Player ...

NBA awards

Players of the month

The following players were named the Players of the Month.

More information Month, Player ...

Rookies of the month

The following players were named the Rookies of the Month.

More information Month, Player ...

Coaches of the month

The following coaches were named Coaches of the Month.

More information Month, Coach ...

See also


References

  1. "Lockout cuts into preseason schedule". The San Diego Union-Tribune. September 25, 1998. p. D11.
  2. Wise, Mike (October 15, 1998). "Pro Basketball; N.B.A. Owners Cool To Players' Proposal". The New York Times. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
  3. Reynolds, Tim (December 24, 2018). "NBA's Christmas lineup headlined by LeBron vs. Warriors". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved February 26, 2020.

Further reading


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