1998–99_Vancouver_Grizzlies_season

1998–99 Vancouver Grizzlies season

1998–99 Vancouver Grizzlies season

NBA professional basketball team season

The 1998–99 NBA season was the Grizzlies' fourth season in the National Basketball Association.[1] On March 23, 1998, the owners of all 29 NBA teams voted 27–2 to reopen the league's collective bargaining agreement, seeking changes to the league's salary cap system, and a ceiling on individual player salaries. The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) opposed to the owners' plan, and wanted raises for players who earned the league's minimum salary. After both sides failed to reach an agreement, the owners called for a lockout, which began on July 1, 1998, putting a hold on all team trades, free agent signings and training camp workouts, and cancelling many NBA regular season and preseason games.[2][3][4][5][6] Due to the lockout, the NBA All-Star Game, which was scheduled to be played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 14, 1999, was also cancelled.[7][8][9][10][11] However, on January 6, 1999, NBA commissioner David Stern, and NBPA director Billy Hunter finally reached an agreement to end the lockout. The deal was approved by both the players and owners, and was signed on January 20, ending the lockout after 204 days. The regular season began on February 5, and was cut short to just 50 games instead of the regular 82-game schedule.[12][13][14][15][16]

Quick Facts Vancouver Grizzlies season, Head coach ...

The Grizzlies had the second overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, and selected Mike Bibby from the University of Arizona, acquired rookie guard Felipe López from the San Antonio Spurs,[17][18][19][20][21] and signed free agent Cherokee Parks during the off-season.[22][23] The Grizzlies had a 4–6 record in their first ten games, but then struggled posting a 13-game losing streak between February and March, as Bryant Reeves only played just 25 games due to weight problems and a knee injury.[24][25] Midway through the season, three-point specialist Sam Mack was traded back to his former team, the Houston Rockets in exchange for second-year guard Rodrick Rhodes.[26][27][28] The Grizzlies lost their final seven games, returning to last place in the Midwest Division with a league worst record of 8–42.[29] The Grizzlies' 8 wins marked the lowest amount of victories by a team in a season since the league's inception as the NBA (the 6 wins by the Providence Steamrollers in the 1947–48 season occurred back when the league was named the Basketball Association of America), until the 2011–12 Charlotte Bobcats put up 7 wins in its own lockout-shortened season, and subsequently held the worst record in NBA history since then.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim averaged 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, while Bibby averaged 13.2 points, 6.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In addition, Tony Massenburg provided the team with 11.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while Reeves provided with 10.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, Lopez contributed 9.3 points per game, Parks averaged 5.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, and Michael Smith contributed 7.3 rebounds per game off the bench.[30]

Following the season, Massenburg was traded to the Houston Rockets,[31][32][33] and Smith, Rhodes, and Lee Mayberry were all traded to the Orlando Magic, who then released all three players to free agency, as Smith signed as a free agent with the Washington Wizards.[34]

Draft picks

The Grizzlies' first draft pick was Mike Bibby, which was the second overall pick in the draft.

More information Round, Pick ...

Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...

Roster Notes

  • Rookie power forward J. R. Henderson holds Japanese and American dual citizenship. He was born in the United States, but played for the Japan national team.

Regular season

Due to the 1998–99 NBA lockout, the NBA would see a shortened schedule for the 1998–99 season, as every team would play 50 games, compared to 82 in a normal season. The Grizzlies began the season with their best start in franchise history, as they had a 3–3 record in their first six games, the latest in a season that the club had a .500 record. Vancouver would fall into a bad streak soon afterward, though, losing sixteen of their next seventeen games, which included a thirteen-game losing streak, to fall out of the playoff picture entirely in a fast pace. Wins would be few and far between for the remainder of the season, as the Grizzlies ended the year with a record of 8–42, which represented a .160 winning percentage, their lowest in team history. Vancouver finished with the worst record in the league for the third time in four seasons. At the time, the Grizzlies finished with the second-lowest win total for a season in NBA history behind the Providence Steamrollers winning only six games during the 1947–48 BAA season. Since then, only the 2011–12 Charlotte Bobcats have provided a worst win total (and worst overall record in NBA history) for a season (which coincidentally also occurred during a lockout-shortened season) than this season's Vancouver Grizzlies team.

Highs

  • On February 16, 1999, Vancouver defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 93–89 in double overtime, to even their record to 3-3, the latest they had ever been .500 in a season. This subsequently became their only road win of the season.
  • On February 23, 1999, Shareef Abdur-Rahim led the Grizzlies with 28 points, stunning the Los Angeles Lakers with a 93–83 victory, recording their first ever victory against the Lakers.
  • Notably, the Grizzlies secured victories over the Los Angeles Clippers on February 10, 1999, the aforementioned February 16, 1999 double-overtime game, and on April 21, 1999. This marked the only head-to-head series of the season where the Grizzlies won that season, let alone had more than one win in, which prevented them from attaining the dubious distinction of the lowest win total in a season.

Lows

  • On February 21, 1999, the Grizzlies lost to their expansion cousins, the Toronto Raptors, 102–87 in the first game played at the Raptors' new arena, the Air Canada Centre.
  • On March 16, 1999, Vancouver lost 87–85 to the Seattle SuperSonics, extending their losing streak to a season-high thirteen games.
  • On May 5, 1999, the Grizzlies lost to the Sacramento Kings 99-95, cementing their status as one of the worst teams in NBA history by only winning 8 games in a single season.

Season standings

More information W, L ...
More information #, Team ...

Record vs. opponents

More information Team, ATL ...

Game log

#DateOpponentScoreRecordAttendance
1February 7@ Sacramento Kings87-1090-117,317
2February 8Portland Trail Blazers76-950-218,353
3February 10Los Angeles Clippers105-991-214,818
4February 11Indiana Pacers97-1011-314,914
5February 14Dallas Mavericks96-922-316,059
6February 16@ Los Angeles Clippers93-89 (2OT)3-39,626
7February 17Boston Celtics129-131 (3OT)3-413,041
8February 19@ Minnesota Timberwolves96-1153-517,907
9February 21@ Toronto Raptors87-1023-619,800
10February 23Los Angeles Lakers93-834-619,193
11February 25Phoenix Suns86-944-713,494
12February 27Houston Rockets74-864-819,193
13February 28@ Denver Nuggets112-1164-99,248
14March 2Sacramento Kings101-1114-1013,252
15March 3@ Utah Jazz86-1094-1118,556
16March 4Minnesota Timberwolves93-1024-1213,329
17March 6Houston Rockets92-1074-1319,193
18March 8Portland Trail Blazers73-924-1413,552
19March 9@ Golden State Warriors82-924-1510,043
20March 11@ Houston Rockets91-1024-1616,285
21March 13@ Dallas Mavericks74-914-1714,184
22March 15@ Denver Nuggets84-1104-188,251
23March 16@ Seattle SuperSonics85-874-1917,072
24March 18Minnesota Timberwolves86-815-1917,466
25March 20San Antonio Spurs88-925-2019,193
26March 22@ Phoenix Suns84-895-2118,855
27March 24Philadelphia 76ers90-95 (OT)5-2216,615
28March 26Utah Jazz80-855-2319,193
29March 29@ Los Angeles Lakers98-1165-2417,312
30March 30Denver Nuggets101-876-2415,018
31April 1@ San Antonio Spurs91-1036-2516,384
32April 2@ Atlanta Hawks81-846-268,748
33April 4@ Chicago Bulls87-886-2722,198
34April 6@ Portland Trail Blazers89-986-2818,105
35April 7Denver Nuggets84-876-2917,151
36April 9Seattle SuperSonics98-937-2919,193
37April 11Sacramento Kings88-917-3017,167
38April 12@ Utah Jazz80-987-3119,911
39April 14@ Houston Rockets85-1027-3216,285
40April 16@ Minnesota Timberwolves75-897-3318,347
41April 18Golden State Warriors85-907-3417,063
42April 19@ Los Angeles Lakers102-1177-3517,505
43April 21Los Angeles Clippers97-948-3515,885
44April 23Seattle SuperSonics84-978-3619,193
45April 24@ Los Angeles Clippers96-1058-3713,493
46April 27@ Dallas Mavericks75-848-3812,650
47April 29San Antonio Spurs72-998-3918,848
48May 1@ Phoenix Suns77-1078-4019,023
49May 3Golden State Warriors83-918-4117,990
50May 5@ Sacramento Kings95-998-4217,317

Player statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
More information Player, GP ...

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Awards and records

Transactions

The Grizzlies signed free agent Cherokee Parks, who spent the 1997–98 season with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Parks averaged 7.1 points in 79 games with Minnesota last season.

The San Antonio Spurs and Grizzlies made a trade, with Vancouver sending Antonio Daniels to the Spurs for Felipe López and Carl Herrera. Lopez was the Spurs' first round draft pick in the 1998 NBA draft.

References

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    1998-99 Vancouver Grizzlies
  2. [2]
    Wise, Mike (June 30, 1998). "BASKETBALL; It's Their Ball, and N.B.A. Owners Call for Lockout". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
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    Heisler, Mark (June 30, 1998). "NBA Lockout". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  4. [4]
    "NBA Lockout Begins". CBS News. CBS News.com Staff. June 30, 1998. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
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    Bembry, Jerry (June 30, 1998). "Billion-Dollar Question: NBA Facing Long Timeout? Rising Salaries Spur Basketball Owners to Lock Out Players". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
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    Steele, David (June 30, 1998). "NBA Lockout Now a Certainty". SFGate. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  7. [7]
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    Wise, Mike (December 9, 1998). "PRO BASKETBALL; It's Official: N.B.A. Cancels Its All-Star Game". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  9. [9]
    Heisler, Mark (December 9, 1998). "NBA Dunks All-Star Game". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
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    Asher, Mark (December 9, 1998). "NBA Cancels All-Star Game". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  11. [11]
    Steele, David (December 9, 1998). "NBA Drops All-Stars -- What's Left?; February Game in Philly Latest Casualty of Lockout". SFGate. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
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    "NBA: Let The Games Begin!". CBS News. CBS News.com Staff. January 6, 1999. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
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    Wise, Mike (January 7, 1999). "With Little Time on Clock, NBA and Players Settle". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
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    Heisler, Mark (January 7, 1999). "NBA, Players Union Agree to End Lockout". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
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    Justice, Richard; Asher, Mark (January 7, 1999). "NBA Labor Dispute Ends After 6 Months". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  16. [16]
    Bembry, Jerry (January 7, 1999). "Just Beating Buzzer, NBA Unlocks Season; With Only Day Left to Make Deal, Owners, Players Union Agree". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  17. [17]
    "Clippers Pick Olowokandi No. 1". CBS News. CBS News.com Staff. June 24, 1998. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
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    Wise, Mike (June 25, 1998). "PRO BASKETBALL; 7 Feet 1 Inch of Potential at No. 1". The New York Times. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
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    "Olowokandi Is the Center of Attention". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 25, 1998. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
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  21. [21]
    "1998 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  22. [22]
    "Grizzlies Sign Top Pick Bibby". CBS News. January 22, 1999. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
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    Wise, Mike (February 4, 1999). "PRO BASKETBALL; A Scrum for the Title". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  24. [24]
    "Raptors Slow Spurs, Retain Playoff Hopes". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. March 27, 1999. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  25. [25]
    "Bryant Reeves Back on Injured List". United Press International. February 26, 2000. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  26. [26]
    "Transactions". The New York Times. March 12, 1999. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  27. [27]
    "Marbury Heads Home". Deseret News. March 12, 1999. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  28. [28]
    "Rockets, Grizzlies Set to Make 10-Player Trade, Report Says". Deseret News. August 27, 1999. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  29. [29]
    "1998–99 Vancouver Grizzlies Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  30. [30]
    "1998–99 Vancouver Grizzlies Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  31. [31]
    "PRO BASKETBALL: ROUNDUP -- HOUSTON; Rockets Get Francis in 3-Team Deal". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 28, 1999. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  32. [32]
    White, Lonnie (August 27, 1999). "Rockets Set to Get Francis in 10-Player Deal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  33. [33]
    Bembry, Jerry (August 28, 1999). "Francis Gets Boot to Houston; In an 11-Player Deal, Grizzlies Part with Disgruntled Top Pick; Trade NBA's Largest Ever; At the Last Moment, Orlando Joins Mix". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  34. [34]
    Wise, Mike (October 31, 1999). "1999–2000 N.B.A. PREVIEW; The West Is Still the Best". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
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