The

1998–99 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 ...

was the Pistons' 51st season in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, and 42nd season in the city of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. On March 23, 1998, the owners of all 29 NBA teams voted 27–2 to reopen the league's

collective bargaining agreement A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...

, seeking changes to the league's salary cap system, and a ceiling on individual player salaries. The

National Basketball Players Association The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) is a labor union that represents National Basketball Association (NBA) players. It was founded in 1954, making it the oldest trade union of the four major professional sports leagues in the Unit ...

(NBPA) opposed to the owners' plan, and wanted raises for players who earned the league's minimum salary. After both sides failed to reached 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. Due to the lockout, the

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, ...

, which was scheduled to be played in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

on February 14, 1999, was also cancelled. However, on January 6, 1999, NBA commissioner

David Stern David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of t ...

, 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. In the off-season, the Pistons acquired

Christian Laettner Christian Donald Laettner (, ; born August 17, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. His college career for the Duke Blue Devils is widely regarded as one of the best in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) hi ...

from the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

, and signed free agents

Loy Vaught Loy Stephen Vaught (born February 27, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who spent ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), primarily with the Los Angeles Clippers. Vaught played at East Kentwood High Sc ...

, and Jud Buechler. Laettner would reunite with former Duke University teammate Grant Hill, but only played just 16 games due to an Achilles injury and a broken rib. After a solid year the previous season, Brian Williams changed his named to

Bison Dele Bison Dele ( ; born Brian Carson Williams; April 6, 1969 – July 7, 2002) was an American professional basketball player who played center for the NBA's Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons. D ...

to honor his Cherokee heritage. The Pistons won their first three games, but then lost five straight. However, they would play above .500 for the rest of the season, and bounce back from their disappointing season to finish third in the Central Division with a 29–21 record, and return to the playoffs after a one-year absence. Hill averaged 21.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game, was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and finished in eighth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while sixth man

Jerry Stackhouse Jerry Darnell Stackhouse (born November 5, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores men's team. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and ...

continued to provide scoring off the bench averaging 14.5 points per game. In addition,

Lindsey Hunter Lindsey Benson Hunter Jr. (born December 3, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1993 to 2010, spending most of his career with the Detroit Pistons. He ...

provided the team with 11.9 points and 1.8 steals per game, while Joe Dumars contributed 11.3 points per game, and Dele averaged 10.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Off the bench, Laettner averaged 7.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, while Jerome Williams provided the team with 7.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, and starting power forward Don Reid contributed 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. However, in the Eastern Conference First Round of the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, the Pistons would lose to the

in five games. This season also marked an end of an era as Dumars retired after a solid fourteen-year career with the Pistons. This was also Dele's final season of his career as he retired before the following season, turning down a $36 million contract.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

:c - clinched homecourt advantage :y - clinched division title :x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , May 8 , @

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

L 70–90
, Grant Hill (26) ,

(9) , Grant Hill (8) ,

Georgia Dome The Georgia Dome was a domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of the Georgia World Congress Center ...

20,884 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , May 10 , @

L 69–89
, Grant Hill (15) , Grant Hill (10) , Joe Dumars (5) ,

16,377 , 0–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , May 12 ,

W 79–63
,

(15) , Jerome Williams (10) , Grant Hill (5) ,

The Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly referred to as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena built in 1988 and located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shoc ...

14,812 , 1–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 4 , May 14 ,

W 103–82
, Grant Hill (23) , Jerome Williams (8) , Grant Hill (9) ,

16,216 , 2–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , May 16 , @

L 75–87
, Grant Hill (21) ,

Dele The ''Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera'' ( en, Diplomas of Spanish as a Foreign Language), or DELE, are official diplomas issued by the Spanish Instituto Cervantes on behalf of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science to participa ...

Hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...

(7) , Grant Hill (11) ,

Alexander Memorial Coliseum Hank McCamish Pavilion, nicknamed The Thrillerdome and originally known as Alexander Memorial Coliseum, is an indoor arena located on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the home of the Georgia Tech Yellow ...

8,460 , 2–3 , -

Player statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Player Statistics Citation:

Awards and records

* Grant Hill,

All-NBA Second Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sele ...

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

Player statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Transactions

References

See also