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 N ...

was the Lakers' 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 S ...

, and 39th in the city of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. 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 Uni ...

(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 Lockout may refer to: * Lockout (industry), a type of work stoppage **Dublin Lockout, a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers 1913 - 1914 * Lockout (sports), lockout in sports leagues **MLB lockout, lock ...

, 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, a ...

, which was scheduled to be played in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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 ...

, 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. This season was also the Lakers' final season playing at the

Great Western Forum Kia Forum (formerly The Forum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located between West Manchester Boulevard, across Pincay Drive and Kareem Court, it is north of SoFi Stadium and t ...

. During the off-season, the team signed free agent

Derek Harper Derek Ricardo Harper (born October 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. A second-team All-American at the University of Illinois, he was the 11th overall pick of the 1983 NBA draft and spent 16 seasons as a point guar ...

, and re-acquired former Lakers center

Travis Knight Travis Andrew Knight (born September 13, 1973) is an American animator, producer, director, and former rapper who has worked as the lead animator and current CEO for the stop-motion animation studio Laika, and directed the films ''Kubo and the Tw ...

after one season with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

. The Lakers played around .500 with a 6–6 start as head coach

Del Harris Delmer William Harris (born June 18, 1937) is an American basketball coach who is currently the vice president of the Texas Legends, the NBA G League affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks. He served as a head coach for the NBA's Houston Rockets, Mil ...

was fired. After one game under interim

Bill Bertka Bill Bertka (born August 8, 1927) is a current basketball consultant/special assistant and a former National Basketball Association (NBA) assistant coach, scout and executive with the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Jazz. A pioneering proponen ...

, the team hired former Laker

Kurt Rambis Darrell Kurt Rambis (born February 25, 1958) is a Greek-American former professional basketball player and coach who is a senior basketball adviser for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he won fou ...

as their new coach. The Lakers had signed free agent and rebounding specialist

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding ...

, who was well known for winning championships with the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

and the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

. However, after 23 games, Rodman was released by the team, averaging 11.2 rebounds per game. At midseason, Eddie Jones and

Elden Campbell Elden Jerome Campbell (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played as a power forward and center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1990 to 2005. He spent his first nine years with the Los An ...

were both traded to the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

in exchange for All-Star forward

Glen Rice Glen Anthony Rice Sr. (born May 28, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a small forward, Rice was a three-time NBA All-Star and made 1,559 three-point field goal ...

J.R. Reid Herman "J. R." Reid Jr. (born March 31, 1968) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the Monmouth Hawks men's basketball team. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the ...

and

B. J. Armstrong Benjamin Roy "B. J." Armstrong Jr. (born September 9, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Armstrong won three NBA championships during his career as a point guard for the Chicago Bulls. Early life Armstrong was born in ...

, who was released to free agency and signed with the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

. The team also released

Corie Blount Corie Kasoun Blount (born January 4, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player born in Monrovia, California. Career A 6'9" power forward/center, Blount starred at the University of Cincinnati during the early 1990s, where he hel ...

, as he later on signed with the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. The Lakers won ten straight games between February and March, and finished second in the Pacific Division with a 31–19 record. Their home-game attendance for the season was 430,007 (12th in the league).

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...

averaged 19.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game in his first season as a starter, and was selected to the All-NBA Third Team, while

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greates ...

averaged 26.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, made the All-NBA Second Team, and finished in sixth place in

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

voting. In addition, Rice played in 27 games due to an elbow injury he sustained in Charlotte, and provided the team with 17.5 points per game, while

Rick Fox Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

contributed 9.0 points per game off the bench, Harper provided with 6.9 points and 4.2 assists per game, and

Derek Fisher Derek Lamar Fisher (born August 9, 1974) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. Fisher played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 18 seasons, spending the majority of his career with the Los ...

contributed 5.9 points, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. In 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 eithe ...

, the Lakers defeated the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

3–1 in the Western Conference First Round, but were swept in four straight games by the eventual champion

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

during the Western Conference Semi-finals. The Spurs would reach the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

for the first time to defeat the 8th-seeded

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

in five games, winning their first ever championship. Following the season, Rambis was fired as head coach, while Reid signed as a free agent with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

Sean Rooks Sean Lester Rooks (September 9, 1969 – June 7, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1992 to 2004, and was an Assistant for Player Development for the Philadelphia 76ers ...

was traded back to his former team, the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

, rookie forward

Ruben Patterson Ruben Nathaniel Patterson (born July 31, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. During his career, he played as a small forward and shooting guard. During his college career at the University of Cincinnati, Patterson earned t ...

signed with the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

, and Harper was dealt to the

, but was released and then retired.

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

* Power forward

was waived on April 16.

Regular season

The Lakers went through three coaches during the season:

(6–6),

(1–0) and

(24–13). Fourteen different Lakers started at least one game during the season. From February 25 to March 12, the Lakers won ten consecutive games. Outside of the streak, the Lakers were 21-19 in all other games. During the season, over half of the Lakers' games were televised nationally. At season's end, the Lakers ranked second in the league in scoring at 99.0 points per game (only Sacramento averaged more points: 100.2 ppg). Despite the high scoring, the Lakers were the fourth worst Free Throw shooting team in the league with a percentage of .683.

had a percentage of .540. Following the season, Rambis was fired as coach.

Season standings

:z – clinched division title :y – clinched division title :x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 1 , May 9 ,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

W 101–100
,

(29) ,

(11) ,

(6) ,

17,505 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 2 , May 11 ,

W 110–98
,

(28) ,

Robert Horry Robert Keith Horry (; born August 25, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player and current sports commentator. He played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning seven championships, the most of any pla ...

(10) ,

(7) ,

17,505 , 2–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , May 13 , @

L 88–102
,

(26) ,

(10) ,

(6) , Compaq Center
16,285 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 4 , May 15 , @

W 98–88
,

(37) ,

(11) ,

(8) , Compaq Center
16,285 , 3–1 , - , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , May 17 , @

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

L 81–87
, three players tied (21) ,

(15) ,

(6) ,

Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 milli ...

25,297 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , May 19 , @

L 76–79
,

(28) , three players tied (8) ,

(4) ,

33,293 , 0–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , May 22 ,

L 91–103
,

(24) ,

(15) ,

(9) ,

17,505 , 0–3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , May 23 ,

L 107–118
,

(36) ,

(14) ,

Fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia *Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elect ...

Lue Lue or LUE may refer to: People * Andrew Lue (born 1992), Canadian retired football player * Cachet Lue (born 1997), Canadian-born Jamaican footballer * Lue Gim Gong (1860–1925), Chinese-American horticulturalist * Lee Lue (1935–1969), Laotian ...

(6) ,

17,505 , 0–4 , -

Player stats

Regular season

* Shaquille O'Neal averaged 26.3 ppg (2nd), 10.7 rpg (8th), and shot 57.6% (1st). For his efforts, he was named to the All-NBA second-team. * Kobe Bryant had a career high 19.9 ppg and added 3.8 apg. He was recognized as an All-NBA third-team. * Dennis Rodman played 23 games with the Lakers in 1999. He averaged 11.2 rebounds per game and the Lakers went 17-6 with Rodman in the lineup. * Glen Rice played in 27 games with the club and averaged 17.5 points per game. With Rice in the lineup, the Lakers went 16-11

Playoffs

Awards and honors

* Kobe Bryant, All-NBA Third Team * Shaquille O'Neal, All-NBA Second Team

Transactions

References

Lakers on Database Basketball

* http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/1999/playoffs/daily_schedule/ {{DEFAULTSORT:1998-99 Los Angeles Lakers season Los Angeles Lakers seasons Los Angle Los Angle Los Angle