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 11th season for the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

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 ...

. 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. During the off-season, the Heat signed free agents

Terry Porter Terry Porter (born April 8, 1963) is an American former college basketball coach and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was most recently the head men's basketball coach at the University of Portland. A native of Wis ...

Clarence Weatherspoon Clarence Weatherspoon, Sr. (born September 8, 1970) is a former American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) born in Crawford, Mississippi. He is currently the assistant coach for Jones County JC. Previousl ...

, and later on signed

Blue Edwards Theodore "Blue" Edwards (born October 31, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Edwards now coaches at his alma mater, Greene Central High School in Snow Hil ...

in February. The team went on a 7-game winning streak after a 1–3 start, winning 18 of their first 23 games, despite Jamal Mashburn only playing just 24 games due to a knee injury, and

Voshon Lenard Voshon Kelan Lenard (born May 14, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was listed as 6' 4" (1.93 m) and 215 lbs, and was born in Detroit, Michigan. ...

missing 38 games with a stress fracture in his left leg. The Heat finished with a 33–17 win–loss record, which earned them the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Alonzo Mourning Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. (born February 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who has served as vice president of player programs and development for the Miami Heat since June 2009. Mourning played most of his 15-year ...

averaged 20.1 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game, and was named Defensive Player of the Year, and finished in second 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 behind

Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spen ...

of the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

. He was also named to the All-NBA First Team, and NBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition,

Tim Hardaway Timothy Duane Hardaway Sr. (born September 1, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. Hardaway played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets a ...

averaged 17.2 points and 7.3 assists per game, and was selected to the All-NBA Second Team, while Mashburn provided the team with 14.8 points per game,

P.J. Brown Collier "P. J." Brown Jr. (born October 14, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The , center/power forward was selected out of Louisiana Tech University by the New ...

provided with 11.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and

Dan Majerle Daniel Lewis Majerle (; born September 9, 1965), also known by the nickname "Thunder Dan", is an American former professional basketball player and former coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes. He played 14 years in the National Basketball Associat ...

, who became the team's starting shooting guard, contributed 7.0 points per game. Off the bench, Porter contributed 10.5 points per game, and Weatherspoon averaged 8.1 points and 5.0 rebounds 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 Heat faced the

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 ...

for the third consecutive time. The 8th-seeded Knicks defeated the Heat in the Eastern Conference First round, with Knicks guard Allan Houston hitting a buzzer-beater basket in the winner-take-all Game 5, which prevailed the Knicks over Miami, 78–77. With this loss, the Heat became the second number one seed in league history to lose a playoffs series against a number eight seed. The Knicks would become the first #8 seed to 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 ...

, but would lose in five games to the

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 ( ...

. This was also the Heat's final full season playing at the

Miami Arena Miami Arena was an indoor arena located in Miami, Florida. The venue served as the home of the NBA's Miami Heat, and the NHL's Florida Panthers. From 1988 until 1999, it also was the indoor arena for the Miami Hurricanes. History Completed in 1 ...

. Following the season, Porter signed as a free agent with the

, while Terry Mills re-signed with his former team, 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 Edwards, and long-time Heat forward

Keith Askins Keith Bernard Askins (born December 15, 1967) is a retired American professional basketball player. Basketball career After playing at the University of Alabama, the 6'7" Askins signed with the National Basketball Association's Miami Heat in 19 ...

were both released to free agency.

Offseason

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

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

Record vs. opponents

Playoffs

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

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

L 75–95
,

(27) ,

(10) ,

(3) ,

15,036 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 2 , May 10 ,

W 83–73
,

(26) , Majerle,

Mourning Mourning is the expression of an experience that is the consequence of an event in life involving loss, causing grief, occurring as a result of someone's death, specifically someone who was loved although loss from death is not exclusively ...

(8) ,

(11) ,

15,200 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , May 12 , @

L 73–97
,

(18) , P. J. Brown (8) ,

(5) ,

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

19,763 , 1–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 4 , May 14 , @

W 87–72
,

Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

(16) ,

(13) ,

(7) ,

19,763 , 2–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , May 16 ,

L 77–78
,

(21) , P. J. Brown (12) ,

(8) ,

14,985 , 2–3 , -

Player statistics

NOTE: Please write the players statistics in alphabetical order by last name.

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award The NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the best defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sportswrit ...

* Alonzo Mourning, All-NBA First Team * Alonzo Mourning, NBA All-Defensive First Team *

, All-NBA Second Team *

, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

Transactions

References

1998-99 Miami Heat
{{DEFAULTSORT:1998-99 Miami Heat season Miami Heat seasons