The

1998–99 NBA season The 1998–99 NBA season was the 53rd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Due to the lockout, the regular season was reduced to 50 games for each team, and began on February 5, 1999. The 1999 NBA All-Star Game, which was to be ...

was the 10th season for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

in the

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

. Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50. During the off-season, the Timberwolves signed free agents Joe Smith, and

Malik Sealy Malik Sealy (February 1, 1970 – May 20, 2000) was an American professional basketball player, active from 1992 until his death in an automobile accident at the age of 30. Posthumously inducted into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004, Sealy ...

, and acquired second-year guard Bobby Jackson, and former Timberwolves center

Dean Garrett Dean Heath Garrett (born November 27, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. At a height of tall, he played at the center position. College career Garrett attended San Clemente High School, in San Clemente, California, ...

from the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

in a three-team trade during the off-season. In a three-team mid-season trade, the Timberwolves traded

Stephon Marbury Stephon Xavier Marbury (born February 20, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who was also the head coach for the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) from 2019–2023. After his freshman year ...

and Chris Carr to the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, and acquired Terrell Brandon from 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, while signing free agent and three-point specialist Dennis Scott, who was previously released by 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 Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. The Timberwolves got off to a fast start by winning eight of their first ten games of the regular season, but played below .500 basketball for the remainder of the season. The team finished in fourth place in the Midwest Division with a 25–25 record, and made their third consecutive trip to the

NBA playoffs The NBA playoffs is the annual Playoffs, postseason Tournament#Knockout tournaments, tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held to determine the league champion. Since 1949, the four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held afte ...

, winning a tie-breaker for the #8 seed in the Western Conference over the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

, who finished with the same record during the regular season.

Kevin Garnett Kevin Maurice Garnett ( ; born May 19, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Big Ticket," Garnett is considered one of the greatest power f ...

averaged 20.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, and was named to the

All-NBA Third 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 sel ...

, while Smith averaged 13.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and Sam Mitchell provided the team with 11.2 points per game. In addition, Anthony Peeler contributed 9.6 points per game in only 28 games due to a strained left calf injury, while off the bench, Sealy contributed 8.1 points per game in only 31 games, Jackson provided with 7.1 points and 3.3 assists per game, and Garrett, the team's starting center, averaged 5.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. However, in the Western Conference First Round of the

1999 NBA playoffs The 1999 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association’s 1998-99 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York ...

, the T-Wolves would lose in four 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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. The Spurs would reach the

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

for the first time to defeat the 8th-seeded

in five games, winning their first ever championship. Following the season, Scott signed with the

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. The Grizzlies competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Midwest Division (NBA), Midwest Division of the Western Conference ( ...

. For the season, the Timberwolves added new black alternate road uniforms, which would remain in use until 2008.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

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

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

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San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

L 86–99
,

(21) , Brandon, Garnett (8) , Terrell Brandon (11) ,

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 ...

22,356 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 2 , May 11 , @

W 80–71
,

(23) ,

(12) , Terrell Brandon (9) ,

22,494 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , May 13 ,

L 71–85
,

(23) ,

(12) , three players tied (2) ,

Target Center Target Center is a multi-purpose arena located in Minneapolis that opened in 1990. It hosts major family shows, concerts, sporting events, graduations and private events. Target Corporation, founded and headquartered in Minneapolis since 1902, h ...

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