1998–99 Phoenix Suns Season

The 1998–99 NBA season was the 31st season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association. 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 Suns signed free agent Tom Gugliotta, acquired Luc Longley from the Chicago Bulls, acquired rookie power forward Pat Garrity from the Dallas Mavericks, signed Chris Morris, and re-signed former Suns center Joe Kleine. Head coach Danny Ainge returned for his third season with the team. After a 15–18 start to the regular season, the Suns won 12 of their final 17 games, and finished tied with the Sacramento Kings for third place in the Pacific Division with a 27–23 record, earning the #7 seed in the Western Conference, and qualifying for the NBA playoffs for the eleventh consecutive year. All home games were played at the America West Arena.

Four Suns players averaged double-digits in points per game, with Gugliotta averaging 17.0 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, while Jason Kidd averaged 16.9 points, 10.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game, Clifford Robinson provided with 16.4 points and 1.5 steals per game, and Rex Chapman contributed 12.1 points per game; Kidd also led the league in assists and in total minutes played, and was third in total steals, before being named to both the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition, sixth man Danny Manning averaged 9.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game off the bench, while Longley provided the team with 8.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, and George McCloud contributed 8.9 points per game off the bench.

In the 1999 NBA playoffs, the Suns were swept in the Western Conference First Round by the 2nd-seeded, and Pacific Division champion Portland Trail Blazers in three straight games; this was the fourth consecutive year that the Suns lost in the opening round of the NBA playoffs.

Following the season, Manning and Garrity were both traded to the Orlando Magic, who then traded Manning to the Milwaukee Bucks two weeks later, while McCloud signed as a free agent with the Denver Nuggets, Kleine signed with the Portland Trail Blazers, and Morris retired.

Offseason

NBA draft

This was the first year in franchise history that the Suns had no draft picks. Their first-round pick (which turned into Tyronn Lue) was traded to the Denver Nuggets the previous year in the Antonio McDyess deal, and their second-round pick (which turned into Greg Buckner) was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1996 in the Jason Kidd deal.

Roster

Regular season

Standings

Record vs. opponents

Playoffs

Game log

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

L 85–95
, Jason Kidd (17)
, Tom Gugliotta (9)
, Jason Kidd (7)
, Rose Garden
20,040
, 0–1
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 2
, May 10
, @ Portland

L 99–110
, Garrity, McCloud (15)
, Tom Gugliotta (9)
, Jason Kidd (12)
, Rose Garden
20,588
, 0–2
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 3
, May 12
, Portland

L 93–103
, Clifford Robinson (24)
, Gugliotta, Robinson (7)
, Jason Kidd (12)
, America West Arena
17,306
, 0–3
, -

Awards and honors

Week/Month

* Jason Kidd was named Player of the Month for April.
* Jason Kidd was named Player of the Week for games played April 12 through April 18.

All-Star

All-Star weekend was cancelled due to the 1998–99 NBA lockout.

Season

* Jason Kidd was named to the All-NBA First Team. Kidd also finished fifth in MVP voting.
* Jason Kidd was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team.
* Clifford Robinson finished seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and finished tenth in Most Improved Player voting.
* Jason Kidd led the league in assists per game with a 10.8 average, and total assists with 539.
* Jason Kidd led the league in minutes played with 2060.

Player statistics

Season

† – Minimum 183 field goals made.

^ – Minimum 34 three-pointers made.

# – Minimum 76 free throws made.

Playoffs

^ – Minimum 5 three-pointers made.

# – Minimum 10 free throws made.

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Additions

Subtractions

Player Transactions Citation:

References

Standings on Basketball Reference

{{DEFAULTSORT:1998-99 Phoenix Suns Season
Phoenix Suns seasons