1998–99 Los Angeles Lakers season

1998–99 Los Angeles Lakers season
Head coach	Del Harris, Bill Bertka, Kurt Rambis
Owner(s)	Jerry Buss
Arena	Great Western Forum
Results
Record	31–19 (.620)
Place	Division: 2nd (Pacific) Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish	West Conference Semifinals (eliminated 0-4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports West, KCAL
Radio	AM 570 KLAC

The 1998–99 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 53rd season of the franchise, 51st in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 39th in Los Angeles.^[1] It was the Lakers' final season at the Great Western Forum. They finished second in the Pacific Division with a 31-19 record. The attendance for the Lakers was 430,007 (12th in the league). In the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, but were swept by the San Antonio Spurs during the Western Conference Semifinals.

The Lakers lost three members from the 1998 team; Elden Campbell and Eddie Jones were traded mid season to the Charlotte Hornets and controversial All-Star point guard Nick Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets for the draft rights to Tyronn Lue and Tony Battie, who would never report to the team and was dealt to the Boston Celtics for Travis Knight. The Lakers move continued mid-season, acquiring rebounding specialist Dennis Rodman, who was well known for winning championships with the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls. However, after 23 games, Rodman was released by the team.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	26	Sam Jacobson	Guard	United States	Minnesota

^[2]

Roster

Los Angeles Lakers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB (YYYY–MM–DD)
2.0 !SG	8	USA !	Bryant, Kobe	7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Lower Merion HS (PA)
1.0 !PG	2	USA !	Fisher, Derek	7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Arkansas-Little Rock
3.0 !SF	17	USA !	Fox, Rick	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	North Carolina
1.0 !PG	12	USA !	Harper, Derek	7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Illinois
4.5 !PF	5	USA !	Horry, Robert	7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Alabama
2.0 !SG	7	USA !	Jacobson, Sam	7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Minnesota
4.5 !PF	40	USA !	Knight, Travis	7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Connecticut
1.0 !PG	10	USA !	Lue, Tyronn	7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Nebraska
6.0 !C	34	USA !	O'Neal, Shaquille	7000215899999999999♠7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	325 lb (147 kg)	LSU
3.0 !SF	21	USA !	Patterson, Ruben	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	247 lb (112 kg)	Cincinnati
4.5 !PF	11	USA !	Reid, J. R.	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	247 lb (112 kg)	North Carolina
3.0 !SF	41	USA !	Rice, Glen	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Michigan
6.0 !C	45	USA !	Rooks, Sean	7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Arizona

Head coach

Kurt Rambis

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster

Roster Notes

Forward Dennis Rodman was wavied on April 16th.

Regular season

The Lakers went through three coaches during the season: Del Harris (6–6), Bill Bertka (1–0) and Kurt Rambis (24–13). Fourteen different Lakers started at least one game during the season.^[3] 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.^[3]

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. Shaquille O'Neal had a percentage of .540.

Season standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Portland Trail Blazers	35	15	.700	–	22–3	13–12	15–7
x-Los Angeles Lakers	31	19	.620	4	18–7	13–12	14–8
x-Sacramento Kings	27	23	.540	8	16–9	11–14	11–9
x-Phoenix Suns	27	23	.540	8	15–10	12–13	9–10
Seattle SuperSonics	25	25	.500	10	17–8	8–17	11–10
Golden State Warriors	21	29	.420	14	13–12	8–17	8–11
Los Angeles Clippers	9	41	.180	26	6–19	3–22	3–16

#	Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-San Antonio Spurs	37	13	.740	–
2	y-Portland Trail Blazers	35	15	.700	2
3	x-Utah Jazz	37	13	.740	–
4	x-Los Angeles Lakers	31	19	.620	6
5	x-Houston Rockets	31	19	.620	6
6	x-Sacramento Kings	27	23	.540	10
7	x-Phoenix Suns	27	23	.540	10
8	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	25	25	.500	12

9	Seattle SuperSonics	25	25	.500	12
10	Golden State Warriors	21	29	.420	16
11	Dallas Mavericks	19	31	.380	18
12	Denver Nuggets	14	36	.280	23
13	Los Angeles Clippers	9	41	.180	28
14	Vancouver Grizzlies	8	42	.160	29

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

^[4]

Playoffs

West First Round

(4) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Houston Rockets: Lakers win series 3-1

Game 1 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 9): Los Angeles 101, Houston 100
Game 2 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 11): Los Angeles 110, Houston 98
Game 3 @ Compaq Center, Houston (May 13): Houston 100, Los Angeles 88
Game 4 @ Compaq Center, Houston (May 15): Los Angeles 98, Houston 88

Last Playoff Meeting: 1996 Western Conference First Round (Houston won 3-1)

West Conference Semifinals

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Los Angeles Lakers: Spurs win series 4-0

Game 1 @ Alamodome, San Antonio (May 17): San Antonio 87, Los Angeles 81
Game 2 @ Alamodome, San Antonio (May 19): San Antonio 79, Los Angeles 76
Game 3 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 22): San Antonio 103, Los Angeles 91
Game 4 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 23): San Antonio 118, Los Angeles 107

Last Playoff Meeting: 1995 Western Conference Semifinals (San Antonio won 4-2)

Player stats

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

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

Awards and honors

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

References

↑ 1998-99 Los Angeles Lakers
↑ "1998 NBA Draft History - Round 1". Mynbadraft.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
↑ "1998-99 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.

1998–99 NBA season by team

Eastern

Atlantic	Boston Miami New Jersey New York Orlando Philadelphia Washington

Central	Atlanta Charlotte Chicago Cleveland Detroit Indiana Milwaukee Toronto

Western

Midwest	Dallas Denver Houston Minnesota San Antonio Utah Vancouver

Pacific	Golden State L.A. Clippers L.A. Lakers Phoenix Portland Sacramento Seattle

Los Angeles Lakers

Founded in 1947 Played in Minneapolis (1947–1960) Based in Los Angeles, California

Franchise	Franchise Team history All-time roster Draft history Seasons Records Head coaches Current season

Arenas	Minneapolis Auditorium Minneapolis Armory Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena The Forum Staples Center

D-League affiliate	Los Angeles D-Fenders

Administration	Jeanie, Jim, and Johnny Buss (majority owners) Anschutz Entertainment Group (minority owner) Edward P. Roski (minority owner) Patrick Soon-Shiong (minority owner) Mitch Kupchak (General Manager) Luke Walton (Head Coach)

Retired numbers	13 22 25 32 33 34 42 44 52 Chick Hearn (Microphone) Minneapolis Lakers Hall of Famers Mikan Mikkelsen Martin Lovellette Pollard Coach Kundla

NBA Championships (16)	1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1972 1980 1982 1985 1987 1988 2000 2001 2002 2009 2010

Conference Championships (31)	1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1959 1962 1963 1965 1966 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1987 1988 1989 1991 2000 2001 2002 2004 2008 2009 2010

Rivalries	Boston Celtics Houston Rockets Detroit Pistons San Antonio Spurs Los Angeles Clippers

Culture and lore	Jack Kent Cooke Jerry Buss Showtime Chick Hearn Shaq–Kobe feud Lawrence Tanter Jack Nicholson "I Love L.A." Laker Girls Laker Band Dancing Barry

Media	TV Time Warner Cable SportsNet and Time Warner Cable Deportes Radio 710 ESPN Radio 1330 ESPN Deportes Announcers Bill Macdonald Stu Lantz John Ireland Mychal Thompson

Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers seasons

1940s

1947–48

1948–49

1950s

1949–50

1950–51

1951–52

1952–53

1953–54

1960s

1970s

1971–72

1980s

1979–80

1981–82

1984–85

1986–87

1987–88

1990s

2000s

1999–00

2000–01

2001–02

2008–09

2010s

2009–10

Bold indicates NBA Finals victory

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, May 04, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.