1998–99 Utah Jazz season

1998–99 Utah Jazz season
Division Champions
Head coach	Jerry Sloan
Arena	Delta Center
Results
Record	37–13 (.740)
Place	Division: 1st (Midwest) Conference: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish	West Semifinals (eliminated 2-4)
Local media
Television	Fox Sports Rocky Mountain, KJZZ

The 1998–99 Utah Jazz season was the team's 25th in the NBA.^[1] Hoping a third time would be a charm as the Chicago Bulls were broken up. The start of the Jazz season was delayed by a four month lockout. When the season finally started, the Jazz got off to a 19-4 start, but struggled a bit down the stretch as they lost their grip on first place. They finished with a league best record of 37-13. However, their record was tied by the San Antonio Spurs who won the division by a tiebreaker. Karl Malone was named Most Valuable Player of the Year for the second time.^[2]

In the first round off the playoffs, the Jazz faced elimination as they trailed 2-1 against the #6 seed Sacramento Kings. However, they managed to win the series in five games. In the semifinals, they struggled and lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in six games.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	29	Nazr Mohammed	C/PF	United States	Kentucky
2	57	Torraye Braggs		United States	Xavier

Roster

Utah Jazz roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From SG 40 Anderson, Shandon 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Georgia PF 54 Avent, Anthony 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Seton Hall PF 41 Bailey, Thurl 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) North Carolina State PG 10 Eisley, Howard 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 177 lb (80 kg) Boston College C 44 Foster, Greg 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Texas–El Paso C 52 Fuller, Todd 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) North Carolina State SG 14 Hornacek, Jeff 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Iowa State SF 31 Keefe, Adam 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Stanford PF 32 Malone, Karl 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Louisiana Tech C 00 Ostertag, Greg 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 280 lb (127 kg) Kansas SF 3 Russell, Bryon 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Long Beach State PG 12 Stockton, John 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Gonzaga PG 11 Vaughn, Jacque 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Kansas	Head coach Jerry Sloan (Evansville) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-San Antonio Spurs	37	13	.740	–	21–4	16–9	17–4
x-Utah Jazz	37	13	.740	–	22–3	15–10	15–3
x-Houston Rockets	31	19	.620	6	19–6	12–13	12–9
x-Minnesota Timberwolves	25	25	.500	12	18–7	7–18	11–9
Dallas Mavericks	19	31	.380	18	15–10	4–21	8–12
Denver Nuggets	14	36	.280	23	12–13	2–23	5–16
Vancouver Grizzlies	8	42	.160	29	7–18	1–24	3–18

#	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

Playoffs

West First Round

(3) Utah Jazz vs. (6) Sacramento Kings: Jazz win series 3-2

• Game 1 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 8): Utah 117, Sacramento 87
• Game 2 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 10): Sacramento 101, Utah 90
• Game 3 @ ARCO Arena, Sacramento (May 12): Sacramento 84, Utah 81 (OT)
• Game 4 @ ARCO Arena, Sacramento (May 14): Utah 90, Sacramento 89
• Game 5 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 16): Utah 99, Sacramento 92 (OT)

Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Jazz and Kings.

West Conference Semifinals

(2) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (3) Utah Jazz: Blazers win series 4-2

• Game 1 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 18): Utah 93, Portland 83
• Game 2 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 20): Portland 84, Utah 81
• Game 3 @ Rose Garden, Portland (May 22): Portland 97, Utah 87
• Game 4 @ Rose Garden, Portland (May 23): Portland 81, Utah 75
• Game 5 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 25): Utah 88, Portland 71
• Game 6 @ Rose Garden, Portland (May 27): Portland 92, Utah 80

Last Playoff Meeting: 1996 Western Conference First Round (Utah won 3-2)

Player statistics

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

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Awards and records

• Karl Malone, NBA Most Valuable Player Award
• Karl Malone, All-NBA First Team
• John Stockton, All-NBA Third Team
• Karl Malone, NBA All-Defensive First Team

References

1. 1998-99 Utah Jazz
2. "M.V.P. AWARD; Malone Wins 2d Award in 3 Years". New York Times. June 4, 1999.