1998–99 Los Angeles Lakers season

1998–99 Los Angeles Lakers season
1998–99 Los Angeles Lakers season
Head coach	Del Harris, Bill Bertka, Kurt Rambis
Owners	Jerry Buss
Arena	Great Western Forum
Results
Record	31–19 (.620)
Place	Division: 2nd (Pacific); Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish	Conference Semifinals; (Lost to Spurs 0-4)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports West, KCAL
Radio	AM 570 KLAC
< 1997–98	1999–00 >

The 1998–99 NBA season was the Lakers' 51st season in the National Basketball Association, and 39th in the city of Los Angeles.^[1] It was the Lakers' final season at the Great Western Forum. During the offseason, the Lakers signed free agent Derek Harper. In his first season as a starter, Kobe Bryant finished second on the team in scoring with 19.9 points per game. At midseason, Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell were both traded to the Charlotte Hornets for All-Star forward Glen Rice, J.R. Reid and B.J. Armstrong, who was released and signed with the Orlando Magic.^[2] The Lakers move continued midway through the season, signing free agent and rebounding specialist Dennis Rodman, who was well known for winning championships with the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls.^[3] However, after 23 games, Rodman was released by the team.^[4]

The Lakers finished second in the Pacific Division with a 31–19 record in a season shortened to 50 games due to a four-month lockout. Their attendance for the season was 430,007 (12th in the league). In the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets 3–1 in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, but were swept in four straight games by the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs during the Western Conference Semifinals.

Following the season, Reid signed as a free agent with the Milwaukee Bucks, Sean Rooks was traded back to the Dallas Mavericks, rookie Ruben Patterson signed with the Seattle SuperSonics, and Harper was dealt to the Detroit Pistons, but was released and then retired.

Draft picks

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

^[5]

Roster

Players

Coaches

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

Head coach

Kurt Rambis (Santa Clara)

Legend

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

Roster
Last transaction: {{{access-date}}}

Roster Notes

Forward Dennis Rodman was waived on April 16.

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.^[6] 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.^[6]

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. Following the season, Rambis was fired as coach.

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	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 v t e
#	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

^[7]

Record vs. opponents

1998-99 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	—	3–0	3–0	3–1	2–1	0–1	0–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	3–1	1–0	0–0	0–3	1–2	0–0	1–2	2–1	2–2	2–1	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–0	2–1
Boston	0–3	—	1–2	2–1	2–2	0–0	1–0	0–3	0–0	0–0	0–3	1–0	0–0	3–0	0–3	0–1	1–2	1–2	1–2	1–2	0–0	0–1	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	3–1
Charlotte	0–3	2–1	—	2–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	3–0	0–1	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–1	1–2	2–2	0–0	3–0	1–3	1–2	1–2	1–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	2–1
Chicago	1–3	1–2	1–2	—	0–3	0–1	0–0	0–3	0–0	0–0	0–3	1–0	0–0	1–2	1–3	0–0	2–1	1–2	0–3	1–2	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–1	1–2	0–1	1–0	1–2
Cleveland	1–2	2–2	1–2	3–0	—	0–0	0–0	1–2	1–0	0–1	0–3	0–0	1–0	0–3	1–2	0–0	3–0	1–2	1–2	1–2	1–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	2–2	0–1	0–0	1–2
Dallas	1–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	—	2–1	0–1	2–2	2–2	0–0	3–0	0–3	0–1	0–0	1–2	0–1	0–0	1–0	0–0	1–3	0–3	2–2	1–3	0–3	0–0	0–3	2–1	0–0
Denver	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–2	—	0–0	1–3	0–4	0–1	3–0	1–2	0–1	1–0	0–3	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–3	0–3	0–3	0–4	2–2	0–0	1–2	3–1	0–1
Detroit	2–1	3–0	0–3	3–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	—	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	0–0	2–1	2–1	0–1	2–1	2–1	0–4	1–3	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	1–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	2–1
Golden State	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–1	2–2	3–1	0–0	—	0–3	1–0	2–1	1–2	0–0	0–1	2–2	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	1–2	2–2	1–2	0–3	1–2	0–0	0–4	4–0	0–0
Houston	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	2–2	4–0	0–0	3–0	—	0–0	3–1	1–2	0–1	0–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	2–2	2–1	3–0	0–3	2–1	1–0	0–3	4–0	0–0
Indiana	1–2	3–0	2–1	3–0	3–0	0–0	1–0	1–2	0–1	0–0	—	0–0	1–0	2–2	3–0	0–0	3–1	2–1	1–2	1–2	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–0	3–0
L.A. Clippers	0–1	0–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–3	0–3	0–0	1–2	1–3	0–0	—	0–4	0–0	0–0	2–2	1–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–3	1–2	1–2	0–3	0–3	0–1	1–3	1–3	0–0
L.A. Lakers	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–1	3–0	2–1	0–0	2–1	2–1	0–1	4–0	—	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–0	1–0	0–1	3–1	2–2	1–2	2–1	2–2	0–0	1–3	2–1	0–0
Miami	3–0	0–3	2–1	2–1	3–0	1–0	1–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	2–2	0–0	0–0	—	2–1	0–1	3–1	2–2	2–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	3–0	0–1	0–0	3–0
Milwaukee	2–1	3–0	2–2	3–1	2–1	0–0	0–1	1–2	1–0	0–0	0–3	0–0	0–0	1–2	—	1–0	2–1	2–1	1–2	1–2	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	3–1	0–0	0–0	2–1
Minnesota	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	3–0	1–0	2–2	1–2	0–0	2–2	1–2	1–0	0–1	—	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–3	3–1	2–2	2–1	0–1	0–3	3–1	0–0
New Jersey	2–1	2–1	0–3	1–2	0–3	1–0	0–1	1–2	0–0	0–1	1–3	0–1	0–0	1–3	1–2	0–0	—	0–3	0–3	1–2	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	0–0	2–1
New York	1–2	2–1	3–1	2–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	1–2	1–0	0–1	2–2	1–2	1–0	3–0	—	0–3	3–1	1–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	2–1
Orlando	2–2	2–1	2–1	3–0	2–1	0–1	0–0	4–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	0–1	1–2	2–1	0–0	3–0	3–0	—	1–2	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–1	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	2–1
Philadelphia	1–2	2–1	2–1	2–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	3–1	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–0	1–2	2–1	0–0	2–1	1–3	2–1	—	0–0	0–1	1–0	0–1	0–1	2–1	0–0	1–0	1–2
Phoenix	0–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–1	3–1	3–0	0–1	2–1	2–2	0–0	3–0	1–3	0–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	—	0–3	0–3	2–2	3–0	0–0	2–2	3–0	0–0
Portland	0–0	1–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	3–0	3–0	0–0	2–2	1–2	1–0	2–1	2–2	0–0	0–0	3–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	3–0	—	4–0	1–3	2–2	0–0	1–2	4–0	0–0
Sacramento	0–0	1–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	2–2	3–0	0–0	2–1	0–3	0–0	2–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	1–3	0–0	1–0	0–1	0–1	3–0	0–4	—	1–2	2–2	0–0	1–2	4–0	1–0
San Antonio	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–1	3–1	4–0	1–0	3–0	3–0	0–0	3–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	2–2	0–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	2–2	3–1	2–1	—	2–1	0–1	2–1	3–0	0–0
Seattle	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	3–0	2–2	0–1	2–1	1–2	0–0	3–0	2–2	0–0	0–1	1–2	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–3	2–2	2–2	1–2	—	0–0	2–2	2–1	0–1
Toronto	1–2	2–1	1–2	2–1	2–2	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–1	1–2	1–0	0–0	0–3	1–3	1–0	1–2	2–1	2–1	1–2	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	—	0–0	1–0	2–2
Utah	0–0	0–0	0–1	1–0	1–0	3–0	2–1	0–1	4–0	3–0	0–0	3–1	3–1	1–0	0–0	3–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–2	2–1	2–1	1–2	2–2	0–0	—	3–0	1–0
Vancouver	0–1	0–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	1–2	1–3	0–0	0–3	0–4	0–1	3–1	1–2	0–0	0–0	1–3	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–3	0–3	0–4	0–3	1–2	0–1	0–3	—	0–0
Washington	1–2	1–3	1–2	2–1	2–1	0–0	1–0	1–2	0–1	0–0	0–3	0–0	0–0	0–3	1–2	0–0	1–2	1–2	1–2	2–1	0–0	0–1	0–1	0–0	1–0	2–2	0–1	0–0	—

Game log

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

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Corie Blount	14	3	11.6	.394	.000	.500	3.3	.1	.1	.3	2.3
Kobe Bryant	50	50	37.9	.465	.267	.839	5.3	3.8	1.4	1.0	19.9
Elden Campbell	17	1	19.1	.436	.	.613	5.6	.5	.1	.9	7.4
Derek Fisher	50	21	22.6	.376	.392	.756	1.8	3.9	1.2	.0	5.9
Rick Fox	44	1	21.5	.448	.337	.742	2.0	2.0	.6	.2	9.0
Derek Harper	45	29	24.9	.412	.368	.813	1.5	4.2	1.0	.1	6.9
Robert Horry	38	5	19.6	.459	.444	.739	4.0	1.5	.9	1.0	4.9
Sam Jacobson	2	0	6.0	.600	.000	1.000	1.5	.0	.0	.0	4.0
Eddie Jones	20	20	36.2	.423	.313	.738	3.8	3.1	1.8	1.2	13.6
Travis Knight	37	23	14.2	.515	.000	.759	3.5	.8	.6	.7	4.2
Tyronn Lue	15	0	12.5	.431	.438	.571	.4	1.7	.3	.0	5.0
Shaquille O'Neal	49	49	34.8	.576	.000	.540	10.7	2.3	.7	1.7	26.3
Ruben Patterson	24	2	6.0	.412	.167	.710	1.3	.1	.2	.1	2.7
J. R. Reid	25	10	18.9	.407	.000	.717	4.0	.9	.6	.0	5.0
Glen Rice	27	25	36.5	.432	.393	.856	3.7	2.6	.6	.2	17.5
Dennis Rodman	23	11	28.6	.348	.000	.436	11.2	1.3	.4	.5	2.1
Sean Rooks	36	0	8.8	.405	.000	.708	2.0	.3	.1	.3	2.7

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

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Kobe Bryant	8	8	39.4	.430	.348	.800	6.9	4.6	1.9	1.3	19.8
Elden Campbell	17	1	19.1	.436	.	.613	5.6	.5	.1	.9	7.4
Derek Fisher	8	8	29.8	.418	.345	.800	3.6	4.9	1.0	.0	9.8
Rick Fox	8	1	22.6	.400	.190	1.000	2.8	1.5	.5	.6	6.6
Derek Harper	7	0	16.1	.419	.100	.500	1.4	2.1	.3	.1	4.3
Robert Horry	8	0	22.1	.462	.417	.786	4.5	1.4	.8	.8	5.0
Travis Knight	3	0	3.3	.333	.	.500	1.7	.3	.0	.0	1.0
Tyronn Lue	3	0	11.0	.412	.000	.	.7	2.0	.7	.0	4.7
Shaquille O'Neal	8	8	39.4	.510	.	.466	11.6	2.3	.9	2.9	26.6
Ruben Patterson	3	0	1.7	.000	.	.	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
J. R. Reid	8	8	22.3	.357	.	.750	5.3	.4	.5	.6	3.3
Glen Rice	7	7	43.9	.446	.357	.966	3.9	1.6	.7	.1	18.3
Sean Rooks	7	0	6.9	.333	.	.833	.3	.4	.0	.1	1.3

Awards and honors

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

Transactions

References

^ 1998-99 Los Angeles Lakers
^ "Lakers Swap Rumors for a Victory". Los Angeles Times. February 17, 1999. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
^ "Rodman Signs Lakers Contract". Chicago Tribune. February 23, 1999. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
^ "N.B.A. : ROUNDUP -- LAKERS; Rodman's Act Finally Wears Too Thin". New York Times. April 16, 1999. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
^ "1998 NBA Draft History - Round 1". Mynbadraft.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
^ ^a ^b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "1998-99 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.

[1] 1998-99 Los Angeles Lakers

[2] "Lakers Swap Rumors for a Victory". Los Angeles Times. February 17, 1999. Retrieved October 6, 2017.

[3] "Rodman Signs Lakers Contract". Chicago Tribune. February 23, 1999. Retrieved July 28, 2017.

[4] "N.B.A. : ROUNDUP -- LAKERS; Rodman's Act Finally Wears Too Thin". New York Times. April 16, 1999. Retrieved July 28, 2017.

[5] "1998 NBA Draft History - Round 1". Mynbadraft.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.

[sportsillustrated.cnn.com-6] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[7] "1998-99 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t e Los Angeles Lakers
Founded in 1948 Played in Minneapolis (1948–1960) Based in Los Angeles, California
Franchise	History All-time roster Draft history Records Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	Minneapolis Auditorium Minneapolis Armory Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Kia Forum Crypto.com Arena
Personnel	Ownership Jeanie, Jim, and Johnny Buss (majority) Anschutz Entertainment Group, Ed Roski Jr., Patrick Soon-Shiong (minority) President Jeanie Buss General manager Rob Pelinka Head coach Darvin Ham
G League affiliate	South Bay Lakers
Retired numbers	8 13 16 22 24 25 32 33 34 42 44 52 99 MIC
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Rivalries	Boston Celtics Detroit Pistons Golden State Warriors Los Angeles Clippers Phoenix Suns Sacramento Kings San Antonio Spurs
Culture and lore	Broadcasters radio network Jack Kent Cooke Jerry Buss Showtime Shaq–Kobe feud Laker Girls Laker Band Chick Hearn Flea Lawrence Tanter Jack Nicholson Dancing Barry Backstage: Lakers Fletch "It Was a Good Day" Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs Bulls vs Lakers and the NBA Playoffs The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty 2020 Calabasas helicopter crash Murals of Kobe Bryant