Recap
The 1998–99 NBA season was the 53rd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Due to a lockout, the season did not start until February 5, 1999, after a new six-year Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association. All 29 teams played a shortened 50-game regular season schedule and the 16 teams who qualified for the playoffs played a full post-season schedule. That season's All-Star Game was also canceled. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs winning the franchise's first NBA championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the 1999 NBA Finals. This was the 50th season since the BAA and NBL had merged into the NBA.
* Michael Jordan announced his retirement for the second time on January 13, 1999, while the lockout was still ongoing. He would later return to play two more seasons for the Washington Wizards from 2001–2003.
* The New York Knicks became only the second #8 seed to advance in the playoffs by defeating a #1 seed. As of 2020, they remain the only #8 seed to have advanced to the NBA Finals.
* The Los Angeles Lakers played their final season at the Great Western Forum. Because the Great Western Bank ceased to exist two seasons prior, the arena name was replaced by the team name on center court, in anticipation of the move to the Staples Center.
* The Los Angeles Clippers played their final season at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.
* The Indiana Pacers played their final season at the Market Square Arena.
* The Denver Nuggets played their final season at the McNichols Sports Arena.
* The Miami Heat played their final full season at the Miami Arena, although they still played the first two months of the following season at this arena before moving to the American Airlines Arena in January 2000.
* The Toronto Raptors played their first game in Air Canada Centre on February 21.
* The San Antonio Spurs became the first former ABA team to win a championship. (As of February 2021, they are still the only ABA franchise with a title; the Nets and Pacers have not won a title, and the Nuggets have never played an NBA Finals game.)
* The Atlanta Hawks played another season in the Georgia Dome while Philips Arena was constructed for the 1999–2000 season. This season would be the Hawks' last playoff appearance until the 2007–08 season.
* The Clippers tied the 1988–89 Miami Heat for the longest losing streak to start the season (17) from February 5 until March 11 when they defeated the Sacramento Kings. In December 2009, this record was broken by the New Jersey Nets who lost the first eighteen games of the season.
* Detroit Pistons guard Joe Dumars retired after fourteen years in the NBA, all with the Pistons.
* Hall of Fame coach Red Holzman died on November 13, 1998, at age 78.
* For the first time in 15 seasons, the Chicago Bulls missed the playoffs. They would also become the second defending champion in NBA history that failed to make the playoffs, joining the 1969–70 Boston Celtics.
what a year. the competitiveness of the ABL really brought the NBA out of its duldrums.