1998–99 San Antonio Spurs season

The 1998–99 NBA season was the San Antonio Spurs' 32nd season as a franchise, the team's 26th season in San Antonio, and the team's 23rd season in the National Basketball Association.[1]

1998–99 San Antonio Spurs season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachGregg Popovich
OwnersPeter Holt
ArenaAlamodome
Results
Record37–13 (.740)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Midwest)
Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Knicks 4–1)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKSAT-TV
KRRT
Fox Sports Southwest
RadioWOAI

During the offseason, the Spurs acquired guard Antonio Daniels from the Vancouver Grizzlies and signed free agents Mario Elie, Steve Kerr and Jerome Kersey. After a promising rookie season from second-year star Tim Duncan, Spurs fans had to wait three-and-a-half months for the season to begin due to a lockout by NBA owners. When the season started, the Spurs posted a 6–8 record in February. However, in March and April, they won 31 of their final 36 games on their way to a league-best 37–13 season record.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Spurs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves three games to one. In the semifinals, the Spurs' "Twin Towers" of David Robinson and Tim Duncan outplayed Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant as the Spurs swept the Los Angeles Lakers in four straight games. In the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs faced the Portland Trail Blazers. After taking Game One, the Spurs trailed by 17 points in Game Two. However, the Spurs made a fourth-quarter run that culminated with a game-winning three-pointer from Sean Elliott.[2] The Spurs went on to sweep the Trail Blazers, becoming the first former American Basketball Association (ABA) team to play in the NBA Finals.

In the Finals, the Spurs defeated the eighth-seeded New York Knicks in five games. Avery Johnson hit the title-winning shot with 47 seconds left to seal the Spurs' first title in franchise history.[3]

Offseason

On June 24, 1998, the Spurs traded Carl Herrera and first-round draft pick Felipe Lopez to the Vancouver Grizzlies for guard Antonio Daniels.[4][5][6] The team also signed free agents Mario Elie, Steve Kerr and Jerome Kersey during the offseason.[7]

NBA Draft
Main article: 1998 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 24 Felipe López Guard  Dominican Republic St. John's
2 52 Derrick Dial Guard  United States Eastern Michigan

Roster
Roster listing
San Antonio Spurs roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 33 Daniels, Antonio 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Bowling Green
F/C 21 Duncan, Tim (C) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Wake Forest
G/F 17 Elie, Mario 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) American International
SF 32 Elliott, Sean 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Arizona
G/F 10 Gaze, Andrew  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Seton Hall
SG 2 Jackson, Jaren 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Georgetown
PG 6 Johnson, Avery 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Southern
G 4 Kerr, Steve 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Arizona
SF 25 Kersey, Jerome 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Longwood
F 54 King, Gerard 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Nicholls State
C 41 Perdue, Will 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Vanderbilt
C 50 Robinson, David 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Navy
PF 31 Rose, Malik 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Drexel
SG 11 Williams, Brandon  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Davidson
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Regular season

Season standings
Midwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-San Antonio Spurs 3713.740–21–416–917–4
x-Utah Jazz 3713.740–22–315–1015–3
x-Houston Rockets 3119.620619–612–1312–9
x-Minnesota Timberwolves 2525.5001218–77–1811–9
Dallas Mavericks 1931.3801815–104–218–12
Denver Nuggets 1436.2802312–132–235–16
Vancouver Grizzlies 842.160297–181–243–18
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-San Antonio Spurs3713.740–
2 y-Portland Trail Blazers3515.7002
3 x-Utah Jazz3713.740–
4 x-Los Angeles Lakers3119.6206
5 x-Houston Rockets3119.6206
6 x-Sacramento Kings2723.54010
7 x-Phoenix Suns2723.54010
8 x-Minnesota Timberwolves2525.50012
9 Seattle SuperSonics2525.50012
10 Golden State Warriors2129.42016
11 Dallas Mavericks1931.38018
12 Denver Nuggets1436.28023
13 Los Angeles Clippers941.18028
14 Vancouver Grizzlies842.16029
z - clinched division title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot

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 —3–03–03–12–10–10–01–20–01–03–11–00–00–31–20–01–22–12–22–11–00–00–00–00–02–10–01–02–1
Boston 0–3—1–22–12–20–01–00–30–00–00–31–00–03–00–30–11–21–21–21–20–00–10–10–00–01–20–01–03–1
Charlotte 0–32–1—2–12–10–00–03–00–10–01–20–00–11–22–20–03–01–31–21–21–01–00–00–00–02–11–00–02–1
Chicago 1–31–21–2—0–30–10–00–30–00–00–31–00–01–21–30–02–11–20–31–20–00–00–00–10–11–20–11–01–2
Cleveland 1–22–21–23–0—0–00–01–21–00–10–30–01–00–31–20–03–01–21–21–21–00–00–01–00–02–20–10–01–2
Dallas 1–00–00–01–00–0—2–10–12–22–20–03–00–30–10–01–20–10–01–00–01–30–32–21–30–30–00–32–10–0
Denver 0–00–10–00–00–01–2—0–01–30–40–13–01–20–11–00–31–00–00–00–00–30–30–30–42–20–01–23–10–1
Detroit 2–13–00–33–02–11–00–0—0–00–02–10–00–02–12–10–12–12–10–41–31–00–00–00–11–02–11–00–02–1
Golden State 0–00–01–00–00–12–23–10–0—0–31–02–11–20–00–12–20–00–00–10–01–22–21–20–31–20–00–44–00–0
Houston 0–10–00–00–01–02–24–00–03–0—0–03–11–20–10–02–11–00–00–10–02–22–13–00–32–11–00–34–00–0
Indiana 1–23–02–13–03–00–01–01–20–10–0—0–01–02–23–00–03–12–11–21–20–00–10–00–00–02–10–01–03–0
L.A. Clippers 0–10–10–00–10–00–30–30–01–21–30–0—0–40–00–02–21–00–10–00–00–31–21–20–30–30–11–31–30–0
L.A. Lakers 0–00–01–00–00–13–02–10–02–12–10–14–0—0–00–02–10–01–01–00–13–12–21–22–12–20–01–32–10–0
Miami 3–00–32–12–13–01–01–01–20–01–02–20–00–0—2–10–13–12–22–12–10–00–00–00–00–03–00–10–03–0
Milwaukee 2–13–02–23–12–10–00–11–21–00–00–30–00–01–2—1–02–12–11–21–20–10–00–00–01–03–10–00–02–1
Minnesota 0–01–00–00–00–02–13–01–02–21–20–02–21–21–00–1—0–00–10–00–01–20–33–12–22–10–10–33–10–0
New Jersey 2–12–10–31–20–31–00–11–20–00–11–30–10–01–31–20–0—0–30–31–20–00–10–00–01–02–10–00–02–1
New York 1–22–13–12–12–10–00–01–20–00–01–21–00–12–21–21–03–0—0–33–11–00–00–10–00–01–20–00–02–1
Orlando 2–22–12–13–02–10–10–04–01–01–02–10–00–11–22–10–03–03–0—1–20–00–01–00–10–01–20–00–02–1
Philadelphia 1–22–12–12–12–10–00–03–10–00–02–10–01–01–22–10–02–11–32–1—0–00–11–00–10–12–10–01–01–2
Phoenix 0–10–00–10–00–13–13–00–12–12–20–03–01–30–01–02–10–00–10–00–0—0–30–32–23–00–02–23–00–0
Portland 0–01–00–10–00–03–03–00–02–21–21–02–12–20–00–03–01–00–00–01–03–0—4–01–32–20–01–24–00–0
Sacramento 0–01–01–00–00–02–23–00–02–10–30–02–12–10–00–01–30–01–00–10–13–00–4—1–22–20–01–24–01–0
San Antonio 0–00–00–01–00–13–14–01–03–03–00–03–01–20–00–02–20–00–01–01–02–23–12–1—2–10–12–13–00–0
Seattle 0–00–00–01–00–03–02–20–12–11–20–03–02–20–00–11–20–10–00–01–00–32–22–21–2—0–02–22–10–1
Toronto 1–22–11–22–12–20–00–01–20–00–11–21–00–00–31–31–01–22–12–11–20–00–00–01–00–0—0–01–02–2
Utah 0–00–00–11–01–03–02–10–14–03–00–03–13–11–00–03–00–00–00–00–02–22–12–11–22–20–0—3–01–0
Vancouver 0–10–10–00–10–01–21–30–00–30–40–13–11–20–00–01–30–00–00–00–10–30–30–40–31–20–10–3—0–0
Washington 1–21–31–22–12–10–01–01–20–10–00–30–00–00–31–20–01–21–21–22–10–00–10–10–01–02–20–10–0—

Game log

Regular season
1998–99 game log
Total: 37–13 (Home: 21–4; Road: 16–9)
February: 6–8 (Home: 4–3; Road: 2–5)
March: 14–2 (Home: 6–1; Road: 8–1)
April: 13–3 (Home: 9–0; Road: 4–3)
May: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
1998–99 season schedule

Playoffs

West First Round

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (8) Minnesota Timberwolves: Spurs win series 3-1

Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Spurs and Timberwolves.

West Conference Semifinals

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

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

West Conference Finals

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (2) Portland Trail Blazers: Spurs win series 4-0

Last Playoff Meeting: 1993 Western Conference First Round (San Antonio won 3-1)

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
Antonio Daniels 47013.1.454.294.7541.12.3.64.134.7
Tim Duncan 505039.3.495.143.69011.42.4.902.5221.7
Mario Elie 473727.5.471.374.8662.91.9.98.269.7
Sean Elliott 505030.2.410.328.7574.32.3.52.3411.2
Andrew Gaze 1903.1.320.313.000.3.3.11.051.1
Jaren Jackson 471318.3.380.361.8212.11.0.87.196.4
Avery Johnson 505033.4.473.083.5682.47.41.02.229.7
Steve Kerr 44016.7.391.313.8861.01.1.52.074.4
Jerome Kersey 45015.5.340.214.4292.9.9.82.313.2
Gerard King 1903.3.429.000.611.7.2.11.051.2
Will Perdue 37112.0.633.000.5383.7.5.24.272.4
David Robinson 494931.7.509.000.65810.02.11.412.4315.8
Malik Rose 47012.9.463.000.6713.9.6.85.476.0
Brandon Williams 301.3.000.000.500.3.0.00.00.7

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Antonio Daniels 1507.1.429.667.833.71.1.27.001.8
Tim Duncan 171743.1.511.000.74811.52.8.762.6523.2
Mario Elie 171730.9.384.267.8373.52.91.29.127.9
Sean Elliott 171733.8.444.400.7633.42.6.53.2411.9
Jaren Jackson 17020.3.382.360.6922.41.1.76.008.2
Avery Johnson 171738.4.487.333.6812.57.41.18.0612.6
Steve Kerr 1108.8.267.231.833.8.7.18.002.2
Jerome Kersey 14010.9.349.250.7142.1.3.43.072.6
Gerard King 801.8.500.000.000.5.1.00.12.5
Will Perdue 1207.2.545.000.5002.3.0.00.081.1
David Robinson 171735.3.483.000.7229.92.51.652.3515.6
Malik Rose 17011.4.368.000.6922.3.2.41.242.7

NBA Finals

The 1999 NBA Finals saw some firsts for both the Spurs and the opposing New York Knicks.

The Spurs:

  • Became the first former ABA team to play and win in an NBA Finals.
  • Attracted record crowds for the two games at the Alamodome. Attendance was 39,514 for Game 1 and 39,554 for Game 2 (the largest crowd to see an NBA Finals game).
  • Steve Kerr became the first non-Celtic to win four straight championships, as he won titles with the Bulls from 1996 to 1998.

The Knicks became the first (and to this date, the only) 8th seed to ever play in an NBA Finals.

Summary

The following scoring summary is written in a line score format, except that the quarter numbers are replaced by game numbers.

Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Wins
San Antonio (West) 89808196784
New York (East) 77678989771

With time running out in Game 5, and the 1999 championship on the line, the Spurs looked to Avery Johnson as he hit a long clutch 2 from the corner with 47 seconds to go, giving the Spurs a 1-point lead. It was considered one of the franchise's best moments since the first 26 years in San Antonio.

Schedule

The Finals were played using a 2-3-2 site format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team with home court advantage. The NBA, after experimenting in the early years, restored this original format for the Finals in 1985. So far, the other playoff series are still running on a 2-2-1-1-1 site format.

Award winners

References
  1. "1998-99 San Antonio Spurs Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  2. "N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Spurs Seem to Hold Spell The Blazers Can't Break". New York Times. June 2, 1999. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  3. "Spurs Win Title as Knicks' Dream Ends". The New York Times. June 26, 1999.
  4. Duarte, Jeph (June 1, 2018). "Spurs used the 1998 draft to acquire Antonio Daniels". Pounding The Rock.
  5. "San Antonio Spurs: 25 Best Players To Play For The Spurs". August 29, 2016.
  6. Popper, Steve (June 25, 1998). "PRO BASKETBALL; Lopez of St. John's Ends Up With Grizzlies" – via NYTimes.com.
  7. "Elie, Other Free Agents Pushed Spurs to Top". www.sfgate.com. June 15, 1999.
  8. "Minnesota Timberwolves at San Antonio Spurs Box Score, May 9, 1999 | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  9. "Minnesota Timberwolves at San Antonio Spurs Box Score, May 11, 1999 | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  10. "San Antonio Spurs at Minnesota Timberwolves Box Score, May 13, 1999 | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  11. "San Antonio Spurs at Minnesota Timberwolves Box Score, May 15, 1999 | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  12. "Los Angeles Lakers at San Antonio Spurs Box Score, May 17, 1999 | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  13. "Los Angeles Lakers at San Antonio Spurs Box Score, May 19, 1999 | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  14. "San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers Box Score, May 22, 1999 | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  15. "San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers Box Score, May 23, 1999 | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  16. "Portland Trail Blazers at San Antonio Spurs Box Score, May 29, 1999 | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  17. "Portland Trail Blazers at San Antonio Spurs Box Score, May 31, 1999 | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  18. "San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers Box Score, June 4, 1999 | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  19. "San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers Box Score, June 6, 1999 | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
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