1998–99 Boston Celtics season

The 1998–99 Boston Celtics season was the 53rd season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association.^[1] Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50.^[2] This season was most memorable when the Celtics received the tenth overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, and selected small forward Paul Pierce from the University of Kansas.^[3][4][5] During the off-season, the team acquired second-year center Tony Battie from the Los Angeles Lakers, who had acquired him from the Denver Nuggets.^[6][7]

With the addition of Pierce and Battie, the Celtics got off to a 6–5 start to the regular season. However, the team struggled and fell below .500 in winning percentage losing 12 of their next 14 games. At mid-season, the team traded Andrew DeClercq to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Vitaly Potapenko.^[8][9][10] Celtics fans began to get restless with head coach Rick Pitino's slow growth,^[11] as the team finished in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a 19–31 record.^[12]

Antoine Walker averaged 18.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, and also contributed 65 three-point field goals, while second-year star Ron Mercer averaged 17.0 points and 1.6 steals per game, and Pierce provided the team with 16.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, led them with 84 three-point field goals, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and also finished in third place in Rookie of the Year voting.^[13][14] In addition, Kenny Anderson contributed 12.1 points and 5.7 assists per game, while Potapenko provided with 10.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 33 games after the trade. Off the bench, sixth man Dana Barros contributed 9.3 points and 4.2 assists per game, while Battie averaged 6.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, Walter McCarty provided with 5.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, and Greg Minor contributed 4.9 points per game.^[15]

The Celtics finished ninth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 440,602 at the FleetCenter during the regular season.^[15][16] Following the season, Mercer and Popeye Jones were both traded to the Denver Nuggets,^[17][18][19] and Bruce Bowen signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers.^[20][21]