1998–99 Charlotte Hornets season

The 1998–99 Charlotte Hornets season was the eleventh season for the Charlotte Hornets 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] During the off-season, the Hornets signed free agents Derrick Coleman,^[3][4][5] three-point specialist Chuck Person,^[6] Eldridge Recasner and Chucky Brown.^[7] However, before the regular season began, the team dealt with injuries as Anthony Mason was lost for the entire season due to a biceps injury suffered in practice,^[8][9][10] and All-Star forward Glen Rice was out due to an elbow injury.^[11][12][13]

With the addition of Coleman, Brown and Person, and without Rice and Mason, the Hornets struggled losing eight of their first nine games of the regular season, which included a six-game losing streak in February. Head coach Dave Cowens resigned after a 4–11 start to the season, and was replaced with assistant coach Paul Silas.^[14][15][16] At mid-season, the team traded Rice, J.R. Reid, and B. J. Armstrong to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for All-Star guard Eddie Jones, and Elden Campbell;^[17][18][19] Armstrong was released by the Lakers, and later signed with the Orlando Magic.^[20][21] Under Silas, the Hornets improved posting a 22–13 record for the remainder of the season, which included a nine-game winning streak in April, as the team finished in fifth place in the Central Division with a 26–24 record.^[22] However, despite finishing with a record above .500 in winning percentage, the Hornets failed to qualify for the NBA playoffs, as they finished just one game behind the 8th–seeded New York Knicks.

Jones averaged 17.0 points, 4.2 assists and 3.0 steals per game in 30 games after the trade, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while Campbell averaged 15.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in 32 games. In addition, Bobby Phills provided the team with 14.3 points, 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and also led them with 68 three-point field goals, while David Wesley contributed 14.1 points, 6.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game, Coleman averaged 13.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, and Brown provided with 8.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, undrafted rookie center Brad Miller averaged 6.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, Person contributed 6.1 points per game, and Recasner provided with 5.0 points and 2.1 assists per game.^[23]

Jones also finished tied in seventh place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[24] while Silas finished tied in sixth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[24] The Hornets finished sixth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 480,807 at the Charlotte Coliseum during the regular season.^[23][25] Following the season, Person signed as a free agent with the Seattle SuperSonics,^[26] and Brown signed with the San Antonio Spurs.^[27]