1998–99 Houston Rockets season

The 1998–99 Houston Rockets season was the 32nd season for the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association and their 28th season in Houston, Texas.^[1] Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50.^[2]

The Rockets had three first-round draft picks in the 1998 NBA draft, selecting shooting guard Michael Dickerson from the University of Arizona with the 14th overall pick, point guard Bryce Drew out of Valparaiso University with the 16th overall pick, and power forward, and Turkish basketball star Mirsad Türkcan with the 18th overall pick; the team also drafted shooting guard Cuttino Mobley from the University of Rhode Island with the 41st overall pick in the second round.^[3][4][5] However, Türkcan never played for the Rockets, and was later on traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.^[6][7] After the retirement of All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, the Rockets acquired All-Star forward, and six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen from the Chicago Bulls,^[8][9][10] and signed free agent Antoine Carr, who previous had two NBA Finals appearances with the Utah Jazz.^[11][12] Pippen, Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley had previously played together on the U.S. Men's basketball team in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.^[13]

With the addition of Pippen, the Rockets won six of their first eight games of the regular season, but then lost five of their next seven games. At mid-season, the team traded second-year guard Rodrick Rhodes to the Vancouver Grizzlies in exchange for three-point specialist, and former Rockets guard Sam Mack.^[14][15][16] The Rockets posted a nine-game winning streak in March, and finished in third place in the Midwest Division with a 31–19 record, earning the fifth seed in the Western Conference;^[17] the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the seventh consecutive year.^[1] The Rockets also had the fifth best team offensive rating in the NBA.

Olajuwon averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, while Barkley averaged 16.1 points, 12.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, and Pippen provided the team with 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.0 steals per game, and also led them with 72 three-point field goals. In addition, Dickerson provided with 10.9 points per game and 71 three-point field goals, while Mobley contributed 9.9 points per game, as both players were named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. Off the bench, Othella Harrington averaged 9.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, while Mack contributed 9.2 points per game in 25 games after the trade, and Brent Price provided with 7.3 points and 2.8 assists per game.^[18] Three-point specialist Matt Maloney only played just 15 games this season due to an elbow injury.^[19][20] Olajuwon finished tied in 13th place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[21] while he and Pippen both finished tied in seventh place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[21] and Harrington finished tied in tenth place in Most Improved Player voting.^[21]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1999 NBA playoffs, the Rockets faced off against the 4th–seeded Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by the All-Star trio of Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Glen Rice. Despite both teams finishing with the same regular-season record, the Lakers had home-court advantage in the series. The Rockets lost the first two games to the Lakers on the road at the Great Western Forum, but managed to win Game 3 at home, 102–88 at the Compaq Center; in Game 3, Pippen posted a double-double of 37 points and 13 rebounds, while Barkley had a double-double of 30 points and 23 rebounds.^[22] However, the Rockets lost Game 4 to the Lakers at home, 98–88, thus losing the series in four games.^[23][24][25] The Rockets would not return to the NBA playoffs again until the 2003–04 season.^[1]

The Rockets finished 18th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 407,125 at the Compaq Center during the regular season.^[18][26] Pippen spent only one season with the Rockets, as he and Barkley had trouble getting along as teammates.^[27][28][29] Following the season, Pippen was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers,^[30][31][32] while Dickerson, Harrington, Carr and Price were all traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies,^[33][34][35] Mack and Maloney were both released to free agency, as Maloney signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bulls midway through the next season,^[36][37] and Eddie Johnson retired.