1998–99 Chicago Bulls season
NBA professional basketball team season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1998–99 Chicago Bulls season was the 33rd season for the Chicago Bulls 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 games.[2][3]
| 1998–99 Chicago Bulls season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Tim Floyd |
| General manager | Jerry Krause |
| Owner | Jerry Reinsdorf |
| Arena | United Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 13–37 (.260) |
| Place | Division: 8th (Central) Conference: 15th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | WGN-TV (Wayne Larrivee, John Paxson) Fox Sports Chicago (Tom Dore, John Paxson) |
| Radio | WMVP (Neil Funk, Johnny "Red" Kerr) |
Season summary
Off-season
The Bulls entered the regular season as the three-time defending NBA champions, having defeated the Utah Jazz in the 1998 NBA Finals in six games, winning their sixth NBA championship, and completing a second three-peat in the 1990s. During the offseason, Phil Jackson's resignation as head coach, the departures of Scottie Pippen (who was traded to the Houston Rockets), Dennis Rodman (who signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent), and Michael Jordan's second retirement marked the end of the Bulls' dynasty.[4] During the off-season, the team signed free agents Brent Barry,[5][6][7] and Andrew Lang, acquired Mark Bryant from the Phoenix Suns,[8][9][10] and hired Tim Floyd as their new head coach.[11][12][13]
Regular season
Under Floyd, and with the addition of Barry and Bryant, the Bulls were a shell of their former selves, losing eight of their first nine games of the regular season, which included a seven-game losing streak in February. The team posted another seven-game losing streak in April, and lost 14 of their final 17 games of the season. The Bulls finished in last place in the Central Division with a 13–37 record (roughly the equivalent of 21–61),[14] missing the NBA playoffs for the first time since the 1983–84 season;[1] the Bulls were just the second defending champions to miss the postseason, behind the 1969–70 Boston Celtics.
Toni Kukoč became the team's scoring leader, averaging 18.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game, while Ron Harper averaged 11.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, and Barry provided the team with 11.1 points per game. In addition, Dickey Simpkins contributed 9.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, while Bryant provided with 9.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and Randy Brown contributed 8.8 points, 3.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Meanwhile, Hungarian rookie power forward Kornél Dávid averaged 6.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, second-year guard Rusty LaRue contributed 4.7 points per game, and Lang provided with 3.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, but only played just 21 games due to injury.[15]
Brown finished tied in tenth place in Most Improved Player voting.[16] The Bulls led the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 560,012 at the United Center during the regular season.[15][17]
Notable highlights
One notable game of the regular season occurred on April 10, 1999, in which the Bulls suffered an 82–49 home loss to the Miami Heat at the United Center; the Bulls struggled and only made 18 out of 77 field-goal attempts, and shot just .234 in field-goal percentage. It was an all-time NBA record for the fewest points scored in a single game since the shot clock was introduced during the 1954–55 season.[18][19][20] Before that night's game, the NBA had only twelve notable moments where a team scored under 50 points in a match, where most of them occurred during the league's inaugural season, which was known as the Basketball Association of America, including two different matches where a team scored less than 40 points in a game. In addition, the two lowest scoring teams in a game happened in an infamous match on November 22, 1950, between the Fort Wayne Pistons and the Minneapolis Lakers, which resulted in the lowest-scoring NBA match ever recorded in a 19–18 Pistons victory.[21]
Aftermath
Following the season, Barry was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics,[22][23][24] while Harper signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers to reunite with Jackson, who was hired to coach the Lakers,[25][26][27] Bryant signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Lang and Bill Wennington were both released to free agency.[28]
Offseason
NBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 | Corey Benjamin | SG |  United States |
Oregon State |
| 2 | 34 | Shammond Williams | PG | United States |
North Carolina |
| 2 | 58 | Maceo Baston | F | United States |
Michigan |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Regular season
Season standings
| Central Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Indiana Pacers | 33 | 17 | .660 | – | 18–7 | 15–10 | 15–7 | 50 |
| x-Atlanta Hawks | 31 | 19 | .620 | 2.0 | 16–9 | 15–10 | 15–8 | 50 |
| x-Detroit Pistons | 29 | 21 | .580 | 4.0 | 17–8 | 12–13 | 13–8 | 50 |
| x-Milwaukee Bucks | 28 | 22 | .560 | 5.0 | 17–8 | 11–14 | 13–11 | 50 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 26 | 24 | .520 | 7.0 | 16–9 | 10–15 | 12–10 | 50 |
| Toronto Raptors | 23 | 27 | .460 | 10.0 | 14–11 | 9–16 | 9–14 | 50 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 22 | 28 | .440 | 11.0 | 15–10 | 7–18 | 9–13 | 50 |
| Chicago Bulls | 13 | 37 | .260 | 20.0 | 8–17 | 5–20 | 4–19 | 50 |
| Eastern Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c-Miami Heat * | 33 | 17 | .660 | – | 50 |
| 2 | y-Indiana Pacers * | 33 | 17 | .660 | – | 50 |
| 3 | x-Orlando Magic | 33 | 17 | .660 | – | 50 |
| 4 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 31 | 19 | .620 | 2.0 | 50 |
| 5 | x-Detroit Pistons | 29 | 21 | .580 | 4.0 | 50 |
| 6 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 28 | 22 | .560 | 5.0 | 50 |
| 7 | x-Milwaukee Bucks | 28 | 22 | .560 | 5.0 | 50 |
| 8 | x-New York Knicks | 27 | 23 | .540 | 6.0 | 50 |
| 9 | Charlotte Hornets | 26 | 24 | .520 | 7.0 | 50 |
| 10 | Toronto Raptors | 23 | 27 | .460 | 10.0 | 50 |
| 11 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 22 | 28 | .440 | 11.0 | 50 |
| 12 | Boston Celtics | 19 | 31 | .380 | 14.0 | 50 |
| 13 | Washington Wizards | 18 | 32 | .360 | 15.0 | 50 |
| 14 | New Jersey Nets | 16 | 34 | .320 | 17.0 | 50 |
| 15 | Chicago Bulls | 13 | 37 | .260 | 20.0 | 50 |
Player statistics
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brent Barry | 37 | 30 | 31.9 | .396 | .302 | .772 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 1.1 | .3 | 11.1 |
| Corey Benjamin | 31 | 1 | 10.3 | .376 | .214 | .675 | 1.3 | .3 | .4 | .3 | 3.8 |
| Mario Bennett | 3 | 0 | 6.3 | .333 | .750 | 1.7 | .0 | .3 | .0 | 2.3 | |
| Keith Booth | 39 | 4 | 11.1 | .325 | .100 | .500 | 2.4 | 1.0 | .6 | .3 | 3.1 |
| Randy Brown | 39 | 32 | 29.2 | .414 | .000 | .757 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 1.7 | .2 | 8.8 |
| Mark Bryant | 45 | 29 | 26.8 | .483 | .000 | .645 | 5.2 | 1.1 | .8 | .4 | 9.0 |
| Cory Carr | 42 | 7 | 14.9 | .329 | .167 | .750 | 1.2 | 1.6 | .5 | .2 | 4.1 |
| Kornél Dávid | 50 | 6 | 18.0 | .449 | .000 | .811 | 3.5 | .8 | .5 | .3 | 6.2 |
| Ron Harper | 35 | 35 | 31.6 | .377 | .318 | .703 | 5.1 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 11.2 |
| Charles Jones | 29 | 5 | 16.4 | .317 | .311 | .500 | 1.4 | 1.4 | .6 | .2 | 3.7 |
| Toni Kukoč | 44 | 44 | 37.6 | .420 | .285 | .740 | 7.0 | 5.3 | 1.1 | .3 | 18.8 |
| Andrew Lang | 21 | 13 | 18.4 | .323 | .696 | 4.4 | .6 | .2 | .6 | 3.8 | |
| Rusty LaRue | 43 | 6 | 17.0 | .359 | .337 | 1.000 | 1.3 | 1.5 | .8 | .1 | 4.7 |
| Dickey Simpkins | 50 | 35 | 29.0 | .463 | .000 | .645 | 6.8 | 1.3 | .7 | .3 | 9.1 |
| Bill Wennington | 38 | 3 | 11.9 | .348 | 1.000 | .818 | 2.1 | .5 | .3 | .3 | 3.8 |
Player statistics citation:[15]
Awards and records
In a home game against the Miami Heat on April 10, 1999, the Bulls scored 49 points, the fewest by any team since the shot clock was introduced in 1954.[18]
Transactions
| Players added Via draft Via trade Via free agency |
Players lost Via trade Via free agency Retired |