1998–99 Charlotte Hornets season
The 1998–99 NBA season was the eleventh season for the Charlotte Hornets in the National Basketball Association. During the offseason, the Hornets signed free agents Derrick Coleman, Chuck Person and Eldridge Recasner. After a four-month lockout wiped out half the season, the Hornets began their season dealing with injuries, as Anthony Mason was lost for the entire season with a biceps injury suffered in practice a few days before the start of the season. Glen Rice was also out with an elbow injury and demanded a trade. The Hornets struggled losing eight of their first nine games, which led to a disappointing 4–11 start to the season as head coach Dave Cowens was replaced with Paul Silas.
A few days later, Rice was traded along with J.R. Reid, and B.J. Armstrong to the Los Angeles Lakers for All-Star guard Eddie Jones, and Elden Campbell. The team improved under Silas posting a 22–13 record, including a nine-game winning streak in April. The Hornets finished fifth in the Central Division with a 26–24 record. However, they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the 1995–96 season. The Hornets finished sixth the NBA in attendance for the season. Following the season, Person signed with the Seattle SuperSonics. Despite their above.500 record, they failed to qualify for the postseason.
Offseason
NBA Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 21 | Ricky Davis | SF/SG | Iowa | |
| 2 | 50 | Andrew Betts | California State-Long Beach |
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Game log
Player statistics
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 10 | 1 | 17.8 | .488 | .750 | .900 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 5.7 | |
| 16 | 0 | 9.4 | .452 | 1.000 | .462 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 2.2 | |
| 48 | 21 | 24.8 | .472 | .375 | .678 | 3.6 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 8.5 | |
| 3 | 0 | 6.0 | .143 | .000 | .500 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | |
| 32 | 32 | 35.4 | .489 | .000 | .647 | 9.4 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 15.3 | |
| 37 | 29 | 31.8 | .414 | .212 | .753 | 8.9 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 13.1 | |
| 46 | 1 | 12.1 | .405 | .167 | .763 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 4.4 | |
| 30 | 30 | 38.6 | .446 | .359 | .801 | .3.9 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 17.0 | |
| 38 | 0 | 12.3 | .565 | .500 | .794 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 6.3 | |
| 50 | 21 | 19.8 | .388 | .350 | .750 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 6.1 | |
| 43 | 43 | 36.6 | .433 | .395 | .685 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 14.3 | |
| 44 | 2 | 16.1 | .446 | .400 | .872 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 5.0 | |
| 16 | 16 | 34.8 | .521 | .798 | 7.1 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 15.2 | ||
| 32 | 4 | 11.5 | .489 | .655 | 4.0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 3.3 | ||
| 50 | 50 | 37.0 | .446 | .359 | .832 | 3.2 | 6.4 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 14.1 | |
| 8 | 0 | 7.8 | .462 | .750 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.9 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 4.0 | .000 | .000 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Awards and records
- Eddie Jones, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
Transactions
- January 21, 1999
Signed Eldridge Recasner as a free agent.
Signed Charles Shackleford as a free agent.
Signed Chucky Brown as a free agent.
Signed Derrick Coleman as a free agent.
- January 26, 1999
- February 3, 1999
- February 28, 1999
- March 8, 1999
- March 10, 1999
Traded B.J. Armstrong, J.R. Reid and Glen Rice to the Los Angeles Lakers for Elden Campbell and Eddie Jones.
- March 16, 1999
- March 17, 1999
- April 6, 1999