1998–99 Los Angeles Lakers season


The 1998–99 NBA season was the Lakers' 51st season in the National Basketball Association, and 39th in the city of Los Angeles. It was the Lakers' final season at the Great Western Forum. During the offseason, the Lakers signed free agent Derek Harper. In his first season as a starter, Kobe Bryant finished second on the team in scoring with 19.9 points per game. At midseason, Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell were both traded to the Charlotte Hornets for All-Star forward Glen Rice, J.R. Reid and B.J. Armstrong, who was released and signed with the Orlando Magic. The Lakers move continued midway through the season, signing free agent and rebounding specialist Dennis Rodman, who was well known for winning championships with the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls. However, after 23 games, Rodman was released by the team.
The Lakers finished second in the Pacific Division with a 31–19 record in a season shortened to 50 games due to a four-month lockout. Their attendance for the season was 430,007. In the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets 3–1 in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, but were swept in four straight games by the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs during the Western Conference Semifinals.
Following the season, Reid signed as a free agent with the Milwaukee Bucks, Sean Rooks was traded back to the Dallas Mavericks, rookie Ruben Patterson signed with the Seattle SuperSonics, and Harper was dealt to the Detroit Pistons, but was released and then retired.

Draft picks

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityCollege
126Sam JacobsonGuardUnited StatesMinnesota

Roster

Regular season

The Lakers went through three coaches during the season: Del Harris, Bill Bertka and Kurt Rambis. Fourteen different Lakers started at least one game during the season. From February 25 to March 12, the Lakers won ten consecutive games. Outside of the streak, the Lakers were 21-19 in all other games. During the season, over half of the Lakers' games were televised nationally.
At season's end, the Lakers ranked second in the league in scoring at 99.0 points per game. Despite the high scoring, the Lakers were the fourth worst Free Throw shooting team in the league with a percentage of.683. Shaquille O'Neal had a percentage of.540. Following the season, Rambis was fired as coach.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

West First Round

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets: Lakers win series 3-1
Last Playoff Meeting: 1996 Western Conference First Round

West Conference Semifinals

San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Spurs win series 4-0
Last Playoff Meeting: 1995 Western Conference Semifinals

Player stats

Regular season

Awards and honors