1998–99 San Antonio Spurs season


The 1998–99 NBA season was the San Antonio Spurs' 32nd season as a franchise, the team's 26th season in San Antonio, and the team's 23rd season in the National Basketball Association.
During the offseason, the Spurs acquired guard Antonio Daniels from the Vancouver Grizzlies and signed free agents Mario Elie, Steve Kerr and Jerome Kersey. After a promising rookie season from second-year star Tim Duncan, Spurs fans had to wait three-and-a-half months for the season to begin due to a lockout by NBA owners. When the season started, the Spurs posted a 6–8 record in February. However, in March and April, they won 31 of their final 36 games on their way to a league-best 37–13 season record.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Spurs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves three games to one. In the semifinals, the Spurs' "Twin Towers" of David Robinson and Tim Duncan outplayed Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant as the Spurs swept the Los Angeles Lakers in four straight games. In the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs faced the Portland Trail Blazers. After taking Game One, the Spurs trailed by 17 points in Game Two. However, the Spurs made a fourth-quarter run that culminated with a game-winning three-pointer from Sean Elliott. The Spurs went on to sweep the Trail Blazers, becoming the first former American Basketball Association team to play in the NBA Finals.
In the Finals, the Spurs defeated the eighth-seeded New York Knicks in five games. Avery Johnson hit the title-winning shot with 47 seconds left to seal the Spurs' first title in franchise history.

Offseason

On June 24, 1998, the Spurs traded Carl Herrera and first-round draft pick Felipe Lopez to the Vancouver Grizzlies for guard Antonio Daniels. The team also signed free agents Mario Elie, Steve Kerr and Jerome Kersey during the offseason.

NBA Draft

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityCollege
124Felipe LópezGuardSt. John's
252Derrick DialGuardEastern Michigan

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Regular season

Playoffs

West First Round

San Antonio Spurs vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Spurs win series 3-1
Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Spurs and Timberwolves.

West Conference Semifinals

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

West Conference Finals

San Antonio Spurs vs. Portland Trail Blazers: Spurs win series 4-0
Last Playoff Meeting: 1993 Western Conference First Round

Player stats

Regular season

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
47013.1.454.294.7541.12.3.64.134.7
505039.3.495.143.69011.42.4.902.5221.7
473727.5.471.374.8662.91.9.98.269.7
505030.2.410.328.7574.32.3.52.3411.2
1903.1.320.313.000.3.3.11.051.1
471318.3.380.361.8212.11.0.87.196.4
505033.4.473.083.5682.47.41.02.229.7
44016.7.391.313.8861.01.1.52.074.4
45015.5.340.214.4292.9.9.82.313.2
1903.3.429.000.611.7.2.11.051.2
37112.0.633.000.5383.7.5.24.272.4
494931.7.509.000.65810.02.11.412.4315.8
47012.9.463.000.6713.9.6.85.476.0
301.3.000.000.500.3.0.00.00.7

Playoffs

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1507.1.429.667.833.71.1.27.001.8
171743.1.511.000.74811.52.8.762.6523.2
171730.9.384.267.8373.52.91.29.127.9
171733.8.444.400.7633.42.6.53.2411.9
17020.3.382.360.6922.41.1.76.008.2
171738.4.487.333.6812.57.41.18.0612.6
1108.8.267.231.833.8.7.18.002.2
14010.9.349.250.7142.1.3.43.072.6
801.8.500.000.000.5.1.00.12.5
1207.2.545.000.5002.3.0.00.081.1
171735.3.483.000.7229.92.51.652.3515.6
17011.4.368.000.6922.3.2.41.242.7

NBA Finals

The 1999 NBA Finals saw some firsts for both the Spurs and the opposing New York Knicks.
The Spurs:
The Knicks became the first 8th seed to ever play in an NBA Finals.

Summary

The following scoring summary is written in a line score format, except that the quarter numbers are replaced by game numbers.
TeamGame 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5Wins
San Antonio 89808196784
New York 77678989771

With time running out in Game 5, and the 1999 championship on the line, the Spurs looked to Avery Johnson as he hit a long clutch 2 from the corner with 47 seconds to go, giving the Spurs a 1-point lead. It was considered one of the franchise's best moments since the first 26 years in San Antonio.

Schedule

The Finals were played using a 2-3-2 site format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team with home court advantage. The NBA, after experimenting in the early years, restored this original format for the Finals in 1985. So far, the other playoff series are still running on a 2-2-1-1-1 site format.

Award winners