Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

1998–99 Utah Jazz season

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Head coach
  
Jerry Sloan

Record
  
37–13 (.740)

Arena
  
Delta Center

Place
  
Division: 1st (Midwest) Conference: 3rd (Western)

Playoff finish
  
West Semifinals (eliminated by Trail Blazers 2-4)

Television
  
Fox Sports Rocky Mountain, KJZZ

The 1998–99 NBA season was the Jazz's 25th season in the National Basketball Association, and 20th season in Salt Lake City, Utah. Having lost back to back NBA Finals to the Chicago Bulls for the past two seasons, the Jazz was hoping a third time would be a charm as the Chicago Bulls dynasty ended. The start of the Jazz season was delayed by a four-month lockout. When the season finally started, the Jazz got off to a 19–4 start, but struggled a bit down the stretch as they lost their grip on first place. They finished with a league best record of 37–13. However, their record was tied by the San Antonio Spurs who won the division by a tiebreaker. Karl Malone was named Most Valuable Player of the Year for the second time.

Contents

In the first round off the playoffs, the Jazz faced elimination as they trailed 2–1 against the 6th–seeded Sacramento Kings. However, they managed to win the series in five games. In the semifinals, they struggled and lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in six games. Following the season, Shandon Anderson signed as a free agent with the Houston Rockets, Greg Foster signed with the Seattle SuperSonics, and Thurl Bailey retired after making a comeback.

For the season, the Jazz added black alternate road uniforms that lasted until 2004.

West First Round

(3) Utah Jazz vs. (6) Sacramento Kings: Jazz win series 3-2

  • Game 1 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 8): Utah 117, Sacramento 87
  • Game 2 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 10): Sacramento 101, Utah 90
  • Game 3 @ ARCO Arena, Sacramento (May 12): Sacramento 84, Utah 81 (OT)
  • Game 4 @ ARCO Arena, Sacramento (May 14): Utah 90, Sacramento 89
  • Game 5 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 16): Utah 99, Sacramento 92 (OT)

    • Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Jazz and Kings.

    West Conference Semifinals

    (2) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (3) Utah Jazz: Blazers win series 4-2

  • Game 1 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 18): Utah 93, Portland 83
  • Game 2 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 20): Portland 84, Utah 81
  • Game 3 @ Rose Garden, Portland (May 22): Portland 97, Utah 87
  • Game 4 @ Rose Garden, Portland (May 23): Portland 81, Utah 75
  • Game 5 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 25): Utah 88, Portland 71
  • Game 6 @ Rose Garden, Portland (May 27): Portland 92, Utah 80

    • Last Playoff Meeting: 1996 Western Conference First Round (Utah won 3-2)

    Awards and records

  • Karl Malone, NBA Most Valuable Player Award
  • Karl Malone, All-NBA First Team
  • John Stockton, All-NBA Third Team
  • Karl Malone, NBA All-Defensive First Team

    • References

    1998–99 Utah Jazz season Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA