Record 31–19 (.620) Arena The Forum | Period 1998 – 1999 | |
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The 1998–99 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 51st season of the franchise, 51st in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 39th in Los Angeles. It was the Lakers' final season at the Great Western Forum. During the offseason, the Lakers signed free agent Derek Harper. 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, acquiring 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.
Contents
- Roster Notes
- Regular season
- West First Round
- West Conference Semifinals
- Season
- Awards and honors
- References
The Lakers finished second in the Pacific Division with a 31–19 record. Their attendance for the season was 430,007 (12th in the league). 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 San Antonio Spurs during the Western Conference Semifinals.
Following the season, Reid signed as a free agent with the Milwaukee Bucks, Ruben Patterson signed with the Seattle SuperSonics, and Harper was traded to the Detroit Pistons, but was released and then retired.
Roster Notes
Regular season
The Lakers went through three coaches during the season: Del Harris (6–6), Bill Bertka (1–0) and Kurt Rambis (24–13). 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 (only Sacramento averaged more points: 100.2 ppg). 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.
z – clinched division titley – clinched division titlex – clinched playoff spotWest First Round
(4) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Houston Rockets: Lakers win series 3-1
Last Playoff Meeting: 1996 Western Conference First Round (Houston won 3-1)
West Conference Semifinals
(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Los Angeles Lakers: Spurs win series 4-0
Last Playoff Meeting: 1995 Western Conference Semifinals (San Antonio won 4-2)