1998–99 Portland Trail Blazers season

The 1998–99 Portland Trail Blazers season was the 29th season for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association.^[1] On March 23, 1998, the owners of all 29 NBA teams voted 27–2 to reopen the league's collective bargaining agreement, seeking changes to the league's salary cap system, and a ceiling on individual player salaries. The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) opposed to the owners' plan, and wanted raises for players who earned the league's minimum salary. After both sides failed to reach an agreement, the owners called for a lockout, which began on July 1, 1998, putting a hold on all team trades, free agent signings and training camp workouts, and cancelling many NBA regular season and preseason games.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Due to the lockout, the NBA All-Star Game, which was scheduled to be played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 14, 1999, was also cancelled.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

However, on January 6, 1999, NBA commissioner David Stern, and NBPA director Billy Hunter finally reached an agreement to end the lockout. The deal was approved by both the players and owners, and was signed on January 20, ending the lockout after 204 days. The regular season began on February 5, and was cut short to just 50 games instead of the regular 82-game schedule.^{[12][13][14][15][16]}

During the off-season, the Blazers signed free agents Jim Jackson and Greg Anthony, who would reunite with his former UNLV teammate Stacey Augmon,^[17][18][19] and acquired top draft pick Bonzi Wells out of Ball State University from the Detroit Pistons, who selected him with the eleventh overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft.^{[20][21][22][23]} The Blazers got off to a fast start winning eight straight games between February and March,^[24] on their way to a 27–6 start. Despite losing four of their final five games, the team finished 35–15 in the lockout-shortened season, earning their fourth Pacific Division title and the first since 1991–92.^[25] Their record qualified them for the #2 seed in the Western Conference. The team earned their 17th straight trip to the playoffs, and 22nd in 23 years.^[26]

Isaiah Rider led the team in scoring with 13.9 points per game, which is usually a low average in points for a team's scoring leader, while Rasheed Wallace played half the season off the bench, averaging 12.8 points per game, and Damon Stoudamire contributed 12.6 points and 6.2 assists per game. In addition, Brian Grant averaged 11.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, while Arvydas Sabonis provided the team with 12.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, Walt Williams contributed 9.3 points per game, and Jackson provided with 8.4 points per game off the bench.^[27] Head coach Mike Dunleavy was named Coach of the Year,^[28][29][30] and Wallace finished in second place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.^[31][32]

The Blazers swept the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference First Round in three straight games, marking the first time since 1992 that the Blazers advanced to the playoffs.^{[33][34][35][36]} They followed with a 4–2 series victory over the two-time defending Western Conference champion Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Semi-finals,^{[37][38][39][40]} but were swept out of the Western Conference finals by Tim Duncan and the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in four straight games.^{[41][42][43][44]} The Spurs would reach the NBA Finals for the first time to defeat the 8th-seeded New York Knicks in five games, winning their first ever championship.^{[45][46][47][48][49]}

Following the season, Rider and Jackson were both traded to the Atlanta Hawks,^{[50][51][52][53]} and Williams and second-year center Kelvin Cato were both traded to the Houston Rockets.^{[54][55][56][57]}

The Trail Blazers did not own any picks in the 1998 NBA draft.

1998–99 Portland Trail Blazers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 50 Anthony, Greg 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 1967–11–15 UNLV F 2 Augmon, Stacey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1968–08–01 UNLV C 31 Cato, Kelvin 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1974–08–26 Iowa State F/C 44 Grant, Brian 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 254 lb (115 kg) 1972–03–05 Xavier G 23 Grant, Gary 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1965–04–21 Michigan G/F 19 Jackson, Jim 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1970–10–14 Ohio State F/C 5 O'Neal, Jermaine 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 226 lb (103 kg) 1978–10–13 Eau Claire HS (SC) G 34 Rider, Isaiah 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1971–03–12 UNLV F/C 4 Rogers, Carlos  6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1971–02–06 Tennessee State C 11 Sabonis, Arvydas 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 279 lb (127 kg) 1964–12–19 Lithuania G 7 Shaw, Brian  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–03–22 UC Santa Barbara G 3 Stoudamire, Damon 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 171 lb (78 kg) 1973–09–03 Arizona F 30 Wallace, Rasheed 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1974–09–17 North Carolina G/F 6 Wells, Bonzi 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1976–09–28 Ball State F 42 Williams, Walt 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 219 lb (99 kg) 1970–04–16 Maryland

Head coach Mike Dunleavy Assistant coach(es) Tony Brown Jim Eyen Bill Musselman Elston Turner Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

• Mike Dunleavy, NBA Coach of the Year

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