1998–99 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 1998–99 NBA season was the 29th season for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association.^[1] Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50.^[2]

1998–99 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Head coach	Mike Fratello
Arena	Gund Arena
Results
Record	22–28 (.440)
Place	Division: 7th (Central) Conference: 11th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	Fox Sports Ohio · WUAB
Radio	WTAM
< 1997–98 1999–00 >

During the off-season, the Cavaliers re-signed free agent Johnny Newman, who previously played for the team during the 1986–87 season.^[3][4] However, after five games into the regular season, second-year star Zydrunas Ilgauskas was out with a season-ending foot injury, averaging 15.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.^[5][6][7] At mid-season, the team traded Vitaly Potapenko to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Andrew DeClercq,^[8][9][10] and signed free agent Corie Blount, who was previously released by the Los Angeles Lakers.^[11] With a 21–18 record in mid April, the Cavaliers struggled as they posted a 7-game losing streak, and lost ten of their final eleven games of the season, finishing in seventh place in the Central Division with a 22–28 record, and missing the NBA playoffs.^[12]

Shawn Kemp led the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 20.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, while Wesley Person averaged 11.2 points per game, and second-year guard Derek Anderson provided the team with 10.8 points per game off the bench. In addition, second-year guard Brevin Knight contributed 9.6 points, 7.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game, while second-year forward Cedric Henderson provided with 9.1 points per game, and Danny Ferry contributed 7.0 points per game off the bench.^[13] However, Kemp was a shell of his former self as he reported to practice, weighing 315 lbs, and according to the team's General Manager Wayne Embry, the league listed him at 280.^[14][15][16]

Following the season, head coach Mike Fratello was fired after spending six seasons with the Cavaliers,^[17][18][19] while Anderson and Newman were both traded to the Los Angeles Clippers,^{[20][21][22][23]} who then dealt Newman back to the New Jersey Nets,^[24][25][26] and Blount signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns.^[27]

Key Dates:

Offseason

Free agents

Trades

Draft picks

Main article: 1998 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
2	48	Ryan Stack	Center	United States	South Carolina

• 1st round pick (#19) traded to Milwaukee in Sherman Douglas deal.^[28] Used to draft Pat Garrity.

Roster

1998–99 Cleveland Cavaliers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 23 Derek Anderson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1974–07–18 Kentucky F 44 Corie Blount 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1969–01–04 Cincinnati G 5 Earl Boykins 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) 133 lb (60 kg) 1976–06–02 Eastern Michigan G 6 Mitchell Butler 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1970–12–15 UCLA C 55 Andrew DeClercq 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1973–02–01 Florida F/C 35 Danny Ferry 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1966–10–17 Duke F 45 Cedric Henderson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1975–03–11 Memphis C 11 Zydrunas Ilgauskas 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 238 lb (108 kg) 1975–06–05 Lithuania F/C 4 Shawn Kemp 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–11–26 Trinity Valley CC G 12 Brevin Knight 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1975–11–08 Stanford F 20 Johnny Newman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963–11–28 Richmond G 1 Wesley Person 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1971–03–28 Auburn F/C 10 Ryan Stack 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1975–07–24 South Carolina G 3 Bob Sura 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1973–03–25 Florida State

Head coach Mike Fratello Assistant(s) Marc Iavaroni Sidney Lowe Ron Rothstein Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: April 2, 1999

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
y-Indiana Pacers	33	17	.660	–	18‍–‍7	15‍–‍10	15–7	50
x-Atlanta Hawks	31	19	.620	2.0	16‍–‍9	15‍–‍10	15–8	50
x-Detroit Pistons	29	21	.580	4.0	17‍–‍8	12‍–‍13	13–8	50
x-Milwaukee Bucks	28	22	.560	5.0	17‍–‍8	11‍–‍14	13–11	50
Charlotte Hornets	26	24	.520	7.0	16‍–‍9	10‍–‍15	12–10	50
Toronto Raptors	23	27	.460	10.0	14‍–‍11	9‍–‍16	9–14	50
Cleveland Cavaliers	22	28	.440	11.0	15‍–‍10	7‍–‍18	9–13	50
Chicago Bulls	13	37	.260	20.0	8‍–‍17	5‍–‍20	4–19	50

Eastern Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	c-Miami Heat *	33	17	.660	–	50
2	y-Indiana Pacers *	33	17	.660	–	50
3	x-Orlando Magic	33	17	.660	–	50
4	x-Atlanta Hawks	31	19	.620	2.0	50
5	x-Detroit Pistons	29	21	.580	4.0	50
6	x-Philadelphia 76ers	28	22	.560	5.0	50
7	x-Milwaukee Bucks	28	22	.560	5.0	50
8	x-New York Knicks	27	23	.540	6.0	50
9	Charlotte Hornets	26	24	.520	7.0	50
10	Toronto Raptors	23	27	.460	10.0	50
11	Cleveland Cavaliers	22	28	.440	11.0	50
12	Boston Celtics	19	31	.380	14.0	50
13	Washington Wizards	18	32	.360	15.0	50
14	New Jersey Nets	16	34	.320	17.0	50
15	Chicago Bulls	13	37	.260	20.0	50

Record vs. opponents

1998-99 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	–	3–0	3–0	3–1	2–1	0–1	0–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	3–1	1–0	0–0	0–3	1–2	0–0	1–2	2–1	2–2	2–1	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–0	2–1
Boston	0–3	–	1–2	2–1	2–2	0–0	1–0	0–3	0–0	0–0	0–3	1–0	0–0	3–0	0–3	0–1	1–2	1–2	1–2	1–2	0–0	0–1	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	3–1
Charlotte	0–3	2–1	–	2–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	3–0	0–1	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–1	1–2	2–2	0–0	3–0	1–3	1–2	1–2	1–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	2–1
Chicago	1–3	1–2	1–2	–	0–3	0–1	0–0	0–3	0–0	0–0	0–3	1–0	0–0	1–2	1–3	0–0	2–1	1–2	0–3	1–2	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–1	1–2	0–1	1–0	1–2
Cleveland	1–2	2–2	1–2	3–0	–	0–0	0–0	1–2	1–0	0–1	0–3	0–0	1–0	0–3	1–2	0–0	3–0	1–2	1–2	1–2	1–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	2–2	0–1	0–0	1–2
Dallas	1–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	–	2–1	0–1	2–2	2–2	0–0	3–0	0–3	0–1	0–0	1–2	0–1	0–0	1–0	0–0	1–3	0–3	2–2	1–3	0–3	0–0	0–3	2–1	0–0
Denver	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–2	–	0–0	1–3	0–4	0–1	3–0	1–2	0–1	1–0	0–3	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–3	0–3	0–3	0–4	2–2	0–0	1–2	3–1	0–1
Detroit	2–1	3–0	0–3	3–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	–	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	0–0	2–1	2–1	0–1	2–1	2–1	0–4	1–3	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	1–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	2–1
Golden State	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–1	2–2	3–1	0–0	–	0–3	1–0	2–1	1–2	0–0	0–1	2–2	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	1–2	2–2	1–2	0–3	1–2	0–0	0–4	4–0	0–0
Houston	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	2–2	4–0	0–0	3–0	–	0–0	3–1	1–2	0–1	0–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	2–2	2–1	3–0	0–3	2–1	1–0	0–3	4–0	0–0
Indiana	1–2	3–0	2–1	3–0	3–0	0–0	1–0	1–2	0–1	0–0	–	0–0	1–0	2–2	3–0	0–0	3–1	2–1	1–2	1–2	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–0	3–0
L.A. Clippers	0–1	0–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–3	0–3	0–0	1–2	1–3	0–0	–	0–4	0–0	0–0	2–2	1–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–3	1–2	1–2	0–3	0–3	0–1	1–3	1–3	0–0
L.A. Lakers	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–1	3–0	2–1	0–0	2–1	2–1	0–1	4–0	–	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–0	1–0	0–1	3–1	2–2	1–2	2–1	2–2	0–0	1–3	2–1	0–0
Miami	3–0	0–3	2–1	2–1	3–0	1–0	1–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	2–2	0–0	0–0	–	2–1	0–1	3–1	2–2	2–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	3–0	0–1	0–0	3–0
Milwaukee	2–1	3–0	2–2	3–1	2–1	0–0	0–1	1–2	1–0	0–0	0–3	0–0	0–0	1–2	–	1–0	2–1	2–1	1–2	1–2	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	3–1	0–0	0–0	2–1
Minnesota	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	3–0	1–0	2–2	1–2	0–0	2–2	1–2	1–0	0–1	–	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–3	3–1	2–2	2–1	0–1	0–3	3–1	0–0
New Jersey	2–1	2–1	0–3	1–2	0–3	1–0	0–1	1–2	0–0	0–1	1–3	0–1	0–0	1–3	1–2	0–0	–	0–3	0–3	1–2	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	0–0	2–1
New York	1–2	2–1	3–1	2–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	1–2	1–0	0–1	2–2	1–2	1–0	3–0	–	0–3	3–1	1–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	2–1
Orlando	2–2	2–1	2–1	3–0	2–1	0–1	0–0	4–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	0–1	1–2	2–1	0–0	3–0	3–0	–	1–2	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–1	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	2–1
Philadelphia	1–2	2–1	2–1	2–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	3–1	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–0	1–2	2–1	0–0	2–1	1–3	2–1	–	0–0	0–1	1–0	0–1	0–1	2–1	0–0	1–0	1–2
Phoenix	0–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–1	3–1	3–0	0–1	2–1	2–2	0–0	3–0	1–3	0–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	–	0–3	0–3	2–2	3–0	0–0	2–2	3–0	0–0
Portland	0–0	1–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	3–0	3–0	0–0	2–2	1–2	1–0	2–1	2–2	0–0	0–0	3–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	3–0	–	4–0	1–3	2–2	0–0	1–2	4–0	0–0
Sacramento	0–0	1–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	2–2	3–0	0–0	2–1	0–3	0–0	2–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	1–3	0–0	1–0	0–1	0–1	3–0	0–4	–	1–2	2–2	0–0	1–2	4–0	1–0
San Antonio	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–1	3–1	4–0	1–0	3–0	3–0	0–0	3–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	2–2	0–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	2–2	3–1	2–1	–	2–1	0–1	2–1	3–0	0–0
Seattle	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	3–0	2–2	0–1	2–1	1–2	0–0	3–0	2–2	0–0	0–1	1–2	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–3	2–2	2–2	1–2	–	0–0	2–2	2–1	0–1
Toronto	1–2	2–1	1–2	2–1	2–2	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–1	1–2	1–0	0–0	0–3	1–3	1–0	1–2	2–1	2–1	1–2	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	–	0–0	1–0	2–2
Utah	0–0	0–0	0–1	1–0	1–0	3–0	2–1	0–1	4–0	3–0	0–0	3–1	3–1	1–0	0–0	3–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–2	2–1	2–1	1–2	2–2	0–0	–	3–0	1–0
Vancouver	0–1	0–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	1–2	1–3	0–0	0–3	0–4	0–1	3–1	1–2	0–0	0–0	1–3	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–3	0–3	0–4	0–3	1–2	0–1	0–3	–	0–0
Washington	1–2	1–3	1–2	2–1	2–1	0–0	1–0	1–2	0–1	0–0	0–3	0–0	0–0	0–3	1–2	0–0	1–2	1–2	1–2	2–1	0–0	0–1	0–1	0–0	1–0	2–2	0–1	0–0	—

Game log

1998–99 game log Total: 22–28 (Home: 15–10; Road: 7–18)
February: 5–6 (home: 4–3; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 February 5, 1999 @ Atlanta L 83–100 Georgia Dome 19,806 0–1 2 February 6, 1999 @ Boston L 73–77 FleetCenter 18,173 0–2
March: 9–8 (home: 6–2; road: 3–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 13 March 2, 1999 Boston W 116–99 Gund Arena 12,906 6–7 24 March 23, 1999 Boston W 113–86 Gund Arena 15,810 13–11
April: 8–11 (home: 5–4; road: 3–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 35 April 10, 1999 Atlanta W 81–67 Gund Arena 13,859 18–17 36 April 12, 1999 @ Boston L 89–103 FleetCenter 15,622 18–18
May: 0–3 (home: 0–1; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 48 May 2, 1999 Atlanta W 65–76 Gund Arena 12,690 22–26
1998–99 schedule

Player stats

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Shawn Kemp	42	42	35.1	48.2	50.0	78.9	9.2	2.4	1.1	1.1	20.5
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	5	5	34.2	50.9	0.0	60.0	8.8	0.8	0.8	1.4	15.2
Wesley Person	45	42	29.8	45.3	37.5	60.4	3.2	1.8	0.8	0.4	11.2
Derek Anderson	38	13	25.7	39.8	30.4	83.6	2.9	3.8	1.3	0.1	10.8
Brevin Knight	39	38	30.4	42.5	0.0	74.5	3.4	7.7	1.8	0.2	9.6
Cedric Henderson	50	48	30.3	41.7	16.7	81.3	3.9	2.3	1.2	0.5	9.1
Andrew DeClercq	33	31	25.6	50.2	0.0	67.9	5.8	0.6	1.1	0.6	9.0
Vitaly Potapenko	17	12	27.5	43.7	0.0	67.3	5.5	0.9	0.6	0.9	8.4
Danny Ferry	50	10	21.2	47.6	39.2	87.9	2.0	1.1	0.5	0.2	7.0
Johnny Newman	50	2	19.0	42.2	37.7	81.0	1.5	0.8	0.6	0.2	6.1
Mitchell Butler	31	1	13.5	48.2	37.9	71.9	1.4	0.7	0.5	0.1	5.4
Bob Sura	50	6	16.8	33.3	20.0	63.1	2.0	3.0	0.9	0.3	4.3
Corie Blount	20	0	18.4	34.3	0.0	52.4	5.3	0.5	0.9	0.6	3.4
Ryan Stack	18	0	11.1	37.8	0.0	95.0	1.9	0.3	0.1	0.6	2.6
Earl Boykins	17	0	10.0	34.5	15.4	66.7	0.8	1.6	0.3	0.0	2.6
Antonio Lang	10	0	6.5	66.7	0.0	55.6	1.6	0.1	0.2	0.1	1.3
Litterial Green	1	0	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Player Statistics Citation:^[13]

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Milestones

All-Star

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Development League