1998–99 Utah Jazz season

The 1998–99 NBA season was the 25th season for the Utah Jazz in the National Basketball Association, and their 20th season in Salt Lake City, Utah.^[1] Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50.^[2]

1998–99 Utah Jazz season
Head coach	Jerry Sloan
General manager	Tim Howells
Owner(s)	Larry H. Miller
Arena	Delta Center
Results
Record	37–13 (.740)
Place	Division: 2nd (Midwest) Conference: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals (lost to Trail Blazers 2–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KJZZ-TV Fox Sports Utah
Radio	KFNZ
< 1997–98 1999–00 >

The Jazz entered the regular season once again as runners-up in the NBA Finals, having lost back-to-back NBA Finals to the Chicago Bulls, both in six games. However, with Michael Jordan retiring for a second time,^[3][4][5][6] Scottie Pippen being traded to the Houston Rockets,^[7] Dennis Rodman signing with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent,^[8] and Phil Jackson's contract expiring,^[9] the Bulls dynasty that headlined much of the 1990s was dramatically dismantled, and the Jazz hoped to make the NBA Finals for a third time. During the off-season, the team re-signed free agent, and former Jazz forward Thurl Bailey, who came out of his retirement; Bailey last played for the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 1993–94 season.^[10][11][12]

The Jazz got off to a 19–4 start to the regular season, and then posted an 11-game winning streak in April. However, the team struggled a bit down the stretch as they lost their grip on first place, but managed to finish in second place in the Midwest Division with a league-best 37–13 record, earning the #3 seed in the Western Conference;^[13] however, their record was tied with the San Antonio Spurs, who won the Midwest Division title by a tie-breaker. The Jazz also made their sixteenth consecutive trip to the NBA playoffs.^[14]

Karl Malone averaged 23.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, and was named the NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year for the second time, while being named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team.^{[15][16][17][18]} In addition, Bryon Russell returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench last season, averaging 12.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, while Jeff Hornacek contributed 12.2 points per game, and John Stockton provided the team with 11.1 points, 7.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team. Meanwhile, Greg Ostertag averaged 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, while off the bench, Shandon Anderson contributed 8.5 points per game, and Howard Eisley provided with 7.5 points and 3.7 assists per game.^[19] Head coach Jerry Sloan finished in third place in Coach of the Year voting.^[20]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1999 NBA playoffs, the Jazz faced elimination as they trailed 2–1 against the 6th–seeded Sacramento Kings;^[21][22][23] however, they won Game 4 on the road at the ARCO Arena II, 90–89,^[24][25][26] and went on to win the series in five games.^{[27][28][29][30]} In the Western Conference Semi-finals, they struggled and lost to the Pacific Division champion Portland Trail Blazers in six games.^{[31][32][33][34]}

Following the season, Anderson signed as a free agent with the Houston Rockets,^[35][36] while Greg Foster signed with the Seattle SuperSonics,^[37][38] and Bailey retired for the second time.

For the season, the Jazz added new black alternate road uniforms with brown side panels to their jerseys and shorts, which remained in use until 2004.^[39]

Draft picks

Main article: 1998 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	29	Nazr Mohammed	C/PF	United States	Kentucky
2	57	Torraye Braggs	PF/C	United States	Xavier

Roster

1998–99 Utah Jazz roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G/F 40 Shandon Anderson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 1973–12–31 Georgia F 54 Anthony Avent 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1969–10–18 Seton Hall F/C 41 Thurl Bailey 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1961–04–07 NC State G 10 Howard Eisley 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 1972–12–04 Boston College F/C 44 Greg Foster 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1968–10–03 UTEP C 52 Todd Fuller 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1974–07–25 NC State G 14 Jeff Hornacek 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963–05–03 Iowa State F 31 Adam Keefe 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1970–02–22 Stanford F 32 Karl Malone 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1963–07–24 Louisiana Tech C 00 Greg Ostertag 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 280 lb (127 kg) 1973–03–06 Kansas F 3 Bryon Russell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1970–12–31 Long Beach State G 12 John Stockton 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1962–03–26 Gonzaga G 11 Jacque Vaughn 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1975–02–11 Kansas

Head coach Jerry Sloan Assistant(s) Gordon Chiesa David Fredman Phil Johnson Mark McKown Kenny Natt Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: March 2, 1999

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-San Antonio Spurs	37	13	.740	–	21–4	16–9	17–4
x-Utah Jazz	37	13	.740	–	22–3	15–10	15–3
x-Houston Rockets	31	19	.620	6	19–6	12–13	12–9
x-Minnesota Timberwolves	25	25	.500	12	18–7	7–18	11–9
Dallas Mavericks	19	31	.380	18	15–10	4–21	8–12
Denver Nuggets	14	36	.280	23	12–13	2–23	5–16
Vancouver Grizzlies	8	42	.160	29	7–18	1–24	3–18

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-San Antonio Spurs	37	13	.740	–
2	y-Portland Trail Blazers	35	15	.700	2
3	x-Utah Jazz	37	13	.740	–
4	x-Los Angeles Lakers	31	19	.620	6
5	x-Houston Rockets	31	19	.620	6
6	x-Sacramento Kings	27	23	.540	10
7	x-Phoenix Suns	27	23	.540	10
8	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	25	25	.500	12
9	Seattle SuperSonics	25	25	.500	12
10	Golden State Warriors	21	29	.420	16
11	Dallas Mavericks	19	31	.380	18
12	Denver Nuggets	14	36	.280	23
13	Los Angeles Clippers	9	41	.180	28
14	Vancouver Grizzlies	8	42	.160	29

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

Playoffs

1999 playoff game log
First round: 3–2 (home: 2–1; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 8 Sacramento W 117–87 Karl Malone (21) Greg Ostertag (9) Karl Malone (9) Delta Center 19,911 1–0 2 May 10 Sacramento L 90–101 Karl Malone (33) Karl Malone (10) Eisley, Stockton (6) Delta Center 19,911 1–1 3 May 12 @ Sacramento L 81–84 (OT) Karl Malone (22) Karl Malone (13) Malone, Stockton (5) ARCO Arena 17,317 1–2 4 May 14 @ Sacramento W 90–89 Karl Malone (23) Karl Malone (16) John Stockton (8) ARCO Arena 17,317 2–2 5 May 16 Sacramento W 99–92 (OT) Karl Malone (20) Karl Malone (12) John Stockton (14) Delta Center 19,911 3–2
Conference Semi-finals: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 18 Portland W 93–83 Karl Malone (25) Karl Malone (12) John Stockton (7) Delta Center 19,911 1–0 2 May 20 Portland L 81–84 Karl Malone (23) Karl Malone (17) John Stockton (9) Delta Center 19,911 1–1 3 May 22 @ Portland L 87–97 Karl Malone (25) Karl Malone (14) John Stockton (5) Rose Garden 20,720 1–2 4 May 23 @ Portland L 75–81 Malone, Russell (17) Karl Malone (11) John Stockton (10) Rose Garden 20,720 1–3 5 May 25 Portland W 88–71 Karl Malone (23) Ostertag, Russell (9) John Stockton (14) Delta Center 19,911 2–3 6 May 27 @ Portland L 80–92 Jeff Hornacek (21) Karl Malone (7) John Stockton (10) Rose Garden 20,727 2–4
1999 schedule

Player statistics

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

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Shandon Anderson	50	2	21.4	.446	.341	.712	2.6	1.1	.8	.2	8.5
Anthony Avent	5	0	8.8	.308		.500	2.4	.2	.4	.0	1.8
Thurl Bailey	43	0	12.6	.446	.000	.735	2.2	.6	.2	.7	4.2
Howard Eisley	50	0	20.8	.446	.420	.838	1.9	3.7	.6	.0	7.4
Greg Foster	42	1	10.9	.377	.250	.619	2.0	.6	.1	.2	2.8
Todd Fuller	42	2	11.0	.452		.600	2.4	.1	.1	.3	3.4
Jeff Hornacek	48	48	29.9	.477	.420	.893	3.3	4.0	1.1	.3	12.2
Adam Keefe	44	0	14.6	.452	.000	.697	3.2	.6	.4	.3	4.0
Chris King	8	0	5.3	.286		.000	1.4	.1	.3	.1	.5
Karl Malone	49	49	37.4	.493	.000	.788	9.4	4.1	1.3	.6	23.8
Greg Ostertag	48	48	27.9	.476		.620	7.3	.5	.3	2.7	5.7
Bryon Russell	50	50	35.4	.464	.354	.795	5.3	1.5	1.5	.3	12.4
John Stockton	50	50	28.2	.488	.320	.811	2.9	7.5	1.6	.3	11.1
Jacque Vaughn	19	0	4.6	.367	.250	.833	.6	.6	.3	.0	2.3

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Shandon Anderson	11	0	27.0	.481	.429	.706	3.7	1.2	.5	.3	9.5
Thurl Bailey	11	0	10.5	.515		.750	1.4	.2	.3	.5	3.4
Howard Eisley	11	0	21.9	.366	.208	.828	1.8	2.9	.6	.3	7.4
Greg Foster	8	0	8.8	.421			1.0	.1	.1	.0	2.0
Todd Fuller	10	0	10.5	.385		.600	2.8	.0	.0	.2	2.6
Jeff Hornacek	11	11	27.6	.462	.389	.879	3.7	2.4	1.0	.0	12.2
Adam Keefe	10	0	10.1	.600		1.000	2.4	.3	.4	.3	4.1
Karl Malone	11	11	41.0	.417	.000	.791	11.3	4.7	1.2	.7	21.8
Greg Ostertag	11	11	23.7	.371		.643	5.9	.5	.2	2.2	4.0
Bryon Russell	11	11	35.2	.426	.250	.722	6.1	1.2	1.8	.2	12.1
John Stockton	11	11	32.0	.400	.333	.739	3.3	8.4	1.6	.1	11.1
Jacque Vaughn	2	0	3.0	.500	1.000		.0	1.0	.0	.0	1.5

Player Statistics Citation:^[19]

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

Transactions