1998–99 Atlanta Hawks season

The 1998–99 NBA season was the 50th season for the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association, and their 31st season in Atlanta, Georgia. Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50.

The Hawks continued to split their home games between the Georgia Dome, and the Alexander Memorial Coliseum for the second consecutive season. During the off-season, the team signed free agents LaPhonso Ellis, second-year guard Anthony Johnson and re-signed former Hawks forward Grant Long; Ellis would reunite with his former teammate of the Denver Nuggets, 3-time Defensive Player of the Year Dikembe Mutombo. However, Ellis would be out for the remainder of the regular season with a hernia injury after just 20 games, being replaced by second-year forward Chris Crawford as the team's starting small forward.

The Hawks got off to a 6–3 start to the regular season, but then lost six of their next nine games, falling to .500 in winning percentage with a 9–9 start to the season. However, after holding a 22–17 record as of April 13, 1999, the team posted a seven-game winning streak during that month, and won nine of their final eleven games of the season. The Hawks finished in second place in the Central Division with a 31–19 record, earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, and qualified for the NBA playoffs for the seventh consecutive year.

Steve Smith led the Hawks in scoring with 18.7 points per game, while Mookie Blaylock averaged 13.3 points, 5.8 assists and 2.1 steals per game, and led the team with 77 three-point field goals, and Alan Henderson provided the team with 12.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. In addition, Mutombo provided with 10.8 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game, while Ellis contributed 10.2 points and 5.5 rebounds. Off the bench, Long played a sixth man role, averaging 9.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, while Corbin contributed 7.5 points per game, Crawford, the team's starting small forward, averaged 6.9 points per game, and Johnson provided with 5.0 points and 2.2 assists per game.

Mutombo and Blaylock were both named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while Mutombo also finished in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, behind his former Georgetown University teammate, Alonzo Mourning of the Miami Heat; Smith finished tied in 16th place in Most Valuable Player voting, and head coach Lenny Wilkens finished tied in eighth place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1999 NBA playoffs, the Hawks faced off against the 5th–seeded Detroit Pistons, who were led by All-Star forward Grant Hill, sixth man Jerry Stackhouse, and Lindsey Hunter. Despite losing Henderson to an eye injury in Game 1, and losing Crawford to a shoulder injury in Game 2, the Hawks won the first two games over the Pistons at home at the Georgia Dome, and took a 2–0 series lead. However, the team lost the next two games on the road, which included a Game 4 loss to the Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills, 103–82. With the series tied at 2–2, the Hawks won Game 5 over the Pistons at home, 87–75 at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum to win in a hard-fought five-game series.

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 8th–seeded New York Knicks, a team that featured All-Star center Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, and sixth man Latrell Sprewell. Despite having home-court advantage in the series, the Hawks lost the first two games to the Knicks at the Georgia Dome, and then lost the next two games on the road, including a Game 4 loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, 79–66, thus losing the series in a four-game sweep; the Hawks struggled only shooting .316 in field-goal percentage during the series. The Knicks would become the first #8 seed to advance to the NBA Finals, but would lose to the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the 1999 NBA Finals. This season would also be the last time the Hawks appeared in the NBA playoffs until the 2007–08 season, as what would follow was an eight-year playoff drought.

The Hawks finished 27th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 331,831 at the Georgia Dome, and the Alexander Memorial Coliseum during the regular season, which was the third-lowest in the league. Following the season, Smith and second-year guard Ed Gray were both traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, while Blaylock was traded to the Golden State Warriors after seven seasons with the Hawks, Long signed as a free agent with the Vancouver Grizzlies, and Tyrone Corbin re-signed with the Sacramento Kings.