1998–99 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1998–99 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 51st season for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association, and their 39th season in Los Angeles, California. Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50.

This season was also the Lakers' final season playing at the Great Western Forum. During the off-season, the team signed free agent Derek Harper, and re-acquired former Lakers center Travis Knight after one season with the Boston Celtics.

The Lakers played around .500 in winning percentage with a 6–6 start to the regular season, as head coach Del Harris was fired. After one game under interim Bill Bertka, the team hired former Laker Kurt Rambis as their new coach. The Lakers had signed free agent and rebounding specialist Dennis Rodman, who was well known for winning NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls; however, after 23 games, Rodman was released by the team, averaging 11.2 rebounds per game.

At mid-season, Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell were both traded to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for All-Star forward Glen Rice, J.R. Reid and B. J. Armstrong, who was released to free agency and signed with the Orlando Magic; the team also released Corie Blount, as he later on signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Lakers won ten straight games between February and March, and finished in second place in the Pacific Division with a 31–19 record, earning the fourth seed in the Western Conference.

Shaquille O'Neal averaged 26.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and finished in sixth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Kobe Bryant became the team's starting shooting guard, averaging 19.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team. In addition, Rice provided the team with 17.5 points per game in 27 games after the trade, while Rick Fox contributed 9.0 points per game off the bench, Harper provided with 6.9 points and 4.2 assists per game, and Derek Fisher contributed 5.9 points, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Meanwhile, Reid averaged 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in 25 games, Robert Horry provided with 4.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, and Knight contributed 4.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1999 NBA playoffs, the Lakers faced off against the 5th–seeded Houston Rockets, who were led by the All-Star trio of Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen. Despite both teams finishing with the same regular-season record, the Lakers had home-court advantage in the series. The Lakers won the first two games over the Rockets at home at the Great Western Forum, before losing Game 3 on the road, 102–88 at the Compaq Center. The Lakers won Game 4 over the Rockets on the road, 98–88 to win the series in four games.

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the top–seeded, and Midwest Division champion San Antonio Spurs, who were led by All-Star forward Tim Duncan, All-Star center David Robinson, and Sean Elliott. The Lakers lost the first two games to the Spurs on the road at the Alamodome, and then lost the next two games at home, including a Game 4 loss to the Spurs at the Great Western Forum, 118–107, thus losing the series in a four-game sweep. The Spurs would advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, and defeat the 8th–seeded New York Knicks in five games in the 1999 NBA Finals, winning their first ever NBA championship.

The Lakers finished twelfth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 430,007 at the Great Western Forum during the regular season. Following the season, Rambis was fired as head coach, while Reid signed as a free agent with the Milwaukee Bucks, Sean Rooks was traded back to his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, rookie small forward Ruben Patterson signed with the Seattle SuperSonics, and Harper was dealt to the Detroit Pistons, but was released and then retired.