Wikipedia

1998–99 Chicago Bulls season

The 1998–99 Chicago Bulls season was the 33rd season for the Chicago Bulls 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 games.[2][3]

1998–99 Chicago Bulls season
Head coachTim Floyd
General managerJerry Krause
OwnerJerry Reinsdorf
ArenaUnited Center
Results
Record13–37 (.260)
PlaceDivision: 8th (Central)
Conference: 15th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionWGN-TV
(Wayne Larrivee, John Paxson)
Fox Sports Chicago
(Tom Dore, John Paxson)
RadioWMVP
(Neil Funk, Johnny "Red" Kerr)
< 1997–98 1999–00 >

The Bulls entered the regular season as the three-time defending NBA champions, having defeated the Utah Jazz in the 1998 NBA Finals in six games, winning their sixth NBA championship, and completing a second three-peat in the 1990s. During the offseason, Phil Jackson's resignation as head coach, the departures of Scottie Pippen (who was traded to the Houston Rockets), Dennis Rodman (who signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent), and Michael Jordan's second retirement marked the end of the Bulls' dynasty.[4] During the off-season, the team signed free agents Brent Barry,[5][6][7] and Andrew Lang, acquired Mark Bryant from the Phoenix Suns,[8][9][10] and hired Tim Floyd as their new head coach.[11][12][13]

Under Floyd, and with the addition of Barry and Bryant, the Bulls were a shell of their former selves, losing eight of their first nine games of the regular season, which included a seven-game losing streak in February. The team posted another seven-game losing streak in April, and lost 14 of their final 17 games of the season. The Bulls finished in last place in the Central Division with a 13–37 record (roughly the equivalent of 21–61),[14] missing the NBA playoffs for the first time since the 1983–84 season;[15] the Bulls were just the second defending champions to miss the postseason, behind the 1969–70 Boston Celtics.

Toni Kukoč became the team's scoring leader, averaging 18.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game, while Ron Harper averaged 11.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, and Barry provided the team with 11.1 points per game. In addition, Dickey Simpkins contributed 9.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, while Bryant provided with 9.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and Randy Brown contributed 8.8 points, 3.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Meanwhile, Hungarian rookie power forward Kornél Dávid averaged 6.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, second-year guard Rusty LaRue contributed 4.7 points per game, and Lang provided with 3.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, but only played just 21 games due to injury.[16] Brown finished tied in tenth place in Most Improved Player voting.[17]

One notable game of the regular season occurred on April 10, 1999, in which the Bulls suffered an 82–49 home loss to the Miami Heat at the United Center; the Bulls struggled and only made 18 out of 77 field-goal attempts, and shot just .234 in field-goal percentage. It was an all-time NBA record for the fewest points scored in a single game since the shot clock was introduced during the 1954–55 season.[18][19][20] Before that night's game, the NBA had only twelve notable moments where a team scored under 50 points in a match, where most of them occurred during the league's inaugural season, which was known as the Basketball Association of America, including two different matches where a team scored less than 40 points in a game. In addition, the two lowest scoring teams in a game happened in an infamous match on November 22, 1950, between the Fort Wayne Pistons and the Minneapolis Lakers, which resulted in the lowest-scoring NBA match ever recorded in a 19–18 Pistons victory.[21]

The Bulls led the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 560,012 at the United Center during the regular season.[16][22] Following the season, Barry was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics,[23][24][25] while Harper signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers to reunite with Jackson, who was hired to coach the Lakers,[26][27][28] Bryant signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Lang and Bill Wennington were both released to free agency.[29]

Offseason

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NBA draft

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Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team
1 28 Corey Benjamin SG  United States Oregon State
2 34 Shammond Williams PG  United States North Carolina
2 58 Maceo Baston F  United States Michigan

Roster

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1998–99 Chicago Bulls roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
G 31 Brent Barry 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1971–12–31 Oregon State
G 25 Corey Benjamin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1978–02–24 Oregon State
F 44 Mario Bennett 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1973–08–01 Arizona State
F 22 Keith Booth 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 226 lb (103 kg) 1974–10–09 Maryland
G 1 Randy Brown 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1968–05–22 New Mexico State
F/C 2 Mark Bryant 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1965–04–25 Seton Hall
G 21 Cory Carr 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1975–12–05 Texas Tech
F 18 Kornél Dávid 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1971–10–22 Hungary
G/F 9 Ron Harper 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1964–01–20 Miami (OH)
G 11 Charles Jones 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1975–07–17 Long Island
F 7 Toni Kukoc 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1968–09–18 Croatia
C 28 Andrew Lang 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1966–06–28 Arkansas
F/C 8 Dickey Simpkins 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 248 lb (112 kg) 1972–04–06 Providence
C 34 Bill Wennington 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1963–04–26 St. John's
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (IN) Inactive
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Updated: February 16, 1999

Regular season

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Season standings

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Central DivisionWLPCTGBHomeRoadDivGP
y-Indiana Pacers3317.660–18‍–‍715‍–‍1015–750
x-Atlanta Hawks3119.6202.016‍–‍915‍–‍1015–850
x-Detroit Pistons2921.5804.017‍–‍812‍–‍1313–850
x-Milwaukee Bucks2822.5605.017‍–‍811‍–‍1413–1150
Charlotte Hornets2624.5207.016‍–‍910‍–‍1512–1050
Toronto Raptors2327.46010.014‍–‍119‍–‍169–1450
Cleveland Cavaliers2228.44011.015‍–‍107‍–‍189–1350
Chicago Bulls1337.26020.08‍–‍175‍–‍204–1950
Eastern Conference
#TeamWLPCTGBGP
1c-Miami Heat *3317.660–50
2y-Indiana Pacers *3317.660–50
3x-Orlando Magic3317.660–50
4x-Atlanta Hawks3119.6202.050
5x-Detroit Pistons2921.5804.050
6x-Philadelphia 76ers2822.5605.050
7x-Milwaukee Bucks2822.5605.050
8x-New York Knicks2723.5406.050
9Charlotte Hornets2624.5207.050
10Toronto Raptors2327.46010.050
11Cleveland Cavaliers2228.44011.050
12Boston Celtics1931.38014.050
13Washington Wizards1832.36015.050
14New Jersey Nets1634.32017.050
15Chicago Bulls1337.26020.050

Player statistics

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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

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Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Brent Barry 373031.9.396.302.7723.93.11.1.311.1
Corey Benjamin 31110.3.376.214.6751.3.3.4.33.8
Mario Bennett 306.3.333.7501.7.0.3.02.3
Keith Booth 39411.1.325.100.5002.41.0.6.33.1
Randy Brown 393229.2.414.000.7573.43.81.7.28.8
Mark Bryant 452926.8.483.000.6455.21.1.8.49.0
Cory Carr 42714.9.329.167.7501.21.6.5.24.1
Kornél Dávid 50618.0.449.000.8113.5.8.5.36.2
Ron Harper 353531.6.377.318.7035.13.31.71.011.2
Charles Jones 29516.4.317.311.5001.41.4.6.23.7
Toni Kukoč 444437.6.420.285.7407.05.31.1.318.8
Andrew Lang 211318.4.323.6964.4.6.2.63.8
Rusty LaRue 43617.0.359.3371.0001.31.5.8.14.7
Dickey Simpkins 503529.0.463.000.6456.81.3.7.39.1
Bill Wennington 38311.9.3481.000.8182.1.5.3.33.8

Player statistics citation:[16]

Awards and records

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In a home game against the Miami Heat on April 10, 1999, the Bulls scored 49 points, the fewest by any team since the shot clock was introduced in 1954.[18]

Transactions

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Overview

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Players Added

Via draft

Via trade

Via free agency

 Players Lost

Via trade

Via free agency

retirement

References

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  1. ↑ "1998-99 Chicago Bulls Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  2. ↑ "NBA: Let The Games Begin!". CBS News. CBS News.com Staff. January 6, 1999. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  3. ↑ Wise, Mike (January 7, 1999). "With Little Time on Clock, NBA and Players Settle". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  4. ↑ Broussard, Chris (January 20, 1999). "PRO BASKETBALL; Ruining of Bulls Begins in Earnest". The New York Times. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  5. ↑ "PRO BASKETBALL: NOTEBOOK; Chicago Acquires Brent Barry". The New York Times. January 26, 1999. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Brent Barry Signs with Bulls". The Washington Post. January 26, 1999. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  7. ↑ Smith, Sam (January 26, 1999). "This Signing Just What Bulls Needed". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  8. ↑ Wise, Mike (February 4, 1999). "PRO BASKETBALL; A Scrum for the Title". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  9. ↑ Armour, Terry (February 8, 1999). "Result Raises Eyebrows--and Some Hope". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  10. ↑ Carney, Brian (February 19, 1999). "Chicago's Temperature Is Minus 23". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  11. ↑ Heisler, Mark (July 23, 1998). "Bulls Are Set to Hire Floyd". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  12. ↑ Heath, Thomas (July 23, 1998). "Bulls Set to Hire Floyd, Question is: To Do What?". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  13. ↑ "BASKETBALL; Floyd Is Hired, But Bulls Still Court Jackson". The New York Times. Associated Press. July 24, 1998. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  14. ↑ "1998–99 Chicago Bulls Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Chicago Bulls – Sports Ecyclopedia". Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  16. 1 2 3 "1998–99 Chicago Bulls Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  17. ↑ "1998–99 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  18. 1 2 "N.B.A.: ROUNDUP; In Chicago, a Record for Futility". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 11, 1999. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  19. ↑ Armour, Terrence E. (April 12, 1999). "A Night After 49, Bulls Try to Forget". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Miami Heat at Chicago Bulls Box Score, April 10, 1999". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  21. ↑ https://nbahoopsonline.com/History/Records/pointsfew.html
  22. ↑ "1998–99 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Bulls Send Barry to Sonics". CBS News. Associated Press. August 12, 1999. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  24. ↑ "N.B.A.: Notebook". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 13, 1999. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  25. ↑ Smith, Sam (August 13, 1999). "Bulls Get Some Cap Room". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  26. ↑ Kawakami, Tim (September 22, 1999). "Lakers Trade Harper--to Get Harper?: Pro Basketball: Derek Harper's Departure Clears Cap Room for Ron Harper". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Harper Signs with Lakers". CBS News. Associated Press. October 13, 1999. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Ron Harper Signs with Lakers". Associated Press. October 13, 1999. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  29. ↑ Wise, Mike (October 31, 1999). "1999–2000 N.B.A. PREVIEW; The West Is Still the Best". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
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