Wikipedia

1998–99 Utah Jazz season

The 1998–99 Utah Jazz 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] 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] Scottie Pippen being traded to the Houston Rockets,[6] Dennis Rodman signing with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent,[7] and Phil Jackson's contract expiring,[8] 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.[9][10][11]

1998–99 Utah Jazz season
Head coachJerry Sloan
General managerTim Howells
OwnerLarry H. Miller
ArenaDelta Center
Results
Record37–13 (.740)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Midwest)
Conference: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finishConference semifinals
(lost to Trail Blazers 2–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television
RadioKFNZ
< 1997–98 1999–00 >

The Jazz got off to a 19–4 start to the regular season, and later on posted an 11-game winning streak in April. However, the team played around .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the season, but managed to finish in second place in the Midwest Division with a league-best 37–13 record, earning the third seed in the Western Conference;[12] 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 16th consecutive trip to the NBA playoffs.[13]

Karl Malone averaged 23.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, and was named the NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year for the second time; he was also named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team.[14][15][16] In addition, Bryon Russell returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench the previous season, averaging 12.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, while Jeff Hornacek contributed 12.2 points and 4.0 assists 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.[17] Russell and Ostertag both finished tied in tenth place in Most Improved Player voting,[18] while Eisley finished in eighth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,[18] and head coach Jerry Sloan finished in third place in Coach of the Year voting.[19][18]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1999 NBA playoffs, the Jazz faced off against the 6th–seeded Sacramento Kings, a team that featured All-Star forward Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, and rookie point guard Jason Williams. With the series tied at 1–1, the Jazz struggled and faced elimination after losing Game 3 to the Kings on the road in overtime, 84–81 at the ARCO Arena II as the Kings took a 2–1 series lead.[20][21][22] However, the Jazz managed to win Game 4 on the road, 90–89 to even the series,[23][24][25] and then won Game 5 over the Kings at home in overtime, 99–92 at the Delta Center to win in a hard-fought five-game series.[26][27][28]

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Pacific Division champion Portland Trail Blazers, who were led by Isaiah Rider, Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire. The Jazz had home-court advantage in the series since they finished with a better regular-season record than the Trail Blazers. Despite this, the Trail Blazers took a 3–1 series lead, but the Jazz managed to win Game 5 at home, 88–71 at the Delta Center.[29] However, the Jazz lost Game 6 to the Trail Blazers on the road, 92–80 at the Rose Garden Arena, thus losing the series in six games.[30][31][32]

The Jazz finished fourth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 493,120 at the Delta Center during the regular season.[17][33] Following the season, Anderson signed as a free agent with the Houston Rockets,[34][35] while Greg Foster signed with the Seattle SuperSonics,[36][37] 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 would remain in use until 2004.[38]

Draft picks

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Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
129Nazr MohammedC/PF United StatesKentucky
257Torraye BraggsPF/C United StatesXavier

Roster

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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
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Updated: March 2, 1999

Regular season

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Season standings

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Midwest Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-San Antonio Spurs 3713.740–21–416–917–4
x-Utah Jazz 3713.740–22–315–1015–3
x-Houston Rockets 3119.620619–612–1312–9
x-Minnesota Timberwolves 2525.5001218–77–1811–9
Dallas Mavericks 1931.3801815–104–218–12
Denver Nuggets 1436.2802312–132–235–16
Vancouver Grizzlies 842.160297–181–243–18
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-San Antonio Spurs3713.740–
2 y-Portland Trail Blazers3515.7002
3 x-Utah Jazz3713.740–
4 x-Los Angeles Lakers3119.6206
5 x-Houston Rockets3119.6206
6 x-Sacramento Kings2723.54010
7 x-Phoenix Suns2723.54010
8 x-Minnesota Timberwolves2525.50012
9 Seattle SuperSonics2525.50012
10 Golden State Warriors2129.42016
11 Dallas Mavericks1931.38018
12 Denver Nuggets1436.28023
13 Los Angeles Clippers941.18028
14 Vancouver Grizzlies842.16029

Game log

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Playoffs

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1999 playoff game log
First round: 3–2 (home: 2–1; road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
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

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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

Season

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Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Shandon Anderson 50221.4.446.341.7122.61.1.8.28.5
Anthony Avent 508.8.308.5002.4.2.4.01.8
Thurl Bailey 43012.6.446.000.7352.2.6.2.74.2
Howard Eisley 50020.8.446.420.8381.93.7.6.07.4
Greg Foster 42110.9.377.250.6192.0.6.1.22.8
Todd Fuller 42211.0.452.6002.4.1.1.33.4
Jeff Hornacek 484829.9.477.420.8933.34.01.1.312.2
Adam Keefe 44014.6.452.000.6973.2.6.4.34.0
Chris King 805.3.286.0001.4.1.3.1.5
Karl Malone 494937.4.493.000.7889.44.11.3.623.8
Greg Ostertag 484827.9.476.6207.3.5.32.75.7
Bryon Russell 505035.4.464.354.7955.31.51.5.312.4
John Stockton 505028.2.488.320.8112.97.51.6.311.1
Jacque Vaughn 1904.6.367.250.833.6.6.3.02.3

Playoffs

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Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Shandon Anderson 11027.0.481.429.7063.71.2.5.39.5
Thurl Bailey 11010.5.515.7501.4.2.3.53.4
Howard Eisley 11021.9.366.208.8281.82.9.6.37.4
Greg Foster 808.8.4211.0.1.1.02.0
Todd Fuller 10010.5.385.6002.8.0.0.22.6
Jeff Hornacek 111127.6.462.389.8793.72.41.0.012.2
Adam Keefe 10010.1.6001.0002.4.3.4.34.1
Karl Malone 111141.0.417.000.79111.34.71.2.721.8
Greg Ostertag 111123.7.371.6435.9.5.22.24.0
Bryon Russell 111135.2.426.250.7226.11.21.8.212.1
John Stockton 111132.0.400.333.7393.38.41.6.111.1
Jacque Vaughn 203.0.5001.000.01.0.0.01.5

Player statistics citation:[17]

Awards and records

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References

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  1. ↑ 1998-99 Utah Jazz
  2. ↑ "NBA: Let The Games Begin!". CBS News. CBS News.com Staff. January 6, 1999. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  3. ↑ Adande, J.A. (January 12, 1999). "Say It Ain't So, Mike". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  4. ↑ Wise, Mike (January 13, 1999). "PRO BASKETBALL; As Jordan Retires, Legend Swells". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  5. ↑ Justice, Richard (January 14, 1999). "Jordan Announces Retirement". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  6. ↑ Smith, Sam (January 19, 1999). "Bulls Shippin' Pippen". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Rodman Signs Lakers Contract". Chicago Tribune. February 23, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  8. ↑ Smith, Sam (June 22, 1998). "Jackson to Call It Quits". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  9. ↑ Beacham, Greg (May 23, 1999). "Bailey Couldn't Be Happier Back in Utah Leading Jazz". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  10. ↑ Jorgensen, Loren (March 5, 1999). "Bailey Feeling More Secure with Jazz". Deseret News. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  11. ↑ Wise, Mike (February 4, 1999). "PRO BASKETBALL; A Scrum for the Title". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  12. ↑ "1998–99 Utah Jazz Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Utah Jazz". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  14. ↑ Jorgensen, Loren (June 3, 1999). "It's Official: 2nd MVP Delivered to Malone; But Mailman Balks at Televised Event in N.Y." Deseret News. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  15. ↑ "N.B.A.: M.V.P. AWARD; Malone Wins 2d Award in 3 Years". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 4, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  16. ↑ "NBA MVP & ABA Most Valuable Player Award Winners". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  17. 1 2 3 "1998–99 Utah Jazz Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  18. 1 2 3 "1998–99 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Dunleavy Honored as Top Coach". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 22, 1999. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  20. ↑ "N.B.A.: ROUNDUP; Sacramento Surprise: Utah Near Elimination". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 13, 1999. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Jazz Gets a King-Sized Problem". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 13, 1999. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  22. ↑ "1999 NBA Western Conference First Round Game 3: Utah Jazz at Sacramento Kings Box Score, May 12, 1999". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  23. ↑ Guzman, Ed (May 15, 1999). "N.B.A.; Stockton Forces a Game 5". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  24. ↑ Adande, J.A. (May 15, 1999). "Victory Gets Jazz Back in Series". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  25. ↑ "1999 NBA Western Conference First Round Game 4: Utah Jazz at Sacramento Kings Box Score, May 14, 1999". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  26. ↑ "N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Jazz Extended to Overtime, but Beats the Upstart Kings". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 17, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  27. ↑ Adande, J.A. (May 17, 1999). "Jazz Not Feeling Like a Kingpin". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  28. ↑ "1999 NBA Western Conference First Round: Kings vs. Jazz". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  29. ↑ "1999 NBA Western Conference Semifinals Game 5: Portland Trail Blazers at Utah Jazz Box Score, May 25, 1999". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  30. ↑ "N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Trail Blazers Stop Malone and Send the Jazz Home". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 28, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  31. ↑ Adande, J.A. (May 28, 1999). "Malone and Jazz Finally Fall Flat". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  32. ↑ "1999 NBA Western Conference Semifinals: Trail Blazers vs. Jazz". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  33. ↑ "1998–99 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  34. ↑ "Rockets Sign S. Anderson". CBS News. Associated Press. September 29, 1999. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  35. ↑ "Transactions". The New York Times. September 30, 1999. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  36. ↑ "Foster Signs with Sonics". CBS News. Associated Press. August 17, 1999. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  37. ↑ Wise, Mike (October 31, 1999). "1999–2000 N.B.A. PREVIEW; The West Is Still the Best". The New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  38. ↑ "Utah Jazz Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
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