1998–99 Los Angeles Lakers season | |
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Eddie Jones's final season with the Lakers Dennis Rodman plays for the Lakers Glen Rice's first season with the Lakers Final season playing in the Great Western Forum |
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Head coach | Del Harris, Bill Bertka, Kurt Rambis |
Owner(s) | Jerry Buss |
Arena | Great Western Forum |
Results | |
Record | 31–19 (.620) |
Place |
Division: 2nd (Pacific) Conference: 4th (Western) |
Playoff finish |
Conference Semifinals (Eliminated by Spurs 0-4) |
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com |
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Local media | |
Television | Fox Sports West, KCAL |
Radio | AM 570 KLAC |
The 1998–99 NBA season was the Lakers' 51st season in the National Basketball Association, and 39th in the city of Los Angeles. It was the Lakers' final season at the Great Western Forum. During the offseason, the Lakers signed free agent Derek Harper. At midseason, Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell were both traded to the Charlotte Hornets for All-Star forward Glen Rice, J.R. Reid and B.J. Armstrong, who was released and signed with the Orlando Magic. The Lakers move continued midway through the season, acquiring rebounding specialist Dennis Rodman, who was well known for winning championships with the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls. However, after 23 games, Rodman was released by the team.
The Lakers finished second in the Pacific Division with a 31–19 record. Their attendance for the season was 430,007 (12th in the league). In the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets 3–1 in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, but were swept in four straight games by the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs during the Western Conference Semifinals.
Following the season, Reid signed as a free agent with the Milwaukee Bucks, Sean Rooks was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, rookie Ruben Patterson signed with the Seattle SuperSonics, and Harper was dealt to the Detroit Pistons, but was released and then retired.