1999 NBA Finals

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:NBA Finals summary

The 1999 NBA Finals was the championship round of the shortened 1998–99 NBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs took on the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks for the title, with the Spurs holding home court advantage.[1] The Spurs defeated the Knicks 4 games to 1 to win their first NBA championship.[2] Until 2023, this was the only NBA Finals to feature a #8 seed.

Background

The 1998–99 NBA season was shortened due to a labor dispute that led to a lockout. The owners and the National Basketball Players Association reached an agreement to end the dispute on January 20, 1999.[3] The 1998–99 season, which began on February 5, 1999,[4] was shortened from the usual 82-game schedule to 50 games per team.[5]

San Antonio Spurs

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The 1998–99 season was the second season of the "Twin Towers" pairing of David Robinson and star second-year forward Tim Duncan. Robinson and Duncan had been teammates since the Spurs drafted Duncan with the first overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft. The Spurs earned this draft pick through the draft lottery due to a 62-loss 1996–97 season in which Robinson had a season-ending injury and the team collapsed. During the 1996–97 season, veteran coach Bob Hill was fired and replaced by then-general manager Gregg Popovich.[6] In the 1997–98 season, the Spurs won 56 games, but were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs[7] by the Utah Jazz.[8]

In the 1998–99 season, the Spurs recovered from a 6–8 start to the season to win 31 of their last 36 games.[9] The Spurs qualified for the playoffs as the top seed in the Western Conference and tied the Utah Jazz for the league's best regular-season record (37–13).[10]

After defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in four games, San Antonio recorded back-to-back sweeps in the second round and the conference finals, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers. The victory over Portland gave the Spurs their first-ever trip to the NBA Finals.[11]

New York Knicks

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The Knicks had a more difficult time reaching the playoffs than the Spurs did. Toward the end of the season, with the team teetering on the brink of making the playoffs, New York fired general manager Ernie Grunfeld.[12] The Knicks barely qualified for the playoffs and received the eighth and final seed in the Eastern Conference.[13]

The Knicks faced the Miami Heat, the top Eastern Conference seed, in the first round. When Allan Houston made a shot with 0.8 seconds remaining in Game 5 of that series, the Knicks were victorious and became the second team in NBA history after the 1993-94 Denver Nuggets to win a playoff series as the eighth seed.[14]

The Knicks faced the Atlanta Hawks next. Hawks center Dikembe Mutombo guaranteed a victory, but the Knicks prevailed in a four-game sweep to set up a matchup with the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals.[15]

Knicks center Patrick Ewing was lost for the series after the first two games against Indiana.[16] In the third game, with 11.9 seconds left and the Knicks trailing 91–88, the Knicks' Larry Johnson made a three-point shot while being fouled and converted the subsequent free throw for a game-winning four-point play; the victory gave the Knicks a 2–1 lead in the series. The Knicks won Game 6 and prevailed in the series.[17]

Road to the Finals

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San Antonio Spurs (Western Conference champion) New York Knicks (Eastern Conference champion)

Template:1998–99 NBA West standings1st seed in the West, best league record

Regular season

Template:1998–99 NBA East standings8th seed in the East, 14th best league record

Defeated the (8) Minnesota Timberwolves, 3–1 First round Defeated the (1) Miami Heat, 3–2
Defeated the (4) Los Angeles Lakers, 4–0 Conference semifinals Defeated the (4) Atlanta Hawks, 4–0
Defeated the (2) Portland Trail Blazers, 4–0 Conference finals Defeated the (2) Indiana Pacers, 4–2

Regular season series

The Knicks and Spurs did not play each other in the regular season.[18]

1999 NBA Finals team rosters

San Antonio Spurs

style="Template:Basketball primary style; text-align: center;" |1998–99 San Antonio Spurs roster
scope="colgroup" style="Template:Basketball secondary style"|Players scope="col" style="Template:Basketball secondary style"|Coaches
Template:Ensure AA contrast ratioTemplate:Ensure AA contrast ratio
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Antonio Daniels Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Bowling Green
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Tim Duncan Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Wake Forest
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Mario Elie Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". American International
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Sean Elliott Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Arizona
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Andrew Gaze Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Seton Hall
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Jaren Jackson Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Georgetown
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Avery Johnson Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Southern
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Steve Kerr Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Arizona
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Jerome Kersey Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Longwood
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Gerard King Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Nicholls State
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Will Perdue Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Vanderbilt
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". David Robinson Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Navy
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Malik Rose Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Drexel
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Brandon Williams Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Davidson
Head coach
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Legend
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Template:Bulleted list

Roster

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New York Knicks

style="Template:Basketball primary style; text-align: center;" |1998–99 New York Knicks roster
scope="colgroup" style="Template:Basketball secondary style"|Players scope="col" style="Template:Basketball secondary style"|Coaches
Template:Ensure AA contrast ratioTemplate:Ensure AA contrast ratio
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Rick Brunson Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Temple
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Marcus Camby Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". UMass
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Chris Childs Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Boise State
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Ben Davis Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Arizona
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Chris Dudley Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Yale
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Patrick EwingScript error: No such module "String".Injured Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Georgetown
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Allan Houston Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Tennessee
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Larry Johnson Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". UNLV
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Latrell Sprewell Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Alabama
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Kurt Thomas Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". TCU
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Charlie Ward Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Florida State
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". Herb Williams Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Ohio State
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". David Wingate Script error: No such module "convert". Script error: No such module "convert". Georgetown
Head coach
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Legend
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Template:Bulleted list

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Series summary

Game Date Road team Result Home team
Game 1 June 16 New York Knicks 77–89 (0–1) San Antonio Spurs
Game 2 June 18 New York Knicks 67–80 (0–2) San Antonio Spurs
Game 3 June 21 San Antonio Spurs 81–89 (2–1) New York Knicks
Game 4 June 23 San Antonio Spurs 96–89 (3–1) New York Knicks
Game 5 June 25 San Antonio Spurs 78–77 (4–1) New York Knicks

The Finals were played using a 2–3–2 site format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team with home court advantage. The NBA, after experimenting in the early years, restored this original format for the Finals between 1985 and 2013. In 2014, the Finals returned to a 2–2–1–1–1 site format.

Game 1

June 16
New York Knicks 77, San Antonio Spurs 89
Scoring by quarter: 27–21, 10–24, 26–26, 14–18
Pts: Sprewell, Houston 19
Rebs: Latrell Sprewell 7
Asts: Houston, Ward 3		 Pts: Tim Duncan 33
Rebs: Tim Duncan 13
Asts: Avery Johnson 8
San Antonio leads the series, 1–0
Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 39,514
Referees:
  • Hugh Evans
  • Steve Javie
  • Bennett Salvatore

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Game 2

June 18
New York Knicks 67, San Antonio Spurs 80
Scoring by quarter: 15–20, 19–19, 15–17, 18–24
Pts: Latrell Sprewell 26
Rebs: Latrell Sprewell 7
Asts: Charlie Ward 3		 Pts: Tim Duncan 25
Rebs: Tim Duncan 15
Asts: Avery Johnson 5
San Antonio leads the series, 2–0
Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 39,554
Referees:
  • Dan Crawford
  • Joe Crawford
  • Jess Kersey

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Game 3

June 21
San Antonio Spurs 81, New York Knicks 89
Scoring by quarter: 21–32, 25–17, 16–16, 19–24
Pts: David Robinson 25
Rebs: Tim Duncan 12
Asts: Avery Johnson 4		 Pts: Allan Houston 34
Rebs: Houston, Johnson 5
Asts: Latrell Sprewell 5
San Antonio leads the series, 2–1
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 19,763
Referees:
  • Dick Bavetta
  • Hue Hollins
  • Ronnie Nunn

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Game 4

June 23
San Antonio Spurs 96, New York Knicks 89
Scoring by quarter: 27–29, 23–17, 22–17, 24–26
Pts: Tim Duncan 28
Rebs: Tim Duncan 18
Asts: Avery Johnson 10		 Pts: Latrell Sprewell 26
Rebs: Marcus Camby 13
Asts: Charlie Ward 8
San Antonio leads the series, 3–1
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 19,763
Referees:
  • Hugh Evans
  • Ron Garretson
  • Mike Mathis

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Game 5

June 25
San Antonio Spurs 78, New York Knicks 77
Scoring by quarter: 20–23, 20–15, 19–20, 19–19
Pts: Tim Duncan 31
Rebs: David Robinson 12
Asts: Avery Johnson 9		 Pts: Latrell Sprewell 35
Rebs: Latrell Sprewell 10
Asts: Allan Houston 5
San Antonio wins the NBA Finals, 4–1
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 19,763
Referees:
  • Joe Crawford
  • Steve Javie
  • Bennett Salvatore

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Result

Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The Spurs won the NBA Finals 4 games to 1.[2] Spurs forward Tim Duncan was named the Most Valuable Player of the finals.[19] On June 25 (two years to the day that Duncan was drafted by the Spurs), with 47 seconds to go in Game 5, Avery Johnson hit the game-winner.[20] The Knicks scored 39 points in the second half, and Latrell Sprewell scored 25 of them, with fourteen of his points coming in the fourth quarter. However, he could not hit either of his jump shots in the last half-minute of the game that could have affected the outcome. Tim Duncan scored 31 points and nine rebounds in the decisive Game 5 while averaging 27.4 points and fourteen rebounds with 2.4 assists and 2.2 blocks in the Finals.[21]

Player statistics

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
San Antonio Spurs

Template:NBA roster statistics start |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 4 || 0 || 6.0 || .800 || 1.000 || .000 || 0.5 || 1.0 || 0.3 || 0.0 || 2.5 |-! style="background:#FDE910;" | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 5 || 5 || 45.8 || .537 || .000 || .795 || 14.0 || 2.4 || 1.0 || 2.2 || 27.4 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 5 || 5 || 35.0 || .447 || .308 || .870 || 4.0 || 2.6 || 1.2 || 0.0 || 11.6 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 5 || 5 || 36.2 || .333 || .278 || .636 || 3.0 || 3.0 || 0.8 || 0.2 || 8.0 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 5 || 0 || 19.2 || .324 || .375 || .000 || 1.4 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 6.6 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 5 || 5 || 39.2 || .500 || .000 || .600 || 2.6 || 7.2 || 0.6 || 0.0 || 9.2 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 5 || 0 || 8.8 || .400 || .500 || .000 || 1.0 || 0.4 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 1.8 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 2 || 0 || 2.0 || 1.000 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 1.0 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 2 || 0 || 1.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 5 || 5 || 37.0 || .424 || .000 || .688 || 11.8 || 2.4 || 1.0 || 3.0 || 16.6 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 5 || 0 || 12.8 || .200 || .000 || .500 || 2.4 || 0.4 || 0.6 || 0.4 || 1.2 |}

New York Knicks

Template:NBA roster statistics start |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 1 || 0 || 1.0 || .001 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 5 || 3 || 27.0 || .500 || .000 || .750 || 7.8 || 0.2 || 0.6 || 2.0 || 9.6 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 5 || 0 || 21.0 || .227 || .200 || .500 || 1.2 || 2.2 || 0.4 || 0.0 || 2.4 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 5 || 2 || 15.6 || .250 || .000 || .333 || 3.8 || 0.2 || 0.2 || 0.6 || 1.2 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 5 || 5 || 44.4 || .427 || .167 || .923 || 3.2 || 3.4 || 0.4 || 0.0 || 21.6 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 5 || 5 || 37.0 || .286 || .111 || .615 || 4.8 || 1.4 || 1.2 || 0.2 || 7.6 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 5 || 5 || 44.2 || .410 || .286 || .842 || 6.6 || 2.6 || 1.4 || 0.2 || 26.0 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 5 || 0 || 21.0 || .344 || .000 || .600 || 7.6 || 0.4 || 1.2 || 0.0 || 5.6 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 5 || 5 || 29.0 || .462 || .333 || .500 || 3.2 || 3.6 || 2.6 || 0.4 || 5.8 |- | align="left" | Script error: No such module "Sort". || 2 || 0 || 1.5 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |}

Broadcasting

The 1999 NBA Finals was aired in the United States on NBC (including WNBC in New York City and KMOL-TV in San Antonio), with Bob Costas and Doug Collins on play-by-play and color commentary respectively. Hannah Storm served as the studio host while Isiah Thomas, Bill Walton and Peter Vecsey served as studio analysts. Ahmad Rashad and Jim Gray served as sideline reporters.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Locally, the Finals also marked the comeback of Marv Albert following his infamous sex scandal two years prior. Albert served as the Knicks' radio play-by-play announcer on WFAN with long-time partner John Andariese. NBC Sports rehired Albert shortly after and he eventually returned to the lead play-by-play role in 2000.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Aftermath

In 2000, the Spurs became the first NBA champion since the 1985–86 Celtics to fail to win a second consecutive title.[22] The Spurs won 53 games in the 1999–2000 season, but were severely impaired by Sean Elliott's early season kidney transplant and Tim Duncan's late-season knee injury.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The Spurs were eliminated in the first round of the 2000 NBA playoffs by the Phoenix Suns. The team went on to win NBA titles in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014.

Game 2 at the Alamodome was the last NBA Finals game to take place at what is known as a multi-purpose stadium. Due to this fact, the 39,554 in attendance for the game will likely never be topped again.

As of the 2024–25 seasonTemplate:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., the 1999 NBA Finals remains the Knicks' last NBA Finals appearance. The following season, the Knicks won 50 games but fell to the Indiana Pacers in six games in the Eastern Conference finals. After that season, the Patrick Ewing era came to an end when he was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics.

The next No. 8 seed to make the NBA Finals was the Miami Heat in Template:Nbafy. The result was the same, with the Heat losing to the Denver Nuggets in five games.

See also

References

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

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