The 1998–99 NBA season was the Grizzlies' fourth season 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.[2]
The Grizzlies had the second overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, and selected Mike Bibby from the University of Arizona, acquired rookie guard Felipe López from the San Antonio Spurs,[3][4][5][6][7] and signed free agent Cherokee Parks during the off-season.[8][9] The Grizzlies had a 4–6 record in their first ten games, but then struggled posting a 13-game losing streak between February and March, as Bryant Reeves only played just 25 games due to weight problems and a knee injury.[10][11] Midway through the season, three-point specialist Sam Mack was traded back to his former team, the Houston Rockets in exchange for second-year guard Rodrick Rhodes.[12][13][14]
The Grizzlies lost their final seven games, returning to last place in the Midwest Division with a league worst record of 8–42.[15] The Grizzlies' 8 wins marked the lowest amount of victories by a team in a season since the league's inception as the NBA (the 6 wins by the Providence Steamrollers in the 1947–48 season occurred back when the league was named the Basketball Association of America), until the 2011–12 Charlotte Bobcats put up 7 wins in its own lockout-shortened season, and subsequently held the worst record in NBA history since then.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim averaged 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, while Bibby averaged 13.2 points, 6.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In addition, Tony Massenburg provided the team with 11.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while Reeves provided with 10.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, Lopez contributed 9.3 points per game, Parks averaged 5.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, and Michael Smith contributed 7.3 rebounds per game off the bench.[16]
Following the season, Massenburg was traded to the Houston Rockets,[17][18][19] and Smith, Rhodes, and Lee Mayberry were all traded to the Orlando Magic, who then released all three players to free agency, as Smith signed as a free agent with the Washington Wizards.[20]
The Grizzlies' first draft pick was Mike Bibby, which was the second overall pick in the draft.
Roster
Due to the 1998–99 NBA lockout, the NBA would see a shortened schedule for the 1998–99 season, as every team would play 50 games, compared to 82 in a normal season. The Grizzlies began the season with their best start in franchise history, as they had a 3–3 record in their first six games, the latest in a season that the club had a .500 record. Vancouver would fall into a bad streak soon afterward, though, losing sixteen of their next seventeen games, which included a thirteen-game losing streak, to fall out of the playoff picture entirely in a fast pace. Wins would be few and far between for the remainder of the season, as the Grizzlies ended the year with a record of 8–42, which represented a .160 winning percentage, their lowest in team history. Vancouver finished with the worst record in the league for the third time in four seasons.
At the time, the Grizzlies finished with the second-lowest win total for a season in NBA history behind the Providence Steamrollers winning only six games during the 1947–48 BAA season. Since then, only the 2011–12 Charlotte Bobcats have provided a worst win total (and worst overall record in NBA history) for a season (which coincidentally also occurred during a lockout-shortened season) than this season's Vancouver Grizzlies team.
The Grizzlies signed free agent Cherokee Parks, who spent the 1997–98 season with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Parks averaged 7.1 points in 79 games with Minnesota last season.
The San Antonio Spurs and Grizzlies made a trade, with Vancouver sending Antonio Daniels to the Spurs for Felipe López and Carl Herrera. Lopez was the Spurs' first round draft pick in the 1998 NBA draft.