1998–99 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1998–99 NBA season was the 51st season for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association, and their 39th season in Los Angeles, California. Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50.

This season was also the Lakers' final season playing at the Great Western Forum. During the off-season, the team signed free agent Derek Harper, and re-acquired former Lakers center Travis Knight after one season with the Boston Celtics. The Lakers played around .500 basketball with a 6–6 start to the regular season, as head coach Del Harris was fired. After one game under interim Bill Bertka, the team hired former Laker Kurt Rambis as their new coach. The Lakers had signed free agent and 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, averaging 11.2 rebounds per game.

At mid-season, Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell were both traded to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for All-Star forward Glen Rice, J.R. Reid and B. J. Armstrong, who was released to free agency and signed with the Orlando Magic; the team also released Corie Blount, as he later on signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Lakers won ten straight games between February and March, and finished in second place in the Pacific Division with a 31–19 record, earning the #4 seed in the Western Conference. Their home-game attendance for the season was 430,007 (12th in the league).

Kobe Bryant averaged 19.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game in his first season as a starter, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, while Shaquille O'Neal averaged 26.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and finished in sixth place in Most Valuable Player voting. In addition, Rice played in 27 games due to an elbow injury he sustained in Charlotte, and provided the team with 17.5 points per game, while Rick Fox contributed 9.0 points per game off the bench, Harper provided with 6.9 points and 4.2 assists per game, and Derek Fisher contributed 5.9 points, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

In the 1999 NBA playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets, 3–1 in the Western Conference First Round, but were swept in four straight games by the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semi-finals. The Spurs would reach the NBA Finals for the first time to defeat the 8th-seeded New York Knicks in five games, winning their first ever championship.

Following the season, Rambis was fired as head coach, while Reid signed as a free agent with the Milwaukee Bucks, Sean Rooks was traded back to his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, rookie small forward Ruben Patterson signed with the Seattle SuperSonics, and Harper was dealt to the Detroit Pistons, but was released and then retired.