The 1998–99 BBL season was the 12th season of the British Basketball League, known as the Budweiser Basketball League for sponsorship reasons, since its establishment in 1987. The regular season commenced on September 12, 1998, and ended on April 4, 1999, with a total of 13 teams competing, playing 36 games each. The post-season Play-offs began on April 9 and culminated in the end-of-season finale on May 2 at Wembley Arena.
Start-up franchise Edinburgh Rocks became the League's newest member following their addition as the 14th franchise during the pre-season and the first Scottish team to appear in the top-flight since Glasgow Rangers' participation in the 1988–89 season. The League membership was reduced to 13 teams shortly after following the merger of the London Towers and Crystal Palace franchises, whilst another notable change was the uprooting of Watford Royals, who moved to the Bletchley Centre in Milton Keynes to become the Milton Keynes Lions.
Sheffield Sharks were a dominant force throughout the season, winning the Sainsbury's Classic Cola Cup whilst storming the Budweiser League and taking the Championship to complete the "Double". The campaign came down to a memorable final game where Sharks claimed the title from rivals Manchester Giants with the last shot of the game, winning 85–87 to take the crown. Their successful run fell short in the play-offs however, managing only a third-placed finish thus allowing a new-look London Towers to claim the title. Manchester Giants also ended a decade-long drought of silverware with their win in the uni-ball Trophy.
No teams participated in European competition after Birmingham Bullets and Greater London Leopards both declined to compete in the Saporta Cup.
Notable occurrences Edinburgh Rocks were officially announced as the League's newest franchise on 4 June 1998 – though the Rocks nickname was revealed at a later date – with former NBA player Jim Brandon signed as the team's head coach. The London Towers and Crystal Palace teams merged their organisations during the close-season, with the new franchise continuing to use the London Towers branding and utilising the home venues of both clubs, Crystal Palace National Sports Centre and Wembley Arena for home games. Watford Royals owner Vince Macaulay announced on 19 June that he was moving the franchise to Milton Keynes due to a lack of suitable venues for home games in Watford, after plans for a new 3,000-capacity arena in Watford, to be built in partnership with Watford F.C., fell through. The Budweiser League game between Chester Jets and Derby Storm on 31 January 1999 was abandoned after 30 seconds due to a court invasion from both sets of players following a fight between Chester's Sean Hartley and Derby's England international Yorick Williams. Media reports claim it was the most serious incident in the history of competitive basketball in Britain. Four players were initially ejected from the game, including Williams and Hartley, whilst Chester physio Alison Troughtman was taken to hospital, suffering from a suspected broken-jaw. It was later announced that Williams was suspended for the remainder of the regular season, whilst Derby's Rico Alderson was banned until the following season. The Southern All-Stars were victorious in the annual All-Star Game against their Northern rivals, with a 156–158 win at Newcastle Arena on February 27. Edinburgh's Ted Berry was the game-high scorer with 29 points and was named as the games Most Valuable Player. Manchester Giants claimed their first piece of silverware in franchise history after defeating Derby in the uni-ball Trophy Final on 13 March. Giants won 90–69, and the 21-point gap between the two teams was the biggest winning margin in the event's history. Furthering their ongoing disciplinary issues, it was revealed in April that Derby Storm's American player Maurice Robinson was issued with a one-year suspension for failing to supply a complete urine sample during a Sports Council doping control test. The Budweiser League came down to a memorable final game between title-chasing rivals Sheffield Sharks and Manchester Giants in-front of more than 11,000 fans at the MEN Arena. With both teams tied on points at the top of the League table, and tied at 85–85 with just 3.5 seconds left in the game, Terrell Myers took the pass and his 18 ft buzzer-beating jump-shot claimed the title for Sheffield. London Towers were crowned as Budweiser League Play-off champions on 2 May, after defeating Thames Valley Tigers 82–71 at Wembley Arena. Towers' Malcolm Leak lead the game's scoring, posting 20 points. Nottingham-based businessman Craig Bown purchased the Birmingham Bullets franchise at the end of the season for a reported six-figure sum.
Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Sheffield Sharks 36 31 5 0.861622 Manchester Giants 36 30 6 0.83360 3 London Towers 36 24 12 0.66748 4 Thames Valley Tigers 36 22 14 0.61144 5 Newcastle Eagles 36 21 15 0.58342 6 Derby Storm 36 21 15 0.58342 7 Birmingham Bullets 36 21 15 0.583428 Greater London Leopards 36 19 17 0.52738 9 Edinburgh Rocks 36 12 24 0.33324 10 Milton Keynes Lions 36 10 26 0.27820 11 Chester Jets 36 10 26 0.27820 12 Leicester Riders 36 9 27 0.25018 13 Worthing Bears 36 4 32 0.1118 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
Playoffs
Quarter-finals (1) Sheffield Sharks vs. (8) Greater London Leopards
(2) Manchester Giants vs. (7) Birmingham Bullets
(3) London Towers vs. (5) Newcastle Eagles
(4) Thames Valley Tigers vs. (6) Derby Storm
Semi-finals
Third-place game
Final
National League Division 1 (Tier 2)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Solent Stars * 26 21 5 0.808422 Plymouth Raiders 26 21 5 0.80842 3 Guildford Pumas 26 19 7 0.73138 4 Teesside Mohawks 26 19 7 0.73138 5 London Towers II 26 17 9 0.65434 6 Mid-Sussex Magic 26 16 10 0.615327 Cardiff Clippers 26 14 12 0.53828 8 Coventry Crusaders 26 12 14 0.46324 9 Westminster Warriors 26 9 17 0.34618 10 Stevenage Rebels 26 9 17 0.34618 11 Oxford Devils 26 9 17 0.34618 12 Solihull Chiefs 26 7 19 0.26914 13 Cardiff Phoenix 26 6 20 0.23112 14 Brixton TopCats 26 2 24 0.0774 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs Champions by virtue of head-to-head record*
Playoffs Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
National League Division 2 (Tier 3)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Birmingham Bullets II 26 22 4 0.846442 Taunton Tigers 26 21 5 0.80842 3 City of Manchester Attitude 26 18 8 0.69336 4 Reading Rockets 26 17 9 0.65434 5 Liverpool Atac 26 16 10 0.61532 6 Chessington Wildcats 26 16 10 0.615327 Northampton 89ers 26 15 11 0.57730 8 Wandsworth Bulls 26 12 14 0.46324 9 Flintshire Flyers 26 12 14 0.46324 10 Slough Chargers 26 8 18 0.30816 11 Swindon Sonics 26 7 19 0.26914 12 Bournemouth Dolphins 26 7 19 0.26914 13 Portsmouth Pirates 26 5 21 0.19210 14 Thames Valley Tigers II 26 5 21 0.19210 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
Playoffs Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
National League Division 3 (Tier 4)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Kingston upon Hull Icebergs 20 18 2 0.900362 North London Lords 20 17 3 0.85034 3 NW London Wolverines 20 12 8 0.60024 4 Barking & Dag. Erkenwald 20 12 8 0.60024 5 Mansfield Express 20 11 9 0.55022 6 Ware Fire 20 11 9 0.550227 Derbyshire Arrows 20 9 11 0.45018 8 Cambridge 20 8 12 0.40016 9 Stoke Stealers 20 6 14 0.30012 10 Sutton 20 4 16 0.2008 11 Doncaster Eagles 20 2 18 0.1004 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
Playoffs Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Sainsbury's Classic Cola National Cup
Last 16 Team 1 Team 2 Score Teesside Mohawks Sheffield Sharks 83-91 Derby Storm Worthing Bears 103-82 Manchester Giants Edinburgh Rocks 90-70 Thames Valley Tigers London Towers 95-83 Plymouth Raiders Greater London Leopards 68-100 Stevenage Rebels Birmingham Bullets 63-106 Leicester Riders Chester Jets 89-92 Newcastle Eagles Milton Keynes Lions 77-69
Quarter-finals Team 1 Team 2 Score Sheffield Sharks Derby Storm 87-76 Manchester Giants Thames Valley Tigers 87-100 Greater London Leopards Birmingham Bullets 90-88 Chester Jets Newcastle Eagles 72-93
Semi-finals Team 1 Team 2 Score Sheffield Sharks Thames Valley Tigers 78-66 Greater London Leopards Newcastle Eagles 98-95 OT
Final
uni-ball Trophy
Group stage Group A
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Sheffield Sharks127610.8572.Derby Storm107520.7143.Manchester Giants107520.7144.Chester Jets87430.5715.Leicester Riders87430.5716.Milton Keynes Lions27160.1427.Worthing Bears07070.000 Group B
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.London Towers84401.0002.Birmingham Bullets64310.7503.Newcastle Eagles44220.5004.Greater London Leopards24130.2505.Edinburgh Rocks04040.000
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals Derby Storm vs. Leicester Riders
Sheffield Sharks vs. Manchester Giants
Final
Dairylea Dunkers All-Star Game
+Northern All-StarsPlayer Team Tony Dorsey Manchester Giants Terrell Myers Sheffield Sharks Billy Singleton Leicester Riders Nick Browning Chester Jets Ralph Blalock Newcastle Eagles JaRon Boone Leicester Riders Wilbur Johnson Sheffield Sharks Travis Conlon Sheffield Sharks Tony Holley Manchester Giants Ted Berry Edinburgh Rocks Chris Flite Newcastle Eagles Corey Jackson Newcastle Eagles Coach Nick Nurse Manchester Giants
+Southern All-StarsPlayer Team John McCord Thames Valley Tigers Jon Gaines Worthing Bears Nigel Lloyd Birmingham Bullets Tony Windless Milton Keynes Lions Jason Siemon Thames Valley Tigers Reggie Kirk Birmingham Bullets Casey Arena Thames Valley Tigers Danny Lewis London Towers Malcolm Leak London Towers Robert Youngblood Greater London Leopards Eric Burks Greater London Leopards Dwayne Morton London Towers Coach Billy Mims Greater London Leopards
Statistics leaders
CategoryPlayerStatPoints per game John White (Manchester Giants) 26.09Rebounds per game Rico Alderson (Derby Storm) 11.84Assists per game Prentice McGruder (Chester Jets) 8.38Steals per game Casey Arena (Thames Valley Tigers) 3.34Blocks per game James Doyle (Leicester Riders) 2.56
Seasonal awards
Most Valuable Player: Terrell Myers (Sheffield Sharks) Coach of the Year: Chris Finch (Sheffield Sharks) All-Star First Team: Terrell Myers (Sheffield Sharks) John White (Manchester Giants) Tony Dorsey (Manchester Giants) John McCord (Thames Valley Tigers) Nigel Lloyd (Birmingham Bullets) All-Star Second Team: Tim Moore (Greater London Leopards) Travis Conlan (Sheffield Sharks) Ralph Blalock (Newcastle Eagles) Casey Arena (Thames Valley Tigers) Danny Lewis (London Towers)
References