The 1998–99 Washington Wizards season was the 38th season for the Washington Wizards in the National Basketball Association, and their 26th season in Washington, D.C. Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50.
Season summary
Off-season During the off-season, the Wizards acquired All-Star guard Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe from the Sacramento Kings.
Regular season With the addition of Richmond and Thorpe, the Wizards got off to a 4–4 start to the regular season, but soon struggled playing below .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the season. Head coach Bernie Bickerstaff was fired after a 13–19 start, and was replaced with assistant coach Jim Brovelli as an interim coach, and Juwan Howard only played 36 games due to an ankle injury. The Wizards posted a seven-game losing streak in April, and lost nine of their final eleven games of the season, finishing in sixth place in the Atlantic Division with a disappointing 18–32 record.
Richmond averaged 19.7 points and 1.3 steals per game, and led the Wizards with 70 three-point field goals, while Howard averaged 18.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, and Rod Strickland provided the team with 15.7 points, 9.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game. In addition, Thorpe provided with 11.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, while Calbert Cheaney contributed 7.7 points per game, Tracy Murray contributed 6.5 points per game, Ben Wallace averaged 6.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, and Terry Davis provided with 3.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
The Wizards finished 20th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 402,481 at the MCI Center during the regular season.
Aftermath Following the season, Thorpe signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat, while Cheaney signed with the Boston Celtics, Wallace, Davis and Tim Legler were all traded to the Orlando Magic, who then released Davis and Legler to free agency, and Brovelli was fired as head coach.
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 2 43 Jahidi White PF/C Georgetown
Roster
Roster Notes Center Lorenzo Williams was on the injured reserve list due to stress fractures in both feet, and missed the entire regular season.
Regular season
Season standings
z - clinched division title y - clinched division title x - clinched playoff spot
Game log
Player statistics
Regular season Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPGPPG 2 0 2.0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 50 18 25.3 .414 .216 .493 2.8 1.5 .8 .3 7.7 14 0 7.0 .419 .833 1.6 .0 .1 .1 2.2 37 34 15.6 .533 .737 3.8 .3 .3 .1 3.4 36 36 39.7 .474 .000 .753 8.1 3.0 1.2 .4 18.9 27 8 10.0 .426 .143 .656 2.0 .3 .1 .4 4.2 30 0 12.6 .443 .400 .500 1.3 .7 .1 .1 4.0 35 6 12.2 .373 .257 .750 .6 2.1 .5 .0 3.7 36 0 18.1 .350 .320 .810 2.3 .8 .6 .2 6.5 50 50 38.2 .412 .317 .857 3.4 2.4 1.3 .2 19.7 44 43 37.1 .416 .286 .746 4.8 9.9 1.7 .1 15.7 49 38 31.4 .545 .000 .698 6.8 2.1 .9 .4 11.3 46 16 26.8 .578 .356 8.3 .4 1.1 2.0 6.0 20 0 9.6 .531 .429 2.9 .1 .2 .6 2.5 39 1 11.3 .410 .337 .871 1.2 1.8 .5 .1 4.8
Player statistics citation:
References
See also 1998-99 NBA season