# 1999 NBA Finals

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. The Spurs defeated the Knicks 4 games to 1 to win their first NBA championship. 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. The 1998–99 season, which began on February 5, 1999, was shortened from the usual 82-game schedule to 50 games per team.

### San Antonio Spurs

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. In the 1997–98 season, the Spurs won 56 games, but were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Utah Jazz.
In the 1998–99 season, the Spurs recovered from a 6–8 start to the season to win 31 of their last 36 games. 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).
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.

### New York Knicks

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. The Knicks barely qualified for the playoffs and received the eighth and final seed in the Eastern Conference.
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.
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.
Knicks center Patrick Ewing was lost for the series after the first two games against Indiana. 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.

### Road to the Finals

| San Antonio Spurs (Western Conference champion) | San Antonio Spurs (Western Conference champion) | New York Knicks (Eastern Conference champion) | New York Knicks (Eastern Conference champion) |
| # Western Conferencevte Team W L PCT GB 1 z-San Antonio Spurs3713.740– 2 y-Portland Trail Blazers3515.7002 3 x-Utah Jazz3713.740– 4 x-Los Angeles Lakers3119.6206 5 x-Houston Rockets3119.6206 6 x-Sacramento Kings2723.54010 7 x-Phoenix Suns2723.54010 8 x-Minnesota Timberwolves2525.50012 9 Seattle SuperSonics2525.50012 10 Golden State Warriors2129.42016 11 Dallas Mavericks1931.38018 12 Denver Nuggets1436.28023 13 Los Angeles Clippers941.18028 14 Vancouver Grizzlies842.16029 1st seed in the West, best league record | Regular season | Regular season | Eastern Conference#TeamWLPCTGBGP1c-Miami Heat *3317.660–502y-Indiana Pacers *3317.660–503x-Orlando Magic3317.660–504x-Atlanta Hawks3119.6202.0505x-Detroit Pistons2921.5804.0506x-Philadelphia 76ers2822.5605.0507x-Milwaukee Bucks2822.5605.0508x-New York Knicks2723.5406.0509Charlotte Hornets2624.5207.05010Toronto Raptors2327.46010.05011Cleveland Cavaliers2228.44011.05012Boston Celtics1931.38014.05013Washington Wizards1832.36015.05014New Jersey Nets1634.32017.05015Chicago Bulls1337.26020.0508th seed in the East, 14th best league record |
| Defeated the (8) Minnesota Timberwolves, 3–1 | First round | First round | Defeated the (1) Miami Heat, 3–2 |
| Defeated the (4) Los Angeles Lakers, 4–0 | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Defeated the (4) Atlanta Hawks, 4–0 |
| Defeated the (2) Portland Trail Blazers, 4–0 | Conference Finals | 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.

## 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

* NBC
* June 16
* Boxscores
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

### Game 2

* NBC
* June 18
* Boxscores
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

### Game 3

* NBC
* June 21
* Boxscores
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

### Game 4

* NBC
* June 23
* Boxscores
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

### Game 5

* NBC
* June 25
* Boxscores
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

## Result

The Spurs won the NBA Finals 4 games to 1. Spurs forward Tim Duncan was named the Most Valuable Player of the finals. 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. The Knicks scored 39 points in the second half, and 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.

## Player statistics
### San Antonio Spurs

San Antonio Spurs statistics :
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Antonio Daniels | 4 | 0 | 6.0 | .800 | 1.000 | .000 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| Tim Duncan | 5 | 5 | 45.8 | .537 | .000 | .795 | 14.0 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 27.4 |
| Mario Elie | 5 | 5 | 35.0 | .447 | .308 | .870 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 11.6 |
| Sean Elliott | 5 | 5 | 36.2 | .333 | .278 | .636 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 8.0 |
| Jaren Jackson | 5 | 0 | 19.2 | .324 | .375 | .000 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 6.6 |
| Avery Johnson | 5 | 5 | 39.2 | .500 | .000 | .600 | 2.6 | 7.2 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 9.2 |
| Steve Kerr | 5 | 0 | 8.8 | .400 | .500 | .000 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.8 |
| Jerome Kersey | 2 | 0 | 2.0 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Gerard King | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| David Robinson | 5 | 5 | 37.0 | .424 | .000 | .688 | 11.8 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 16.6 |
| Malik Rose | 5 | 0 | 12.8 | .200 | .000 | .500 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.2 |

### New York Knicks

New York Knicks statistics :
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Rick Brunson | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | .001 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Marcus Camby | 5 | 3 | 27.0 | .500 | .000 | .750 | 7.8 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 9.6 |
| Chris Childs | 5 | 0 | 21.0 | .227 | .200 | .500 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 2.4 |
| Chris Dudley | 5 | 2 | 15.6 | .250 | .000 | .333 | 3.8 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.2 |
| Allan Houston | 5 | 5 | 44.4 | .427 | .167 | .923 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 21.6 |
| Larry Johnson | 5 | 5 | 37.0 | .286 | .111 | .615 | 4.8 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 7.6 |
| Latrell Sprewell | 5 | 5 | 44.2 | .410 | .286 | .842 | 6.6 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 26.0 |
| Kurt Thomas | 5 | 0 | 21.0 | .344 | .000 | .600 | 7.6 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 5.6 |
| Charlie Ward | 5 | 5 | 29.0 | .462 | .333 | .500 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 5.8 |
| Herb Williams | 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.
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.

## Aftermath

In 2000, the Spurs became the first NBA champion since the 1985–86 Celtics to fail to win a second consecutive title. 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. 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.
As of the 2023–24 season, 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 2023. The result was the same, with the Heat losing to the Denver Nuggets in five games.