# 1998–99 Los Angeles Clippers season

The 1998–99 NBA season was the Clippers' 29th season in the National Basketball Association, and their 15th season in Los Angeles. Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50.
This was also the final season where the team played at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, and played occasional home games at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim. The Clippers won the Draft Lottery selecting Michael Olowokandi out of Pacific University with the first overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, and signed free agents Sherman Douglas, and undrafted rookie forward Tyrone Nesby in the off-season.
However, the Clippers still struggled under new head coach Chris Ford, losing their first 17 games of the season, tying the 1988–89 Miami Heat for the then-worst start in NBA history (later on broken by the 2009–10 New Jersey Nets, who lost their first 18 games of the season). During the midseason period, the team signed second-year guard Troy Hudson in March. The Clippers lost 30 of their first 33 games, then lost their final six games, finishing last place in the Pacific Division with a 9–41 record. They tied the 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers for the fourth-lowest win total for a season behind the 1998–99 Vancouver Grizzlies, the 2011–12 Charlotte Bobcats, and the 1947–48 Providence Steamrollers.
Second-year forward Maurice Taylor showed improvement, averaging 16.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while Lamond Murray played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 12.2 points per game. In addition, three-point specialist Eric Piatkowski contributed 10.5 points per game, while Nesby provided the team with 10.1 points and 1.5 steals per game, and Olowokandi averaged 8.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. Douglas contributed 8.2 points and 4.1 assists per game, while Darrick Martin contributed 8.0 points and 3.9 assists per game, Rodney Rogers provided with 7.4 points per game off the bench, and Lorenzen Wright averaged 6.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Following the season, Murray was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Rogers signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns, Wright was dealt to the Atlanta Hawks, Douglas re-signed with the New Jersey Nets, Martin signed with the Sacramento Kings, and Pooh Richardson was released to free agency.

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 1 | Michael Olowokandi | C | Nigeria | Pacific |
| 1 | 22 | Brian Skinner | PF | United States | Baylor |

## Roster
### Roster Notes

* Point guard Scott Brooks missed the entire season due to a knee injury, and never played for the Clippers.

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Pacific Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Portland Trail Blazers | 35 | 15 | .700 | – | 22–3 | 13–12 | 15–7 |
| x-Los Angeles Lakers | 31 | 19 | .620 | 4 | 18–7 | 13–12 | 14–8 |
| x-Sacramento Kings | 27 | 23 | .540 | 8 | 16–9 | 11–14 | 11–9 |
| x-Phoenix Suns | 27 | 23 | .540 | 8 | 15–10 | 12–13 | 9–10 |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 25 | 25 | .500 | 10 | 17–8 | 8–17 | 11–10 |
| Golden State Warriors | 21 | 29 | .420 | 14 | 13–12 | 8–17 | 8–11 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 9 | 41 | .180 | 26 | 6–19 | 3–22 | 3–16 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | z-San Antonio Spurs | 37 | 13 | .740 | – |
| 2 | y-Portland Trail Blazers | 35 | 15 | .700 | 2 |
| 3 | x-Utah Jazz | 37 | 13 | .740 | – |
| 4 | x-Los Angeles Lakers | 31 | 19 | .620 | 6 |
| 5 | x-Houston Rockets | 31 | 19 | .620 | 6 |
| 6 | x-Sacramento Kings | 27 | 23 | .540 | 10 |
| 7 | x-Phoenix Suns | 27 | 23 | .540 | 10 |
| 8 | x-Minnesota Timberwolves | 25 | 25 | .500 | 12 |
| 9 | Seattle SuperSonics | 25 | 25 | .500 | 12 |
| 10 | Golden State Warriors | 21 | 29 | .420 | 16 |
| 11 | Dallas Mavericks | 19 | 31 | .380 | 18 |
| 12 | Denver Nuggets | 14 | 36 | .280 | 23 |
| 13 | Los Angeles Clippers | 9 | 41 | .180 | 28 |
| 14 | Vancouver Grizzlies | 8 | 42 | .160 | 29 |
    z - clinched division title
    y - clinched division title
    x - clinched playoff spot

### Record vs. opponents

1998-99 NBA Records :
| Team | ATL | BOS | CHA | CHI | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GSW | HOU | IND | LAC | LAL | MIA | MIL | MIN | NJN | NYK | ORL | PHI | PHO | POR | SAC | SAS | SEA | TOR | UTA | VAN | WAS |
| Atlanta | – | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Boston | 0–3 | – | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Charlotte | 0–3 | 2–1 | – | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Chicago | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | – | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Cleveland | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Dallas | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | – | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Denver | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | – | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Detroit | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Golden State | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | – | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 0–0 |
| Houston | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | – | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 4–0 | 0–0 |
| Indiana | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| L.A. Clippers | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | – | 0–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–0 |
| L.A. Lakers | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Miami | 3–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 |
| Milwaukee | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | – | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Minnesota | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | – | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 0–0 |
| New Jersey | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | – | 0–3 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| New York | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | – | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Orlando | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | – | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Philadelphia | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | – | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Phoenix | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–3 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| Portland | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | – | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 |
| Sacramento | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–4 | – | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–0 |
| San Antonio | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | – | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| Seattle | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | – | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Toronto | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Utah | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | – | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Vancouver | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | – | 0–0 |
| Washington | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | — |

### Game log
## Player statistics

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Maurice Taylor | 46 | 45 | 32.7 | 46.1 | 16.7 | 72.8 | 5.3 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 16.8 |
| Lamond Murray | 50 | 13 | 26.3 | 39.1 | 33.0 | 80.3 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 12.2 |
| Eric Piatkowski | 49 | 38 | 25.3 | 43.2 | 39.4 | 86.3 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 10.5 |
| Tyrone Nesby | 50 | 36 | 25.8 | 44.9 | 36.5 | 78.2 | 3.5 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 10.1 |
| Michael Olowokandi | 45 | 36 | 28.4 | 43.1 | 0.0 | 48.3 | 7.9 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 8.9 |
| Sherman Douglas | 30 | 19 | 28.1 | 43.8 | 0.0 | 63.2 | 1.9 | 4.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 8.2 |
| Darrick Martin | 37 | 25 | 25.4 | 36.7 | 29.2 | 80.3 | 1.3 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 8.0 |
| James Robinson | 14 | 0 | 20.0 | 39.8 | 26.7 | 74.1 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 7.6 |
| Rodney Rogers | 47 | 7 | 20.6 | 44.1 | 28.6 | 67.3 | 3.8 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 7.4 |
| Troy Hudson | 25 | 6 | 21.0 | 40.0 | 31.9 | 89.5 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 6.8 |
| Lorenzen Wright | 48 | 15 | 23.6 | 45.8 | 0.0 | 69.2 | 7.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 6.6 |
| Brian Skinner | 21 | 0 | 12.3 | 46.5 | 0.0 | 60.6 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 4.1 |
| Charles Smith | 23 | 10 | 13.8 | 36.1 | 21.2 | 43.8 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 3.7 |
| Pooh Richardson | 11 | 0 | 11.8 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| Keith Closs | 15 | 0 | 5.8 | 52.2 | 0.0 | 80.0 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 2.1 |
| Stojko Vrankovic | 2 | 0 | 6.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Player Statistics Citation:

## Injuries and surgeries

| Player | Injury Date | Injury Type |
| Scott Brooks | January 30, 1999 | Strained right MCL |

## Transactions

The Clippers have been involved in the following transactions during the 1998–1999 season.

### Re-signed

| Player | Signed | Contract |
| Darrick Martin | January 22, 1999 | One-year deal |

### Trades

No trades occurred for this team during this season.

### Free agents

Player Transactions Citation: