# 1998–99 Charlotte Hornets season

The 1998–99 NBA season was the eleventh season for the Charlotte Hornets in the National Basketball Association. Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50.
During the off-season, the Hornets signed free agents Derrick Coleman, three-point specialist Chuck Person, Eldridge Recasner and Chucky Brown. However, the Hornets began their season dealing with injuries, as Anthony Mason was lost for the entire season with a biceps injury suffered in practice a few days before the start of the season, and All-Star forward Glen Rice was also out with an elbow injury. The Hornets struggled losing eight of their first nine games, which led to a disappointing 4–11 start to the season, as head coach Dave Cowens resigned and was replaced with assistant Paul Silas.
A few days later, Rice was traded along with J.R. Reid, and B. J. Armstrong to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for All-Star guard Eddie Jones, and Elden Campbell. Armstrong was released by the Lakers, and later signed with the Orlando Magic. The team improved under Silas posting a 22–13 record, including a nine-game winning streak in April. The Hornets finished fifth in the Central Division with a 26–24 record. However, despite their above .500 record, they failed to qualify for the playoffs by a single game. This was the first time since the 1995–96 season the Hornets missed the playoffs.
Jones averaged 17.0 points and 3.0 steals per game with the team in 30 games after the trade, and was selected to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while Campbell averaged 15.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in 32 games. In addition, Bobby Phills provided the team with 14.3 points and 1.4 steals per game, while David Wesley contributed 14.1 points, 6.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game, Coleman averaged 13.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, Brown provided with 8.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, and Person contributed 6.1 points per game.
The Hornets finished sixth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 480,807 at the Charlotte Coliseum during the season. Following the season, Person signed as a free agent with the Seattle SuperSonics, and Brown signed with the San Antonio Spurs.

## Offseason
### NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 21 | Ricky Davis | SF/SG | United States | Iowa |
| 2 | 50 | Andrew Betts | | United States | California State-Long Beach |

## Roster
### Roster Notes

* Small forward/Power forward Anthony Mason missed the entire season due to a ruptured biceps injury.

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Central Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
| y-Indiana Pacers | 33 | 17 | .660 | – | 18‍–‍7 | 15‍–‍10 | 15–7 | 50 |
| x-Atlanta Hawks | 31 | 19 | .620 | 2.0 | 16‍–‍9 | 15‍–‍10 | 15–8 | 50 |
| x-Detroit Pistons | 29 | 21 | .580 | 4.0 | 17‍–‍8 | 12‍–‍13 | 13–8 | 50 |
| x-Milwaukee Bucks | 28 | 22 | .560 | 5.0 | 17‍–‍8 | 11‍–‍14 | 13–11 | 50 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 26 | 24 | .520 | 7.0 | 16‍–‍9 | 10‍–‍15 | 12–10 | 50 |
| Toronto Raptors | 23 | 27 | .460 | 10.0 | 14‍–‍11 | 9‍–‍16 | 9–14 | 50 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 22 | 28 | .440 | 11.0 | 15‍–‍10 | 7‍–‍18 | 9–13 | 50 |
| Chicago Bulls | 13 | 37 | .260 | 20.0 | 8‍–‍17 | 5‍–‍20 | 4–19 | 50 |
Eastern Conference :
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c-Miami Heat * | 33 | 17 | .660 | – | 50 |
| 2 | y-Indiana Pacers * | 33 | 17 | .660 | – | 50 |
| 3 | x-Orlando Magic | 33 | 17 | .660 | – | 50 |
| 4 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 31 | 19 | .620 | 2.0 | 50 |
| 5 | x-Detroit Pistons | 29 | 21 | .580 | 4.0 | 50 |
| 6 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 28 | 22 | .560 | 5.0 | 50 |
| 7 | x-Milwaukee Bucks | 28 | 22 | .560 | 5.0 | 50 |
| 8 | x-New York Knicks | 27 | 23 | .540 | 6.0 | 50 |
| 9 | Charlotte Hornets | 26 | 24 | .520 | 7.0 | 50 |
| 10 | Toronto Raptors | 23 | 27 | .460 | 10.0 | 50 |
| 11 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 22 | 28 | .440 | 11.0 | 50 |
| 12 | Boston Celtics | 19 | 31 | .380 | 14.0 | 50 |
| 13 | Washington Wizards | 18 | 32 | .360 | 15.0 | 50 |
| 14 | New Jersey Nets | 16 | 34 | .320 | 17.0 | 50 |
| 15 | Chicago Bulls | 13 | 37 | .260 | 20.0 | 50 |

### 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 | — |

## Player statistics
### Ragular season

| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| David Wesley | PG | 50 | 50 | 1,848 | 161 | 322 | 100 | 10 | 706 | 37.0 | 3.2 | 6.4 | 2.0 | .2 | 14.1 |
| Chuck Person | SF | 50 | 21 | 990 | 132 | 60 | 20 | 8 | 303 | 19.8 | 2.6 | 1.2 | .4 | .2 | 6.1 |
| Chucky Brown | PF | 48 | 21 | 1,192 | 174 | 57 | 16 | 19 | 407 | 24.8 | 3.6 | 1.2 | .3 | .4 | 8.5 |
| Ricky Davis | SG | 46 | 1 | 557 | 84 | 58 | 30 | 7 | 209 | 12.1 | 1.8 | 1.3 | .7 | .2 | 4.5 |
| Eldridge Recasner | PG | 44 | 2 | 708 | 77 | 91 | 17 | 1 | 222 | 16.1 | 1.8 | 2.1 | .4 | .0 | 5.0 |
| Bobby Phills | SG | 43 | 43 | 1,574 | 174 | 149 | 60 | 25 | 613 | 36.6 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 1.4 | .6 | 14.3 |
| Brad Miller | C | 38 | 0 | 469 | 117 | 22 | 9 | 18 | 238 | 12.3 | 3.1 | .6 | .2 | .5 | 6.3 |
| Derrick Coleman | PF | 37 | 29 | 1,178 | 328 | 78 | 24 | 42 | 486 | 31.8 | 8.9 | 2.1 | .6 | 1.1 | 13.1 |
| Elden Campbell$^†$ | C | 32 | 32 | 1,134 | 301 | 61 | 38 | 57 | 490 | 35.4 | 9.4 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 15.3 |
| Charles Shackleford | C | 32 | 4 | 367 | 129 | 13 | 5 | 13 | 107 | 11.5 | 4.0 | .4 | .2 | .4 | 3.3 |
| Eddie Jones$^†$ | SF | 30 | 30 | 1,157 | 118 | 125 | 90 | 34 | 509 | 38.6 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 17.0 |
| J. R. Reid$^†$ | PF | 16 | 16 | 556 | 113 | 25 | 22 | 10 | 243 | 34.8 | 7.1 | 1.6 | 1.4 | .6 | 15.2 |
| Corey Beck$^†$ | PG | 16 | 0 | 150 | 23 | 20 | 7 | 2 | 35 | 9.4 | 1.4 | 1.3 | .4 | .1 | 2.2 |
| B. J. Armstrong$^†$ | PG | 10 | 1 | 178 | 16 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 57 | 17.8 | 1.6 | 2.7 | .3 | .0 | 5.7 |
| Travis Williams | SF | 8 | 0 | 62 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 7.8 | 2.4 | .3 | .3 | .1 | 1.9 |
| Willie Burton | SF | 3 | 0 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6.0 | 2.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.3 |
| Joe Wolf | PF | 3 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | .3 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
* $^†$ Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Hornets only.

## Awards and records

* Eddie Jones, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

## Transactions

* January 21, 1999
Signed Brad Miller as a free agent.
Signed Eldridge Recasner as a free agent.
Signed Charles Shackleford as a free agent.
Signed Chucky Brown as a free agent.
Signed Derrick Coleman as a free agent.
* January 26, 1999
Signed Chuck Person as a free agent.
* February 3, 1999
Signed Joe Wolf as a free agent.
* February 28, 1999
Signed Willie Burton as a free agent.
* March 8, 1999
Waived Willie Burton.
* March 10, 1999
Waived Joe Wolf.
Traded B. J. Armstrong, J. R. Reid and Glen Rice to the Los Angeles Lakers for Elden Campbell and Eddie Jones.
* March 16, 1999
Waived Travis Williams.
* March 17, 1999
Signed Corey Beck to the first of two 10-day contracts.
* April 6, 1999
Signed Corey Beck to a contract for the rest of the season.
Player Transactions Citation: