# 1998–99 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 1998–99 NBA season was the 29th season of the National Basketball Association in Cleveland, Ohio. Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50.
In the off-season, the Cavaliers re-signed free agent Johnny Newman, who previously played for the team during the 1986–87 season. However, the Cavaliers' playoff hopes were dashed as second-year star Zydrunas Ilgauskas broke his left foot after only playing just five games, averaging 15.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. At midseason, the team traded Vitaly Potapenko to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Andrew DeClercq, and signed free agent Corie Blount, who was previously released by the Los Angeles Lakers. With a 21–18 record in mid April, the Cavaliers struggled as they went on a 7-game losing streak, and lost ten of their final eleven games, finishing 7th in the Central Division with a 22–28 record, missing the playoffs.
Shawn Kemp led the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 20.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, while Wesley Person averaged 11.2 points per game, and second-year guard Derek Anderson provided the team with 10.8 points per game off the bench. In addition, second-year guard Brevin Knight contributed 9.6 points, 7.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game, while second-year forward Cedric Henderson provided with 9.1 points per game, and Danny Ferry contributed 7.0 points per game off the bench. However, Kemp was a shell of his former self as he reported to practice, weighing 315 lbs, and according to the team's General Manager Wayne Embry, the league listed him at 280.
Following the season, head coach Mike Fratello was fired after spending six seasons with the team, while Anderson and Newman were both traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, who then dealt Newman back to the New Jersey Nets, and Blount signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns.
Key Dates:

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club Team |
| 2 | 48 | Ryan Stack | Center | United States | South Carolina |
* 1st round pick (#19) traded to Milwaukee in Sherman Douglas deal. Used to draft Pat Garrity.

## 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 | — |

## Game log

1998–99 game log Total: 22–28 (Home: 15–10; Road: 7–18) :
February: 5–6 (home: 4–3; road: 1–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1February 5, 1999@ Atlanta
L 83–100
Georgia Dome 19,806
0–1
2February 6, 1999@ Boston
L 73–77
FleetCenter 18,173
0–2 :
March: 9–8 (home: 6–2; road: 3–6)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
13March 2, 1999Boston
W 116–99
Gund Arena 12,906
6–7
24March 23, 1999Boston
W 113–86
Gund Arena 15,810
13–11 :
April: 8–11 (home: 5–4; road: 3–7)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
35April 10, 1999Atlanta
W 81–67
Gund Arena 13,859
18–17
36April 12, 1999@ Boston
L 89–103
FleetCenter 15,622
18–18 :
May: 0–3 (home: 0–1; road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
48May 2, 1999Atlanta
W 65–76
Gund Arena 12,690
22–26 :
1998–99 schedule :

## Player stats
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Shawn Kemp | 42 | 42 | 35.1 | 48.2 | 50.0 | 78.9 | 9.2 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 20.5 |
| Zydrunas Ilgauskas | 5 | 5 | 34.2 | 50.9 | 0.0 | 60.0 | 8.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 15.2 |
| Wesley Person | 45 | 42 | 29.8 | 45.3 | 37.5 | 60.4 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 11.2 |
| Derek Anderson | 38 | 13 | 25.7 | 39.8 | 30.4 | 83.6 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 10.8 |
| Brevin Knight | 39 | 38 | 30.4 | 42.5 | 0.0 | 74.5 | 3.4 | 7.7 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 9.6 |
| Cedric Henderson | 50 | 48 | 30.3 | 41.7 | 16.7 | 81.3 | 3.9 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 9.1 |
| Andrew DeClercq | 33 | 31 | 25.6 | 50.2 | 0.0 | 67.9 | 5.8 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 9.0 |
| Vitaly Potapenko | 17 | 12 | 27.5 | 43.7 | 0.0 | 67.3 | 5.5 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 8.4 |
| Danny Ferry | 50 | 10 | 21.2 | 47.6 | 39.2 | 87.9 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 7.0 |
| Johnny Newman | 50 | 2 | 19.0 | 42.2 | 37.7 | 81.0 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 6.1 |
| Mitchell Butler | 31 | 1 | 13.5 | 48.2 | 37.9 | 71.9 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 5.4 |
| Bob Sura | 50 | 6 | 16.8 | 33.3 | 20.0 | 63.1 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 4.3 |
| Corie Blount | 20 | 0 | 18.4 | 34.3 | 0.0 | 52.4 | 5.3 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 3.4 |
| Ryan Stack | 18 | 0 | 11.1 | 37.8 | 0.0 | 95.0 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 2.6 |
| Earl Boykins | 17 | 0 | 10.0 | 34.5 | 15.4 | 66.7 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.6 |
| Antonio Lang | 10 | 0 | 6.5 | 66.7 | 0.0 | 55.6 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1.3 |
| Litterial Green | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Player Statistics Citation: