# 1998–99 Philadelphia 76ers season

The 1998–99 NBA season was the 76ers' 50th season in the National Basketball Association, and 36th season in Philadelphia. Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50.
The Sixers had the eighth overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, and selected Larry Hughes out of Saint Louis University. In the off-season, the Sixers signed free agents Matt Geiger, George Lynch and Harvey Grant, and later on re-signed former 76ers forward Rick Mahorn in late February. At midseason, they traded second-year forward Tim Thomas and Scott Williams to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Tyrone Hill. The Sixers won six straight games after a 4–5 start, and had their first winning month in five years winning 8 of 13 games in February, on their way to making the playoffs for the first time in eight years with a 28–22 record, third in the Atlantic Division.
After playing point guard for the previous two seasons, Allen Iverson moved into the shooting guard position, and led the league in scoring averaging 26.8 points, 4.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game, and was selected to the All-NBA First Team. In addition, Geiger averaged 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while Theo Ratliff provided the team with 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and Hughes contributed 9.1 points per game off the bench. Eric Snow became the team's starting point guard, and provided with 8.6 points, 6.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game, and Lynch averaged 8.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
Iverson also finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Snow finished in second place in Most Improved Player voting, and head coach Larry Brown finished in second place in Coach of the Year voting.
In the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs, and Iverson's first ever playoff appearance, the Sixers defeated the 3rd–seeded Orlando Magic in four games, in which Iverson recorded a playoff career-high of ten steals in a 97–85 Game 3 home win over the Magic. However, the Sixers were swept in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals by the Indiana Pacers in four straight games.
Following the season, Grant and second-year guard Anthony Parker were both traded to the Orlando Magic, who released Grant to free agency, and Mahorn retired after playing in his second stint with the 76ers.

## Offseason
### Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 8 | Larry Hughes | SG | United States | Saint Louis University |
| 2 | 37 | Casey Shaw | C | United States | University of Toledo |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Atlantic Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
| c-Miami Heat | 33 | 17 | .660 | – | 18‍–‍7 | 15‍–‍10 | 12–8 | 50 |
| x-Orlando Magic | 33 | 17 | .660 | – | 21‍–‍4 | 12‍–‍13 | 12–6 | 50 |
| x-Philadelphia 76ers | 28 | 22 | .560 | 5.0 | 17‍–‍8 | 11‍–‍14 | 9–10 | 50 |
| x-New York Knicks | 27 | 23 | .540 | 6.0 | 19‍–‍6 | 8‍–‍17 | 12–8 | 50 |
| Boston Celtics | 19 | 31 | .380 | 14.0 | 10‍–‍15 | 9‍–‍16 | 10–9 | 50 |
| Washington Wizards | 18 | 32 | .360 | 15.0 | 13‍–‍12 | 5‍–‍20 | 6–13 | 50 |
| New Jersey Nets | 16 | 34 | .320 | 17.0 | 12‍–‍13 | 4‍–‍21 | 6–13 | 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 |
    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 | — |

## Playoffs

1999 playoff game log :
First Round: 3–1 (home: 2–0; road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
May 9
@ Orlando
W 104–90
Allen Iverson (30)
George Lynch (12)
Allen Iverson (7)
Orlando Arena 15,267
1–0
2
May 11
@ Orlando
L 68–79
Allen Iverson (13)
Theo Ratliff (8)
George Lynch (6)
Orlando Arena 16,345
1–1
3
May 13
Orlando
W 97–85
Allen Iverson (33)
Tyrone Hill (9)
Eric Snow (8)
First Union Center 20,874
2–1
4
May 15
Orlando
W 101–91
Allen Iverson (37)
George Lynch (10)
Allen Iverson (9)
First Union Center 20,550
3–1 :
Conference semifinals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
May 17
@ Indiana
L 90–94
Allen Iverson (35)
Matt Geiger (11)
Eric Snow (10)
Market Square Arena 16,723
0–1
2
May 19
@ Indiana
L 82–85
Allen Iverson (23)
Theo Ratliff (12)
Eric Snow (6)
Market Square Arena 16,795
0–2
3
May 21
Indiana
L 86–97
Allen Iverson (32)
Tyrone Hill (12)
Eric Snow (9)
First Union Center 20,930
0–3
4
May 23
Indiana
L 86–89
Allen Iverson (25)
Matt Geiger (13)
Eric Snow (7)
First Union Center 20,844
0–4 :
1999 schedule :

## Player statistics
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Benoit Benjamin | 6 | 0 | 5.5 | .286 | | | 1.3 | .2 | .0 | .0 | .7 |
| Matt Geiger | 50 | 40 | 30.8 | .479 | .200 | .797 | 7.2 | 1.2 | .8 | .8 | 13.5 |
| Harvey Grant | 47 | 10 | 17.0 | .369 | .167 | .724 | 2.3 | .5 | .4 | .3 | 3.1 |
| Tyrone Hill$^†$ | 21 | 6 | 28.0 | .480 | | .507 | 7.3 | .9 | .8 | .4 | 8.5 |
| Jerald Honeycutt$^†$ | 13 | 0 | 6.9 | .259 | .357 | .750 | .8 | .2 | .3 | .2 | 1.9 |
| Larry Hughes | 50 | 1 | 19.8 | .411 | .154 | .709 | 3.8 | 1.5 | .9 | .3 | 9.1 |
| Allen Iverson | 48 | 48 | 41.5 | .412 | .291 | .751 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 2.3 | .1 | 26.8 |
| George Lynch | 43 | 43 | 30.6 | .421 | .391 | .631 | 6.5 | 1.8 | 2.0 | .5 | 8.3 |
| Rick Mahorn | 16 | 0 | 7.9 | .278 | | .375 | 1.4 | .1 | .3 | .1 | .8 |
| Aaron McKie | 50 | 4 | 19.2 | .401 | .194 | .710 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.3 | .1 | 4.8 |
| Nazr Mohammed | 26 | 0 | 4.7 | .357 | | .571 | 1.4 | .1 | .2 | .2 | 1.6 |
| Doug Overton$^†$ | 10 | 0 | 3.7 | .333 | .000 | | .2 | .4 | .1 | .0 | 1.0 |
| Anthony Parker | 2 | 0 | 1.5 | 1.000 | | | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.0 |
| Theo Ratliff | 50 | 50 | 32.5 | .470 | | .725 | 8.1 | .6 | .9 | 3.0 | 11.2 |
| Casey Shaw | 9 | 0 | 1.6 | .125 | | | .3 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .2 |
| Eric Snow | 48 | 48 | 35.8 | .428 | .238 | .733 | 3.4 | 6.3 | 2.1 | .0 | 8.6 |
| Tim Thomas$^†$ | 17 | 0 | 11.1 | .403 | .263 | .792 | 1.9 | .9 | .2 | .2 | 4.6 |
| Scott Williams$^†$ | 2 | 0 | 8.5 | .000 | | | 1.0 | .5 | 1.0 | .5 | .0 |

### Playoffs

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Matt Geiger | 8 | 8 | 29.9 | .438 | .000 | .828 | 7.6 | .8 | 1.1 | .8 | 13.5 |
| Harvey Grant | 4 | 0 | 7.3 | 1.000 | | | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .3 | .5 |
| Tyrone Hill | 8 | 1 | 24.5 | .487 | | .368 | 7.4 | .0 | .4 | .3 | 5.6 |
| Jerald Honeycutt | 6 | 0 | 2.0 | .200 | .000 | | .2 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .3 |
| Larry Hughes | 8 | 2 | 24.8 | .403 | .000 | .833 | 4.6 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 10.3 |
| Allen Iverson | 8 | 8 | 44.8 | .411 | .283 | .712 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 2.5 | .3 | 28.5 |
| George Lynch | 8 | 6 | 31.1 | .446 | .333 | .706 | 6.6 | 2.0 | 2.3 | .3 | 9.0 |
| Rick Mahorn | 5 | 0 | 5.8 | .333 | | .500 | 1.6 | .2 | .2 | .0 | 1.0 |
| Aaron McKie | 6 | 0 | 16.2 | .304 | .000 | .857 | 2.5 | 1.8 | .7 | .0 | 3.3 |
| Nazr Mohammed | 3 | 0 | 1.0 | | | | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
| Theo Ratliff | 7 | 7 | 29.1 | .465 | | .579 | 7.3 | .9 | .7 | 2.6 | 7.3 |
| Eric Snow | 8 | 8 | 38.3 | .420 | .231 | .815 | 4.1 | 7.1 | 1.0 | .1 | 12.4 |
* $^†$ Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the 7ers only.

## Awards and records

* Allen Iverson, All-NBA First Team
* Theo Ratliff, NBA All-Defensive Second Team