1998–99 Phoenix Suns season

NBA team season March 2026 August 2023 Phoenix Suns 1999 27 23 pacific 4th 7th Danny Ainge Bryan Colangelo Jerry Colangelo America West Arena KUTPFox Sports ArizonaCox 9 KTAR First round (lost to Portland 0–3) PHO The 1998–99 Phoenix Suns season was the 31st season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association. Phoenix Suns Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/PHO/ August 9, 2026 Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50. CBS News.com Staff NBA: Let The Games Begin! CBS News January 6, 1999 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nba-let-the-games-begin/ December 15, 2022 Season summary Off-season During the off-season, the Suns signed free agent and All-Star forward Tom Gugliotta, Baum Bob Gugliotta Leaves Suns Without Deal Associated Press January 22, 1999 https://apnews.com/article/7d690e21dfa5c00b5dd7207a3d90a59c July 18, 2021 CBS News.com Staff Suns Acquire Tom Gugliotta CBS News January 23, 1999 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/suns-acquire-tom-gugliotta/ January 9, 2023 Associated Press Gugliotta Winds Up in Valley of the Sun Los Angeles Times January 24, 1999 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jan-24-sp-1302-story.html September 30, 2022 acquired Luc Longley from the Chicago Bulls, Broussard Chris Pro Basketball: Ruining of Bulls Begins in Earnest The New York Times January 20, 1999 https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/20/sports/pro-basketball-ruining-of-bulls-begins-in-earnest.html June 27, 2022 CBS News.com Staff Suns Sign Ex-Bull Luc Longley CBS News January 23, 1999 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/suns-sign-ex-bull-luc-longley/ June 21, 2023 Transactions The New York Times January 24, 1999 https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/24/sports/transactions-031321.html July 27, 2021 acquired rookie power forward Pat Garrity from the Dallas Mavericks on draft day, CBS News.com Staff Clippers Pick Olowokandi No. 1 CBS News June 24, 1998 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/clippers-pick-olowokandi-no-1/ July 3, 2023 Gardner Kris Steve Nash Dealt to Dallas The Houston Roundball Review June 24, 1998 https://www.thehrr.com/nba/trade_archive/062498nashdealt.html November 18, 2022 signed Chris Morris, and re-signed former Suns center Joe Kleine. Wise Mike Pro Basketball: A Scrum for the Title The New York Times February 4, 1999 https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/04/sports/pro-basketball-a-scrum-for-the-title.html June 28, 2022 Regular season With the addition of Gugliotta and Longley, the Suns got off to an 8–5 start to the regular season in February. However, the team soon fell below .500 in winning percentage by posting a 7–11 record in March. With a 15–18 record as of April 3, 1999, the Suns won 12 of their final 17 games of the season, and finished tied with the Sacramento Kings for third place in the Pacific Division with a 27–23 record, earning the seventh seed in the Western Conference; 1998–99 Phoenix Suns Schedule and Results Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/PHO/1999_games.html June 22, 2021 the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the eleventh consecutive year. Gugliotta averaged 17.0 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, while Jason Kidd averaged 16.9 points, 10.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game, Clifford Robinson provided with 16.4 points and 1.5 steals per game, and Rex Chapman contributed 12.1 points per game; Kidd was named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition, sixth man Danny Manning averaged 9.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game off the bench, while Longley provided the team with 8.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, George McCloud contributed 8.9 points per game and led the Suns with 69 three-point field goals, and Garrity contributed 5.6 points per game. 1998–99 Phoenix Suns Roster and Stats Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/PHO/1999.html June 22, 2021 Kidd finished in fifth place in Most Valuable Player voting, Staff and Wire Reports Malone MVP for Second Time Los Angeles Times June 4, 1999 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jun-04-sp-44217-story.html July 13, 2022 1998–99 NBA Awards Voting Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_1999.html January 2, 2022 while Robinson finished tied in seventh place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and also finished tied in tenth place in Most Improved Player voting. The Suns finished seventh in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 472,283 at the America West Arena during the regular season. 1998–99 NBA Season Summary Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1999.html October 9, 2025 NBA playoffs In the Western Conference First Round of the 1999 NBA playoffs, the Suns faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Pacific Division champion Portland Trail Blazers, who were led by Isaiah Rider, Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire. The Suns lost the first two games to the Trail Blazers on the road at the Rose Garden Arena, before losing Game 3 at home, 103–93 at the America West Arena, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep. Baum Bob Portland Sweeps Suns, 103-93 The Washington Post May 13, 1999 https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/nba/longterm/1999/playoffs/blazers13.htm June 3, 2022 Associated Press Pistons Enjoy Payback Win; Blazers Sweep Deseret News May 13, 1999 https://www.deseret.com/1999/5/13/19445216/pistons-enjoy-payback-win-blazers-sweep November 25, 2022 1999 NBA Western Conference First Round: Suns vs. Trail Blazers Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1999-nba-western-conference-first-round-suns-vs-trail-blazers.html February 9, 2023 It was the fourth consecutive year that the Suns lost in the opening round of the NBA playoffs. Aftermath Following the season, Manning and Garrity were both traded to the Orlando Magic, Associated Press Suns Sign Penny for 7 Years CBS News August 4, 1999 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/suns-sign-penny-for-7-years/ July 3, 2023 Associated Press Pro Basketball -- Phoenix: Haradaway Traded to the Suns The New York Times August 6, 1999 https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/06/sports/plus-pro-basketball-phoenix-haradaway-traded-to-the-suns.html July 18, 2021 Associated Press Magic's Gone, So Hardaway Traded Los Angeles Times August 6, 1999 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-aug-06-sp-63195-story.html July 1, 2022 who then traded Manning to the Milwaukee Bucks two weeks later, Associated Press Bucks & Magic 4-Player Trade CBS News August 19, 1999 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bucks-magic-4-player-trade/ July 3, 2023 Associated Press Plus: N.B.A. -- Milwaukee: Manning and Ellis Headed to Bucks The New York Times August 20, 1999 https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/20/sports/plus-nba-milwaukee-manning-and-ellis-headed-to-bucks.html December 31, 2021 Associated Press Magic Trades Ellis, Manning to Bucks Los Angeles Times August 20, 1999 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-aug-20-sp-2150-story.html November 30, 2022 while McCloud signed as a free agent with the Denver Nuggets, Wise Mike Pro Basketball: Oakley Talks to Knicks and Meets with Lakers The New York Times August 4, 1999 https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/04/sports/pro-basketball-oakley-talks-to-knicks-and-meets-with-lakers.html November 7, 2022 Associated Press NBA Teams Get Busy Trading and Signing Deseret News August 4, 1999 https://www.deseret.com/1999/8/4/19458947/nba-teams-get-busy-trading-and-signing July 3, 2023 Wise Mike 1999–2000 N.B.A. Preview: The West Is Still the Best The New York Times October 31, 1999 https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/31/sports/1999-2000-nba-preview-the-west-is-still-the-best.html June 8, 2022 Kleine signed with the Portland Trail Blazers, Associated Press Blazers Sign Joe Kleine CBS News October 7, 1999 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/blazers-sign-joe-kleine/ November 17, 2022 and Morris retired. Offseason NBA draft 1998 NBA draft This was the first year in franchise history that the Suns had no draft picks. Their first-round pick (which turned into Tyronn Lue) was traded to the Denver Nuggets the previous year in the Antonio McDyess deal,https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/luety01.html Tyronn Lue NBA & ABA Statistics basketball-reference.com and their second-round pick (which turned into Greg Buckner) was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1996 in the Jason Kidd deal.https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/buckngr01.html Greg Buckner NBA & ABA Statistics basketball-reference.com Roster Phoenix Suns 1998–99 #423189 #FFFFFF #FF8800 #000000 12 Toby Bailey G 6 6 213 1975–11–19 UCLA 4 Gerald Brown basketball G 6 4 210 1975–07–28 Pepperdine 3 Rex Chapman G 6 4 185 1967–10–05 Kentucky 8 Pat Garrity F 6 9 238 1976–08–23 Notre Dame 24 Tom Gugliotta F/C 6 10 240 1969–12–19 North Carolina State 32 Jason Kidd G 6 4 205 1973–03–23 California 35 Joe Kleine C 6 11 255 1962–01–04 Arkansas 2 Randy Livingston G 6 4 209 1975–04–02 LSU 17 Horacio Llamas C 6 11 285 1973–07–17 Grand Canyon yes 13 Luc Longley C 7 2 265 1969–01–19 New Mexico 15 Danny Manning F/C 6 10 230 1966–05–17 Kansas 21 George McCloud G/F 6 6 205 1967–05–27 Florida State 20 Marko Milič F 6 6 235 1977–05–07 Slovenia yes 34 Chris Morris basketball G/F 6 8 210 1966–01–20 Auburn 30 Clifford Robinson basketball, born 1966 F 6 10 225 1966–12–16 Connecticut Danny Ainge Frank Johnson Roger Reid Scott Skiles Regular season Standings PHO PHO Playoffs Game log Phoenix Suns yes 1999 #423189 #FF8800 Phoenix Suns First Round yes yes no #FF8800 #423189 0 1 0 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | May 8 | @ Portland | L 85–95 | Jason Kidd (17) | Tom Gugliotta (9) | Jason Kidd (7) | Rose Garden20,040 | 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | May 10 | @ Portland | L 99–110 | Garrity, McCloud (15) | Tom Gugliotta (9) | Jason Kidd (12) | Rose Garden20,588 | 0–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | May 12 | Portland | L 93–103 | Clifford Robinson (24) | Gugliotta, Robinson (7) | Jason Kidd (12) | America West Arena17,306 | 0–3 |- PHO yes 1999 Awards and honors Week/Month Jason Kidd was named Player of the Month for April. Jason Kidd was named Player of the Week for games played April 12 through April 18. All-Star All-Star weekend was cancelled due to the 1998–99 NBA lockout. Season Jason Kidd was named to the All-NBA First Team. Kidd also finished fifth in MVP voting. Jason Kidd was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Clifford Robinson finished seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and finished tenth in Most Improved Player voting. Jason Kidd led the league in assists per game with a 10.8 average, and total assists with 539. Jason Kidd led the league in minutes played with 2060. Player statistics Season PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG Bailey, Toby Toby Bailey 27 10 9.2 .395 .200 .692 2.0 0.5 .3 .1 2.9 Brown, Gerald Gerald Brown 33 0 7.2 .371 .300 .786 0.7 0.9 .2 .0 2.4 Chapman, Rex Rex Chapman 38 35 31.1 .359 .351 .835# 2.7 2.9 .9 .2 12.1 Garrity, Pat Pat Garrity 39 9 13.8 .500† .389 .714 1.9 0.5 .2 .1 5.6 Gugliotta, Tom Tom Gugliotta 43 43 36.3 .483 .286 .794 8.9 2.8 1.4 .5 17.0 Kidd, Jason Jason Kidd 50 50 41.2 .444 .366 .757 6.8 10.8 2.3 .4 16.9 Kleine, Joe Joe Kleine 31 5 12.1 .405 .000 .667 2.2 0.4 .3 .0 2.2 Livingston, Randy Randy Livingston 1 0 22.0 .625† . 1.000# 2.0 3.0 2.0 .0 12.0 Longley, Luc Luc Longley 39 39 23.9 .483 . .776 5.7 1.2 .6 .5 8.7 Manning, Danny Danny Manning 50 5 23.7 .484† .111 .696 4.4 2.3 .7 .8 9.1 McCloud, George George McCloud 48 16 25.9 .438 .416 .862# 3.4 1.6 .9 .3 8.9 Milič, Marko Marko Milič 11 0 4.8 .400 .000 . 0.5 0.2 .3 .1 1.5 Morris, Chris Chris Morris 44 2 12.2 .430 .286 .870# 2.8 0.5 .4 .3 4.2 Oliver, Jimmy Jimmy Oliver 2 0 5.5 .333 1.000^ . 0.0 0.0 .0 .0 1.5 Respert, Shawn Shawn Respert 12 1 8.3 .361 .308 .700 1.1 0.7 .4 .0 3.1 Robinson, Clifford Clifford Robinson 50 35 34.8 .475 .417^ .697 4.5 2.6 1.5 1.2 16.4 Sims, Alvin Alvin Sims 4 0 6.3 .400 1.000^ .400 1.0 1.3 .5 .0 2.8 † – Minimum 183 field goals made. ^ – Minimum 34 three-pointers made. # – Minimum 76 free throws made. Playoffs PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG Brown, Gerald Gerald Brown 1 0 1.0 1.000 . . 0.0 0.0 .0 .0 2.0 Chapman, Rex Rex Chapman 3 3 19.0 .286 .333 .750 2.0 2.0 .3 .0 5.7 Garrity, Pat Pat Garrity 3 0 17.3 .529 1.000^ 1.000# 3.0 0.3 .3 .3 9.0 Gugliotta, Tom Tom Gugliotta 3 3 39.3 .371 . .750 8.3 3.3 1.3 1.0 10.7 Kidd, Jason Jason Kidd 3 3 42.0 .419 .250 .714 2.3 10.3 1.7 .3 15.0 Kleine, Joe Joe Kleine 1 0 5.0 .500 . . 1.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 2.0 Livingston, Randy Randy Livingston 3 0 8.0 .400 .000 1.000# 2.3 0.7 .3 .0 5.3 Longley, Luc Luc Longley 3 2 17.0 .167 . . 3.0 0.3 1.0 .0 1.3 Manning, Danny Danny Manning 3 1 26.3 .583 . .769# 1.7 2.0 1.3 .0 12.7 McCloud, George George McCloud 3 0 26.7 .433 .450^ .700 4.3 0.7 1.7 .0 14.0 Morris, Chris Chris Morris 1 0 10.0 1.000 1.000^ .000 1.0 0.0 .0 .0 5.0 Robinson, Clifford Clifford Robinson 3 3 39.0 .475 .222 .636 5.3 2.7 2.0 .3 15.7 ^ – Minimum 5 three-pointers made. # – Minimum 10 free throws made. Player statistics citation: Transactions Trades June 24, 1998 To Los Angeles Lakers Future considerations To Phoenix Suns Rights to USA Toby Bailey June 24, 1998 To Dallas Mavericks USA Steve Nash To Phoenix Suns EST Martin Müürsepp USA Bubba Wells Rights to USA Pat Garrity 1999 first-round draft pick (USA Shawn Marion) January 23, 1999 To Chicago Bulls USA Mark Bryant EST Martin Müürsepp USA Bubba Wells 1999 first-round draft pick (USA Ron Artest) To Phoenix Suns AUS Luc Longley Free agents Additions Date Player Contract Former Team January 22, 1999 George McCloud Re-signed to 1-year contract for $750,000 Phoenix Suns January 22, 1999 Horacio Llamas Re-signed to 1-year contract for $425,000 Phoenix Suns January 22, 1999 James Collins Undisclosed Jacksonville Barracudas (USBL) January 22, 1999 Joe Kleine Signed to 1-year contract for $1 million Phoenix Suns January 22, 1999 Marko Milič Re-signed to 1-year contract for $350,000 Phoenix Suns January 22, 1999 Tom Gugliotta Signed to 6-year contract for $58.5 million Minnesota Timberwolves January 24, 1999 Jamie Feick Undisclosed Milwaukee Bucks January 25, 1999 Clifford Robinson Re-signed to 1-year contract for $3.5 million Portland Trail Blazers January 25, 1999 Gerald Brown Signed to 1-year contract for $287,500 January 25, 1999 Rex Chapman Re-signed to 6-year contract for $22.1 million Phoenix Suns January 29, 1999 Shawn Respert Signed to 1-year contract Phoenix Suns February 3, 1999 Chris Morris Signed to 1-year contract for $1 million Utah Jazz March 3, 1999 Jimmy Oliver Signed 10-day contract Ducato Siena (Italy) April 28, 1999 Alvin Sims Signed for rest of season May 4, 1999 Randy Livingston Signed for rest of season Atlanta Hawks Subtractions Date Player Reason left New team May 18, 1998 Kevin Johnson Renounced rights Phoenix Suns January 21, 1999 Mike Brown Free agent Olympiacos (Greece) January 22, 1999 Antonio McDyess Free agent Denver Nuggets January 22, 1999 Loren Meyer Free agent Denver Nuggets January 22, 1999 John "Hot Rod" Williams Free agent Dallas Mavericks January 24, 1999 Dennis Scott Free agent New York Knicks January 29, 1999 Jamie Feick Waived Milwaukee Bucks February 2, 1999 James Collins Waived La Crosse Bobcats (CBA) March 2, 1999 Shawn Respert Waived Adecco Milano (Italy) April 7, 1999 Jimmy Oliver Waived Iraklio (Greece) May 4, 1999 Alvin Sims Waived Player Transactions Citation:1998–99 Phoenix Suns Transactions Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/PHO/1999_transactions.html July 2, 2021 References Standings on Basketball Reference Category:Phoenix Suns seasons Phoenix