Ryan
I like turtles
I found this on NBA.com; looks like the Kings were the highlight of the season.
http://www.nba.com/history/season/19981999.html
Spurs Tower Over NBA
David Robinson and Tim Duncan hoist the spoils over victory. (Ray Amati/NBA Photos)
A new feeling arrived in Sacramento during the 1998-99 NBA season: Optimism. Not surprisingly, Kings fans, who were not only thrilled with the Kings' exciting playoff performance but also encouraged about the future, embraced it.
For the first time in 14 years in Sacramento, the Kings finished with regular-season record that was better than .500, and they did it with a flare that captured the league's attention. Only inexperience and a John Stockton 20-foot jump shot with seven-tenths of a second left in Game 4 prevented them from knocking off the No. 3, seed Utah Jazz. The Kings had a 2-1 series lead, and had Stockton missed, they would have advanced to the second round. Instead, the Jazz went on to win the fifth game and the first-round series.
That, however, did not dim the enthusiasm in Sacramento. Forward Chris Webber, who came to Sacramento from Washington during the offseason, led the NBA in rebounds with 13 per game; rookie point guard Jason Williams was scintillating, bringing an electrifying, creative approach to the game that was reminiscent of a few moves not seen since the retirements of Pete Maravich, Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas; and Vlade Divac was solid in the middle. The Kings had a lot of fun, and were a lot of fun to watch. And their future is brighter than it has ever been in Sacramento.
Still, in the end, the 1998-99 NBA season will be remembered as the year Tim Duncan and David Robinson led the San Antonio Spurs to the first championship in franchise history, a 4-1 Finals victory over the New York Knicks.
The Knicks had become the first eighth-seeded team in NBA history to advance to the Finals, defeating Miami, Atlanta and Indiana in earlier rounds.
For veteran players like Robinson, Sean Elliott, and Avery Johnson (three long-time Spurs), the championship meant even more.
It goes a long ways towards fulfilling a lot of [my NBA] dreams," Robinson said. " You know that one big goal that I had, achieving that goal, has been met. Now I have to set new goals and new things, and if this was easy, though, it really wouldn't be worth the journey, and that's what makes it so special. You go through all those hard times, you get through all the creases and everything else, then you're able to finally get it done. And it's satisfying."
Johnson, for his part, was the hero in the Spurs' title-clinching win at Madison Square Garden by knocking down an 18-foot baseline jumper with 47 seconds to give San Antonio a 78-77 victory.
"It's funny," Johnson said. "When we signed Steve Kerr and I met him the first time and I had not met him, but got a chance to talk to him in training camp. That's one of the first questions I asked him, about hitting the big shots against Utah. He said it's unbelievable, an unbelievable feeling. But the main thing is you have to know you're going to shoot it. Don't hesitate, shoot it, let it go, get to the spots where you like to operate. I got right there within 18 feet, which is where I like to operate, and it felt good."
Finals MVP Duncan was feeling good all season. The playoffs offered a chance to prove he has become the best player in the league. And after his postseason performance, few observers would argue that notion.
After Game 5 Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said of Duncan: "Getting ready for them in preparation, watching a lot of film, he's obviously the best player in the NBA right now. Not just because of his skill level, I think his maturity, knowledge of the game, that he just cares about winning. You can just watch a guy play and know if he's truly into winning or not. That guy's truly into winning."
With a 37-13 regular-season record and a dominating march to the NBA title, the same thing should be said about the entire 1998-99 Spurs team.
http://www.nba.com/history/season/19981999.html
Spurs Tower Over NBA
A new feeling arrived in Sacramento during the 1998-99 NBA season: Optimism. Not surprisingly, Kings fans, who were not only thrilled with the Kings' exciting playoff performance but also encouraged about the future, embraced it.
For the first time in 14 years in Sacramento, the Kings finished with regular-season record that was better than .500, and they did it with a flare that captured the league's attention. Only inexperience and a John Stockton 20-foot jump shot with seven-tenths of a second left in Game 4 prevented them from knocking off the No. 3, seed Utah Jazz. The Kings had a 2-1 series lead, and had Stockton missed, they would have advanced to the second round. Instead, the Jazz went on to win the fifth game and the first-round series.
That, however, did not dim the enthusiasm in Sacramento. Forward Chris Webber, who came to Sacramento from Washington during the offseason, led the NBA in rebounds with 13 per game; rookie point guard Jason Williams was scintillating, bringing an electrifying, creative approach to the game that was reminiscent of a few moves not seen since the retirements of Pete Maravich, Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas; and Vlade Divac was solid in the middle. The Kings had a lot of fun, and were a lot of fun to watch. And their future is brighter than it has ever been in Sacramento.
Still, in the end, the 1998-99 NBA season will be remembered as the year Tim Duncan and David Robinson led the San Antonio Spurs to the first championship in franchise history, a 4-1 Finals victory over the New York Knicks.
The Knicks had become the first eighth-seeded team in NBA history to advance to the Finals, defeating Miami, Atlanta and Indiana in earlier rounds.
For veteran players like Robinson, Sean Elliott, and Avery Johnson (three long-time Spurs), the championship meant even more.
It goes a long ways towards fulfilling a lot of [my NBA] dreams," Robinson said. " You know that one big goal that I had, achieving that goal, has been met. Now I have to set new goals and new things, and if this was easy, though, it really wouldn't be worth the journey, and that's what makes it so special. You go through all those hard times, you get through all the creases and everything else, then you're able to finally get it done. And it's satisfying."
Johnson, for his part, was the hero in the Spurs' title-clinching win at Madison Square Garden by knocking down an 18-foot baseline jumper with 47 seconds to give San Antonio a 78-77 victory.
"It's funny," Johnson said. "When we signed Steve Kerr and I met him the first time and I had not met him, but got a chance to talk to him in training camp. That's one of the first questions I asked him, about hitting the big shots against Utah. He said it's unbelievable, an unbelievable feeling. But the main thing is you have to know you're going to shoot it. Don't hesitate, shoot it, let it go, get to the spots where you like to operate. I got right there within 18 feet, which is where I like to operate, and it felt good."
Finals MVP Duncan was feeling good all season. The playoffs offered a chance to prove he has become the best player in the league. And after his postseason performance, few observers would argue that notion.
After Game 5 Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said of Duncan: "Getting ready for them in preparation, watching a lot of film, he's obviously the best player in the NBA right now. Not just because of his skill level, I think his maturity, knowledge of the game, that he just cares about winning. You can just watch a guy play and know if he's truly into winning or not. That guy's truly into winning."
With a 37-13 regular-season record and a dominating march to the NBA title, the same thing should be said about the entire 1998-99 Spurs team.
