1999–2000 NBA season
The 1999–2000 NBA season was the 54th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA championship, beating the Indiana Pacers 4 games to 2 in the 2000 NBA Finals. This would also be Charles Barkley’s final season in the NBA.
1999–2000 NBA season | |
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League | National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration |
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Number of teams | 29 |
TV partner(s) | NBC, TBS, TNT |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Elton Brand |
Picked by | Chicago Bulls |
Regular season | |
Top seed | Los Angeles Lakers |
Season MVP | Shaquille O'Neal (L.A. Lakers) |
Top scorer | Shaquille O'Neal (L.A. Lakers) |
Playoffs | |
Eastern champions | Indiana Pacers |
Eastern runners-up | New York Knicks |
Western champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
Western runners-up | Portland Trail Blazers |
Finals | |
Champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
Runners-up | Indiana Pacers |
Finals MVP | Shaquille O'Neal (L.A. Lakers) |
Notable occurrences
Offseason | ||
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Team | 1998–99 coach | 1999–2000 coach |
Cleveland Cavaliers | Mike Fratello | Randy Wittman |
Denver Nuggets | Mike D'Antoni | Dan Issel |
Los Angeles Lakers | Kurt Rambis | Phil Jackson |
Orlando Magic | Chuck Daly | Doc Rivers |
Washington Wizards | Jim Brovelli | Gar Heard |
In-season | ||
Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
Detroit Pistons | Alvin Gentry | George Irvine |
Golden State Warriors | P.J. Carlesimo | Garry St. Jean |
Los Angeles Clippers | Chris Ford | Jim Todd |
Phoenix Suns | Danny Ainge | Scott Skiles |
Vancouver Grizzlies | Brian Hill | Lionel Hollins |
Washington Wizards | Gar Heard | Darrell Walker |
- Effective this season, the first game of the NBA regular season begins on either the first Tuesday of November or the last Tuesday of October, and the last game on the third Wednesday of April. The NBA playoffs begin on the third Saturday of April.
- The 2000 NBA All-Star Game was held in Oakland, California. The West won 137–126. Tim Duncan from the San Antonio Spurs and Shaquille O'Neal from the Los Angeles Lakers shared the game's MVP honors. The Slam Dunk Contest returned after a two-year absence, with Vince Carter winning the title in what is considered to be the best Dunk Contest performance of all time.
- Both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers played their first games at Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena). The Lakers would also go on to win 19 consecutive games between February 4, 2000, and March 16, 2000, the sixth-longest winning streak in NBA history.
- Staples Center's first season saw its tenants at two opposite ends of the league: the Lakers finished with a best regular season record of 67–15 and the NBA title, while the Clippers finished 15–67, the worst of the season.
- The Denver Nuggets played their first season at Pepsi Center (now Ball Arena).
- The Indiana Pacers played their first season at Conseco Fieldhouse (now Gainbridge Fieldhouse).
- The Indiana Pacers advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.
- The Atlanta Hawks played their first season at Philips Arena (now State Farm Arena).
- The Miami Heat started the season playing their home games at Miami Arena. In January, they played their first game at the American Airlines Arena (now Miami-Dade Arena).
- The Toronto Raptors played their first full season at Air Canada Centre (now Scotiabank Arena). They also made the playoffs for the first time, becoming the first Canadian team to do so.
- During Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, the Portland Trail Blazers held a 75–60 lead over the Los Angeles Lakers with 10:28 left to play. During the fourth quarter, the Blazers would miss thirteen consecutive shots, allowing the Lakers to claw back and take the game, 89–84. The game was capped off with a famous alley-oop to Shaquille O'Neal from Kobe Bryant.
- Two active players were killed in automobile accidents within four months of each other. On January 12, Bobby Phills of the Charlotte Hornets was killed as a result of reckless driving while racing against teammate David Wesley. On May 20, Malik Sealy of the Minnesota Timberwolves was driving home from a birthday party being held for Kevin Garnett when his SUV was struck by a drunk driver who had been driving on the wrong side of the road. Phills would have his jersey retired during the season after news of his unexpected death was announced, while Sealy would have his jersey retired after this season concluded.
- San Antonio Spurs forward Sean Elliott was sidelined for most of the season while undergoing kidney transplant operations. He successfully returned on March 13, becoming the first player to return following kidney transplant.
- The Boston Celtics officially retired their trademark parquet floor on December 22, 1999, after 54 years. The floor would be replaced by a replica combining elements of the old floor and new wooden sections.
- Doc Rivers became the first recipient of the NBA Coach of the Year Award to have not led his team to the playoffs. He coached the Orlando Magic to a respectable 41–41 (.500) record, good enough for the 9th seed in the East.
- The season marked Patrick Ewing's last in a New York Knicks uniform. He was traded during the 2000 offseason to the Seattle SuperSonics in a four-team deal.
- Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain died on October 12, 1999, at 63. Wilt's former teams, the Lakers, Sixers, and Warriors honored him by sporting black patches for the rest of the season.
- Kevin Johnson returned from retirement to replace the injured Jason Kidd of Phoenix Suns in this season's playoffs, but the Suns fell to the Lakers in the second round and Johnson would retire again.
- 36-year-old Houston Rockets forward Charles Barkley suffered a devastating injury early in the season but returned for a final game before retiring.
1999–2000 NBA changes
- The Atlanta Hawks moved into the Philips Arena and changed their uniforms added white (road), and red (home) side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
- The Cleveland Cavaliers changed their uniforms, removing the blue areas from their jerseys.
- The Denver Nuggets moved into the Pepsi Center.
- The Detroit Pistons added new maroon alternate uniforms added black side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
- The Indiana Pacers moved into Conseco Fieldhouse, now Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
- The Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers both moved into the Staples Center, now Crypto.com Arena, while the Lakers changed their uniforms added gold (road), and purple (home) side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
- The Miami Heat changed their logo and uniforms added dark red (road), and also dark red (home) side panels to their jerseys and shorts, and moved into the AmericanAirlines Arena in January 2000 (now Miami-Dade Arena).
- The Philadelphia 76ers added new blue alternate uniforms.
- The Seattle SuperSonics added new red alternate uniforms added dark green side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
- The Toronto Raptors changed their uniforms removing the pinstripes added side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
Final standings
By division
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By conference
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Notes
- z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
- c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
- y – Clinched division title
- x – Clinched playoff spot
Playoffs
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.
First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
E1 | Indiana* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
E8 | Milwaukee | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
E1 | Indiana* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E5 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
E4 | Charlotte | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
E5 | Philadelphia | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
E1 | Indiana* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
E3 | New York | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
E3 | New York | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
E6 | Toronto | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
E3 | New York | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E2 | Miami* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
E2 | Miami* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
E7 | Detroit | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
E1 | Indiana* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
W1 | LA Lakers* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
W8 | Sacramento | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
W5 | Phoenix | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
W4 | San Antonio | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
W5 | Phoenix | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
W3 | Portland | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
W3 | Portland | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
W6 | Minnesota | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
W3 | Portland | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
W2 | Utah* | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
W2 | Utah* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
W7 | Seattle | 2 |
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage
Statistics leaders
Category | Player | Team | Stat |
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Points per game | Shaquille O'Neal | Los Angeles Lakers | 29.7 |
Rebounds per game | Dikembe Mutombo | Atlanta Hawks | 14.1 |
Assists per game | Jason Kidd | Phoenix Suns | 10.1 |
Steals per game | Eddie Jones | Charlotte Hornets | 2.67 |
Blocks per game | Alonzo Mourning | Miami Heat | 3.72 |
FG% | Shaquille O'Neal | Los Angeles Lakers | .574 |
FT% | Jeff Hornacek | Utah Jazz | .950 |
3FG% | Hubert Davis | Dallas Mavericks | .491 |
NBA awards
- Most Valuable Player: Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers
- Co-Rookies of the Year: Elton Brand, Chicago Bulls; Steve Francis, Houston Rockets
- Defensive Player of the Year: Alonzo Mourning, Miami Heat
- Sixth Man of the Year: Rodney Rogers, Phoenix Suns
- Most Improved Player: Jalen Rose, Indiana Pacers
- Coach of the Year: Doc Rivers, Orlando Magic
- Executive of the Year: John Gabriel, Orlando Magic
- Sportsmanship Award: Eric Snow, Philadelphia 76ers
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Players of the month
The following players were named the Players of the Month.
Month | Player |
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October – November | Shaquille O'Neal (Los Angeles Lakers) |
December | Alonzo Mourning (Miami Heat) |
January | Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves) |
February | Shaquille O'Neal (Los Angeles Lakers) |
March | Shaquille O'Neal (Los Angeles Lakers) |
April | Gary Payton (Seattle SuperSonics) |
Rookies of the month
The following players were named the Rookies of the Month.
Month | Player |
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October – November | Adrian Griffin (Boston Celtics) Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Clippers) |
December | Steve Francis (Houston Rockets) |
January | Elton Brand (Chicago Bulls) |
February | Elton Brand (Chicago Bulls) |
March | Steve Francis (Houston Rockets) |
April | Elton Brand (Chicago Bulls) Steve Francis (Houston Rockets) |
Coaches of the month
The following coaches were named Coaches of the Month.
Month | Coach |
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October – November | Mike Dunleavy (Portland Trail Blazers) |
December | Phil Jackson (Los Angeles Lakers) |
January | Flip Saunders (Minnesota Timberwolves) |
February | Phil Jackson (Los Angeles Lakers) |
March | Jerry Sloan (Utah Jazz) |
April | Paul Silas (Charlotte Hornets) |
Notes
- Entered the NBA as Ron Artest before changing his name in 2011.