The worst thing about the 1998-99 NBA lockout was not seeing the Michael Jordan-less Chicago Bulls average 81.9 points a game for a full season! I’m obviously kidding about Kukoc’s Last Stand. The worst to me was being robbed of a couple of months of Vinsanity and White Chocolate highlights. Both of these players had me ready to hit record on the VCR every time their highlights came on SportsCenter, NBA2Night, Inside the NBA, and NBA Action (I miss these top 10 countdowns).
Since the season started mid-season, on February 5th of 1999, we also didn't get an All-Star game and possibly a Vince Carter appearance in the dunk contest a year before the epic 2000 one. Better yet, a possible dunk-off between Vince and 1997 Dunk champion Kobe Bryant!
Besides 32 extra games of Vince Carter pulling off in-game dunks we have never seen and Jason Williams throwing the ball off the back of Vlade Divac’s head, we were also robbed of some extra time to watch rookies like Dirk Nowitzki, Peja Stojakovic, and a headband-less Paul Pierce.
Here's what those future greats and/or fan favorites did in their NBA regular-season debuts:
- Vince Carter vs Celtics: 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block (5-11 FG, 0-1 3pt)
- Paul Pierce vs Raptors: 19 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks (7-14 FG, 2-4 3pt)
- Dirk Nowitzki vs Sonics: 2 points, 0 rebounds, 4 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks (0-5 FG, 0-1 3pt)
- Peja Stojakovic vs Spurs: 2 points, 1 rebound, 0 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks (1-6 FG, 0-3 3pt)
- Jason Williams vs Spurs: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals, 1 block (9-19 FG, 3-7 3pt)
VINSANITY
WHITE CHOCOLATE
DIRK
THE TRUTH
RICKY DAVIS
PEJA
THE 1998 NBA DRAFT
