1998–99 Denver Nuggets season

1998–99 Denver Nuggets season
Head coach	Mike D'Antoni
Arena	McNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record	14–36 (.280)
Place	Division: 6th (Midwest) Conference: 13th (Western)
Playoff finish	DNQ
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports Rocky Mountain, KWGN

The 1998-99 NBA season was the Nuggets' 23rd season in the NBA and 32nd season as a franchise. Despite the return of Antonio McDyess after playing one year with the Phoenix Suns, and acquiring Nick Van Exel from the Los Angeles Lakers, the Nuggets continued to struggle under new head coach Mike D'Antonio as rookie Raef LaFrentz struggled with injuries only playing 12 games. The Nuggets finished sixth in the Midwest Division with a 14-36 record. This was also their final season playing at McNichols Sports Arena.

Draft picks

Main article: 1998 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	3	Raef LaFrentz	PF/C	United States	Kansas
1	23	Tyronn Lue	PG	United States	Nebraska
2	54	Tremaine Fowlkes	SF	United States	Fresno State
2	55	Ryan Bowen	PF	United States	Iowa

Roster

Denver Nuggets roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From PG 7 Alexander, Cory 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Virginia SG 4 Billups, Chauncey 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 202 lb (92 kg) Colorado PF 13 Clark, Keon 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) UNLV PF 15 Fortson, Danny 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Cincinnati PF 21 Herrera, Carl 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Houston C 45 LaFrentz, Raef  6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Kansas SG 11 McCarty, Kelly 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Southern Mississippi PF 24 McDyess, Antonio (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Alabama C 34 Meyer, Loren 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 257 lb (117 kg) Iowa State SF 23 Stith, Bryant 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Virginia SF 17 Taylor, Johnny 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Chattanooga PG 31 Van Exel, Nick (C) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Cincinnati SG 14 Washington, Eric 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Alabama SF 32 Williams, Eric 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Providence	Head coach Mike D'Antoni (Marshall) Assistant coach(es) Louie Dampier (Kentucky) Mike Evans (Kansas State) Kim Hughes (Wisconsin) John Lucas (Maryland) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions

Roster Notes

• Head coach Mike D'Antoni holds American and Italian dual citizenship. He played for the Italian national team although he was born in the United States.
• Guard Kelly McCarty holds American and Russian dual citizenship. He played for the Russian national team although he was born in the United States.

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-San Antonio Spurs	37	13	.740	–	21–4	16–9	17–4
x-Utah Jazz	37	13	.740	–	22–3	15–10	15–3
x-Houston Rockets	31	19	.620	6	19–6	12–13	12–9
x-Minnesota Timberwolves	25	25	.500	12	18–7	7–18	11–9
Dallas Mavericks	19	31	.380	18	15–10	4–21	8–12
Denver Nuggets	14	36	.280	23	12–13	2–23	5–16
Vancouver Grizzlies	8	42	.160	29	7–18	1–24	3–18

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-San Antonio Spurs	37	13	.740	–
2	y-Portland Trail Blazers	35	15	.700	2
3	x-Utah Jazz	37	13	.740	–
4	x-Los Angeles Lakers	31	19	.620	6
5	x-Houston Rockets	31	19	.620	6
6	x-Sacramento Kings	27	23	.540	10
7	x-Phoenix Suns	27	23	.540	10
8	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	25	25	.500	12
9	Seattle SuperSonics	25	25	.500	12
10	Golden State Warriors	21	29	.420	16
11	Dallas Mavericks	19	31	.380	18
12	Denver Nuggets	14	36	.280	23
13	Los Angeles Clippers	9	41	.180	28
14	Vancouver Grizzlies	8	42	.160	29

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Awards and records

• Antonio McDyess, All-NBA Third Team

See also

• 1998-99 NBA season