1999 NBA Finals

Team Coach Wins San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich 4 New York Knicks Jeff Van Gundy 1
Dates	June 16–25
MVP	Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
Hall of Famers	Spurs: Tim Duncan (2020) David Robinson (2009) Knicks: Patrick Ewing (2008; did not play) Coaches: Gregg Popovich (2023) Officials: Dick Bavetta (2015) Danny Crawford (2025) Hugh Evans (2022)
Eastern finals	Knicks defeatedPacers, 4–2
Western finals	Spurs defeatedTrail Blazers, 4–0
← 1998 NBA Finals 2000 →

The1999 NBA Finals was thechampionship round of the shortened1998–99 NBA season, and the conclusion of theseason's playoffs. TheWestern Conference championSan Antonio Spurs took on theEastern Conference championNew York Knicks for the title, with the Spurs holdinghome court advantage.^[1] The Spurs defeated the Knicks in five games to win their first NBA championship.^[2] Until2023, this was the only NBA Finals to feature an eighth-seeded team.

The1998–99 NBA season was shortened due to a labor dispute that led to alockout. The owners and theNational Basketball Players Association reached an agreement to end the dispute on January 20, 1999.^[3] The1998–99 season, which began on February 5, 1999,^[4] was shortened from the usual 82-game schedule to 50 games per team.^[5]

The 1998–99 season was the second season of the "Twin Towers" pairing ofDavid Robinson and star second-year forwardTim Duncan. Robinson and Duncan had been teammates since the Spurs drafted Duncan with the first overall pick in the1997 NBA draft. The Spurs earned this draft pick through the draft lottery due to a 62-loss 1996–97 season in which Robinson had a season-ending injury and the team collapsed. During the 1996–97 season, veteran coachBob Hill was fired and replaced by then-general managerGregg Popovich.^[6] In the 1997–98 season, the Spurs won 56 games, but were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs^[7] by theUtah Jazz.^[8]

In the 1998–99 season, the Spurs recovered from a 6–8 start to the season to win 31 of their last 36 games.^[9] The Spurs qualified for the playoffs as the top seed in the Western Conference and tied the Utah Jazz for the league's best regular-season record (37–13).^[10]

After defeating theMinnesota Timberwolves in four games, San Antonio recorded back-to-back sweeps in the second round and the conference finals, defeating theLos Angeles Lakers andPortland Trail Blazers. The victory over Portland gave the Spurs their first-ever trip to the NBA Finals.^[11]

The Knicks had a more difficult time reaching the playoffs than the Spurs did. Toward the end of the season, with the team teetering on the brink of making the playoffs, New York fired general managerErnie Grunfeld.^[12] The Knicks barely qualified for the playoffs and received the eighth and final seed in the Eastern Conference.^[13]

The Knicks faced theMiami Heat, the top Eastern Conference seed, in the first round. WhenAllan Houston made a shot with 0.8 seconds remaining in Game 5 of that series, the Knicks were victorious and became the second team in NBA history after the1993-94 Denver Nuggets to win a playoff series as the eighth seed.^[14]

The Knicks faced theAtlanta Hawks next. Hawks centerDikembe Mutombo guaranteed a victory, but the Knicks prevailed in a four-game sweep to set up a matchup with theIndiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals.^[15]

Knicks centerPatrick Ewing was lost for the series after the first two games against Indiana.^[16] In the third game, with 11.9 seconds left and the Knicks trailing 91–88, the Knicks'Larry Johnson made a three-point shot while being fouled and converted the subsequent free throw for a game-winning four-point play; the victory gave the Knicks a 2–1 lead in the series. The Knicks won Game 6 and prevailed in the series, becoming the first team in North American sports history to reach a championship series as an eighth seed.^[17]

The Knicks and Spurs did not play each other in the regular season.^[18]

1998–99 New York Knicks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From PG 9 Rick Brunson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Temple C 23 Marcus Camby 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) UMass PG 1 Chris Childs 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Boise State PF 4 Ben Davis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Arizona C 14 Chris Dudley 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Yale C 33 Patrick Ewing  7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Georgetown SG 20 Allan Houston 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Tennessee PF 2 Larry Johnson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 250 lb (113 kg) UNLV SF 8 Latrell Sprewell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Alabama PF 40 Kurt Thomas 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) TCU PG 21 Charlie Ward 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Florida State C 32 Herb Williams 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 242 lb (110 kg) Ohio State SG 25 David Wingate 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Georgetown

Head coach Jeff Van Gundy Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

The Finals were played using a 2–3–2 site format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team withhome court advantage. The NBA, after experimenting in the early years, restored this original format for the Finals between 1985 and 2013. In 2014, the Finals returned to a 2–2–1–1–1 site format.

This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing information.(February 2022)

The Spurs won the NBA Finals 4 games to 1.^[2] SpursforwardTim Duncan was named theMost Valuable Player of the finals.^[19] On June 25 (two years to the day that Duncan was drafted by the Spurs), with 47 seconds to go in Game 5,Avery Johnson hit the game-winner.^[20] The Knicks scored 39 points in the second half, andLatrell Sprewell scored 25 of them, with fourteen of his points coming in the fourth quarter. However, he could not hit either of his jump shots in the last half-minute of the game that could have affected the outcome. Tim Duncan scored 31 points and nine rebounds in the decisive Game 5 while averaging 27.4 points and fourteen rebounds with 2.4 assists and 2.2 blocks in the Finals.^[21]

San Antonio Spurs

New York Knicks

The 1999 NBA Finals was aired in the United States onNBC (includingWNBC in New York City andKMOL-TV in San Antonio), withBob Costas andDoug Collins on play-by-play and color commentary respectively.Hannah Storm served as the studio host whileIsiah Thomas,Bill Walton andPeter Vecsey served as studio analysts.Ahmad Rashad andJim Gray served as sideline reporters.^{[citation needed]}

Locally, the Finals also marked the comeback ofMarv Albert following his infamoussex scandal two years prior. Albert served as the Knicks' radio play-by-play announcer onWFAN with long-time partnerJohn Andariese.NBC Sports rehired Albert shortly after and he eventually returned to the lead play-by-play role in 2000.^{[citation needed]}

In 2000, the Spurs became the first NBA champion sincethe 1985–86 Celtics to fail to win a second consecutive title.^[22] However, the Spurs eventually went on to form a dynasty, winning additional NBA titles in2003,2005,2007 and2014.

Game 2 at theAlamodome was the last NBA Finals game to take place at what is known as amulti-purpose stadium. Due to this fact, the 39,554 in attendance for the game will likely never be topped again, as theChicago Bulls'United Center is the largest NBA arena by capacity with 20,917 seats.

As of 2026, this remains New York's last NBA Finals appearance. The following season, the Knicks won 50 games but fell to theIndiana Pacers in six games in the Eastern Conference finals. After that season, thePatrick Ewing era came to an end when he was traded to theSeattle SuperSonics.

The next eighth seed to make the NBA Finals was theMiami Heat in2023. The result was the same, with the Heat losing to theDenver Nuggets in five games.

Both the Spurs and the Knicks would meet again 26 years later in the championship game of the2025 NBA Cup, where the Knicks defeated the Spurs, 124-113.

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