On May 25, 2018, after playing 13 seasons in the NBA for seven teams,Mo Williams announced his retirement from the NBA to take the assistant head coaching job atCal State Northridge.[3]
On July 17, 2018, after playing 9 seasons in the NBA for four teams,Roy Hibbert announced his retirement from the NBA.[4]
On August 27, 2018,Manu Ginóbili announced his retirement from the NBA. Ginóbili played all of his 16 NBA seasons with theSan Antonio Spurs franchise, winning four championships.[5]
On August 30, 2018, after playing 15 seasons in the NBA for four teams,David West announced his retirement from the NBA.[6][7]
On September 6, 2018,Boris Diaw announced his retirement from basketball. Diaw spent 14 years in the NBA and was an NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014.[8]
On October 13, 2018, after playing 17 seasons in the NBA for eight teams,Richard Jefferson announced his retirement from the NBA.[9]
On March 23, 2019, after playing 14 seasons in the NBA for five teams,Al Jefferson announced his retirement from the NBA after signing a contract to joinBig3.[10]
On March 26, 2019, after theMiami Heat retired his jersey,Chris Bosh announced his retirement from the NBA. Bosh played for two teams during his 13-year NBA career, and he had not played professionally since February 2016 due to recurring blood clots in his lungs and legs. Bosh won back-to-back NBA championships with the Heat in 2012 and 2013.[11]
On March 26, 2019,Kris Humphries announced his retirement from the NBA. Humphries played for eight teams during his 13-year NBA career, and he had not played professionally since the2016–17 season with theAtlanta Hawks.[12]
Free agency negotiations began on July 1. Players began signing on July 6 after theJuly moratorium ended. LeBron James's four-year, $154 million contract with theLos Angeles Lakers was the biggest free agency news of the offseason after James spent the last four seasons as his second stint with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers which began in 2014.
On October 28, 2018, theCleveland Cavaliers fired head coachTyronn Lue after a 0–6 start to the season and namedLarry Drew interim head coach.[28][29] On November 5, Drew was named as Lue's permanent replacement.[30]
Awards was presented at the NBA Awards ceremony, which was held on June 24. Finalists for voted awards were announced during the playoffs and winners were presented at the award ceremony. TheAll-NBA Teams was announced in advance in order for teams to have all the necessary information to make off-season preparations.
TheAtlanta Hawks' home arena, formerly known as Philips Arena, was renamedState Farm Arena on August 29, 2018, coinciding with a $192.5 million renovation to the arena.[112]
This was theGolden State Warriors' final season atOracle Arena inOakland before moving to the newChase Center inSan Francisco. The Warriors played their final regular-season game there on April 7, 2019, against the Los Angeles Clippers, the final playoff game at Oracle Arena was game 6 of the NBA Finals on June 13, 2019, in which the Warriors lost to the Toronto Raptors.[113]
This was theMilwaukee Bucks' first season at the newFiserv Forum after playing at theBradley Center from 1988 to 2018. The Bucks played their first game there on October 3, 2018, in a preseason game against the Chicago Bulls; the first regular-season game there was played on October 19, 2018, against the Indiana Pacers.[114][115]
On September 21, 2018, the NBA approved three rule changes affecting gameplay, starting with this season onward. These changes include shortening the game clock from the typical 24 seconds to 14 seconds during offensive rebounds, simplifying the clear path foul rule, and expanding the definition of a "hostile act" to invoke instant replays on certain events more easily.[118]
On October 29, 2018,Klay Thompson of theGolden State Warriors set three NBA records. He set the record for most three-pointers made in a game by making 14 (out of 24) against theChicago Bulls, surpassing the former record of 13 held by his teammateStephen Curry. He also set the record for most three-pointers attempted in a game at 24, as well as tiedChandler Parsons' record of most three-pointers made in a half with 10.[119]
On November 21, 2018,Vince Carter of theAtlanta Hawks became the 22nd player in NBA history to record at least 25,000 points.[120]
On November 23, 2018,Brook Lopez of theMilwaukee Bucks set the record for most three-pointers attempted in a game without making one, with 12 attempts.[121]
On November 25, 2018,Jamal Crawford of thePhoenix Suns moved to 26th all-time in NBA regular-season games played, passingA.C. Green's total of 1,278 games in 16 seasons.
On November 28, 2018, Vince Carter moved to seventh all-time in NBA regular-season games played. He passedKevin Willis, who played a total of 1,424 games in 21 seasons.
On December 13, 2018,Dirk Nowitzki of theDallas Mavericks made his season debut, marking his 21st season in the league. This gave him sole possession of the record for most seasons played with one team, surpassingKobe Bryant's 20. He also tiedRobert Parish,Kevin Willis,Kevin Garnett and fellow1998 NBA draftee and former teammate Vince Carter for the record of most seasons played in the NBA.[124]
On December 15, 2018, Russell Westbrook passed Kobe Bryant and moved to 30th place on the NBA all-time assists list.[125]
On December 18, 2018, Vince Carter passedPaul Pierce on the NBA career three-pointers list with 1,145 threes made.
On December 19, 2018, theHouston Rockets set the record for the most three-point field goals made in a game with 26, breaking the previous record of 25 set by theCleveland Cavaliers on March 3, 2017.[127]
On December 29, 2018, Vince Carter became the oldest player in NBA history to score 20-plus points at 41 years and 337 days old, as he scored 21 points for the Atlanta Hawks in a win against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He broke the old record held byKareem Abdul-Jabbar at 41 years and 331 days old.[128][129]
On January 1, 2019,Jusuf Nurkić of thePortland Trail Blazers became the first player in NBA history to record a 20–20 on a five-on-five (20-plus in any two statistical categories and at least five on the remaining three statistical categories). He recorded 24 points, 23 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks in a 113–108 overtime win over theSacramento Kings.[130]
On January 5, 2019, Stephen Curry of theGolden State Warriors passedKyle Korver on the all-time three-point field goals made list and moved to fourth place.[131] In the same game, the Golden State Warriors (21) and the Sacramento Kings (20) recorded the most three-pointers made in a game by both teams combined at 41. They broke the record set by theMinnesota Timberwolves (19) and theCleveland Cavaliers (21) on February 7, 2018.[132]
On January 10, 2019, coachGregg Popovich of theSan Antonio Spurs became the third coach with most wins in NBA history after posting a win in double overtime against the Oklahoma City Thunder, 154–147. He passedJerry Sloan with his 1,222nd win.[133]
On January 11, 2019, Stephen Curry moved pastJason Terry for third place on the list of NBA all-time three-pointers made.[134]
On January 12, 2019,Kyle Korver of theUtah Jazz, passed Jason Terry to move to fourth place on the NBA all-time three-point field goals made list.[135]
On January 13, 2019,James Harden (1-of-17) of the Houston Rockets tiedDamon Stoudamire's (5-of-21) NBA record for most three-point field goals missed in a game with 16.[136]
On January 16, 2019, the Golden State Warriors (24) and theNew Orleans Pelicans (19) recorded the most three-point field goals made in a game by both teams combined at 43. They broke the record the Warriors (21) and the Sacramento Kings (20) just set 11 days prior with 41.[137]
On January 21, 2019, Klay Thompson tied the record for most consecutive three-point field goals made in a game at 10.[138]
On February 7, 2019, Vince Carter passedJerry West for 21st on the NBA's all-time scoring list.[139]
On February 11, 2019, Russell Westbrook set an NBA record of recording ten straight games with a triple-double which brokeWilt Chamberlain's old record of nine.[140]
On February 21, 2019, James Harden recorded his 32nd consecutive game of scoring 30-plus points which makes it the second-longest 30-plus-points streak in NBA history. The streak started on December 23, 2018, and ended on February 25, 2019.[141][142]
On February 28, 2019,Chris Paul of the Houston Rockets moved to 10th place on the NBA's all-time steals leaders which was previously held byKarl Malone.[143]
On March 5, 2019, Vince Carter passedReggie Miller for 20th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list, passedJamal Crawford for sixth place on the NBA's all-time three-point field goals made leaders, became the oldest player to shoot seven three-pointers and broke his own record of being the oldest player to score 20-plus points in a game at 42 years and 37 days old.[144][145][146]
On March 8, 2019, Dirk Nowitzki moved to the third spot in the NBA all-time games played.[148]
On March 8, 2019,Lou Williams of theLos Angeles Clippers set an NBA record for scoring at least 30 points in a game as a reserve when he scored 40 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder. This marked the 28th time for Williams which surpassedRicky Pierce's record at 27. He also moved to second place in career points off the bench and passedJamal Crawford.[149]
On March 10, 2019, Chris Paul moved pastIsiah Thomas for seventh place on the NBA's all-time assist leaders.[150]
On March 11, 2019, Lou Williams became the NBA's career leader in points off the bench (11,154) with 34 points in a 140–115 win over the Boston Celtics, surpassingDell Curry (11,147).[151]
On March 18, 2019, Dirk Nowitzki passedWilt Chamberlain for sixth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.[152]
On March 19, 2019, James Harden became the first player in NBA history to score 30 or more points against all 29 other teams in a single season.[153]
On March 31, 2019, Vince Carter moved in to the top 5 in career NBA games played.[154]
On April 2, 2019, Russell Westbrook became the second player in history after Wilt Chamberlain to register a 20–20–20 game, scoring 20 points, 21 assists and 20 rebounds in a 119–103 win against the Los Angeles Lakers.[155]
On April 9, 2019,Jamal Crawford scored 51 points off the bench vs the Dallas Mavericks, the mostbench points in a game in NBA history.[156]
