Who won the 1999 NBA Finals?
The San Antonio Spurs won the 1999 NBA Finals, defeating the New York Knicks four games to one. It was the Spurs' first NBA championship in franchise history.
Questions about 1999 NBA Finals
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who was named MVP of the 1999 NBA Finals?
Tim Duncan was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1999 NBA Finals. He averaged 27.4 points and 14 rebounds per game across the five-game series, and scored 31 points with nine rebounds in the decisive Game 5.
Why was the 1998-99 NBA season shortened?
The 1998-99 NBA season was shortened because of a labor dispute between team owners and the National Basketball Players Association that led to a lockout. The two sides reached an agreement on the 20th of January 1999, and the season was condensed from the usual 82 games to 50 games per team.
How did the New York Knicks reach the 1999 NBA Finals as an eighth seed?
The Knicks beat the top-seeded Miami Heat in the first round when Allan Houston made a shot with 0.8 seconds left in Game 5, then swept the Atlanta Hawks, and defeated the Indiana Pacers in six games in the Eastern Conference finals. They became the first team in North American sports history to reach a championship series as an eighth seed.
What was the largest crowd at a 1999 NBA Finals game?
Game 2 at the Alamodome in San Antonio drew 39,554 fans, making it the largest crowd in the series. That game was also the last NBA Finals game played at a multi-purpose stadium, and the attendance record is unlikely to be broken since the largest NBA arena, the Chicago Bulls' United Center, seats only 20,917.
What controversy did Larry Johnson create during the 1999 NBA Finals?
Larry Johnson referred to the Knicks as "rebellious slaves" during the Finals, a comment for which the NBA fined him. He also invoked the slavery metaphor in a response about Spurs point guard Avery Johnson during Game 4, sparking a public war of words with NBC analyst Bill Walton.