The National Basketball Association’s current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on June 30, 2011. Labor talks are already underway and we know that players around the league are taking this very seriously. Depending on who you speak to, or what source you hear it from, the outcome ranges anywhere from “they’ll get it done” to “it doesn’t look good as of right now.” All that means to me is that it’s anyone’s guess at this point. But as a fan of the league, I’ll be optimistic.
History tells us that in the event of a stalemate, a work stoppage isn’t a forgone conclusion. We saw that with the lockout that impacted the 1998 – 1999 NBA season. It could’ve been worse however, because who can forget the NHL losing an entire season? They still haven’t recovered from that. So we know it can happen. Again, I’ll be the optimist here and say that it won’t.
The 1998 – 1999 season became the 1999 season because no games were played until the beginning of 1999. Because of the time off, some players were very out of shape when the season finally began in February. Does anyone remember how big Shawn Kemp got from the previous year? As a result of the lockout, everything about that season seemed off to me, so I ask you basketball fans, did the 1999 NBA season really count in your mind?
A couple of strange things happened in that shortened, 50-game season. For starters, there wasn’t even an All-Star game. It was supposed to have been held in Philadelphia that season, but it ended up not being held anywhere. In my personal opinion, the NBA puts on the best show when displaying their all-stars. Better than any other sport. It’s the crown jewel of the season. It takes place over the course of a weekend (rather than during the week like baseball) and people come in droves to check it out. There was an All-Star weekend in Vegas of all places, and there was one in the massive Cowboys Stadium down in Texas as well. They are held at such venues because the weekend is very important to the league. But we were robbed of that in 1999.
Did I mention that teams only played 50, rather than 82 games? Because of that the playoffs were a bit off too. Typically at the 50 game mark, teams come into their own and can string together several wins in a row and show their true colors. On the other hand, they can also show their true colors and play themselves out of playoff contention. But after 50 games, the playoffs began.
Teams were seeded one through eight as usual, but maybe those seeds were really that true because of the shortened season. The first round matchup between the New York Knicks and Miami Heat was a good example of that. If the teams actually played 82 games that season, I think the Knicks would’ve been higher than an eight seed. How much higher exactly? No clue. But higher nonetheless I believe. As you know, this series ended with the eight seeded Knicks knocking off the top seeded Miami Heat in five games (back when the 1st round was still a 5-game series) capped by Alan Houston’s memorable one handed runner that hit the front of the rim and backboard before finding its way through the rim. It was the second time ever that eight beat one. But because of the lockout, is it that significant?
But it didn’t stop there. The Knicks would eventually become the first eight seed to make it to the Finals. Waiting for them was a savvy San Antonio Spurs club led by the aging veteran David Robinson, the young buck Tim Duncan, an underappreciated Sean Elliott and their floor general, Avery Johnson. The Alan Houston, Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby-led Knicks were without their leader for the past decade-plus, Patrick Ewing who was out with an Achilles tendon injury which he sustained in the previous round against the Pacers. The Spurs would go on to eventually win the serious en route to their first of four championships in recent memory.
An NBA Championship is an NBA Championship no matter how you slice it. I’m sure “The Admiral” no doubt shows off his only ring to anyone who is willing to look at it and the Spurs have a banner in their gym proving that they were champions that year. But, because of the lockout, something feels off about that Finals win. I sometimes forget about it.
Whether right, wrong or indifferent, I don’t hold the 1999 season in the same high regard as any other season. I wouldn’t say I discount it, but it’s close. Eleven years later, I’m still searching for the correct words to describe my feelings on it. I overlook it to a degree and it isn’t as significant to me unfortunately. It’s almost as if there is a gap in my memory. Let’s just hope that everything works itself out this time around, because I can ill afford another basketball memory lapse again.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook
