After a lockout , the NBA and the players' association only reached an agreement on a new collective agreement on January 18 , so that the regular season didn't start until February 1999 and was shortened to 50 games for each team.
Due to the lockout , not only was the regular season shortened to 50 games. The preseason was also shorter than usual. There were only two instead of eight preparation games for the NBA teams.
Steve Kerr was the first player (with the exception of Celtics members) to win four consecutive championships. The Spurs sniper won the title with the Chicago Bulls in the previous three years .
The Spurs were the first former ABA team to make it to an NBA final and even win it.
The Spurs set a new final game attendance record. Game 2 was visited by a total of 39,554 fans, in game 1 there were already 39,514 spectators.