1998–99 Philadelphia 76ers season

(lost to Pacers 0–4)

• WPSG
• CSN Philadelphia

The 1998–99 Philadelphia 76ers season was the 50th season for the Philadelphia 76ers in the National Basketball Association, and their 36th season in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50.

The 76ers received the eighth overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Larry Hughes out of Saint Louis University. In the off-season, the team signed free agents Matt Geiger, George Lynch and Harvey Grant, and later on re-signed former 76ers forward Rick Mahorn in late February. At mid-season, the team traded second-year forward Tim Thomas, and Scott Williams to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Tyrone Hill.

The 76ers won their first three games of the regular season, but then lost five of their next six games falling below .500 in winning percentage. However, the team posted a six-game winning streak between February and March, and later on won 9 of their final 13 games of the season. The 76ers finished in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 28–22 record, earning the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, and qualifying for the NBA playoffs for the first time since the 1990–91 season, ending a seven-year playoff drought.

After playing point guard for the previous two seasons, Allen Iverson switched to the shooting guard position, and led the league in scoring averaging 26.8 points, 4.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team. In addition, Geiger averaged 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while Theo Ratliff provided the team with 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and Hughes contributed 9.1 points per game off the bench. Meanwhile, Eric Snow became the team's starting point guard, averaging 8.6 points, 6.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game, Hill contributed 8.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in 21 games after the trade, Lynch averaged 8.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game, Aaron McKie provided with 4.8 points and 1.3 steals per game, and Grant contributed 3.1 points per game.

Iverson also finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Ratliff finished tied in fifth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, Snow finished in second place in Most Improved Player voting behind Darrell Armstrong of the Orlando Magic, while Ratliff finished in sixth place, and head coach Larry Brown finished in second place in Coach of the Year voting, behind Mike Dunleavy of the Portland Trail Blazers.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1999 NBA playoffs, the 76ers faced off against the 3rd–seeded Magic, a team that featured All-Star guard Penny Hardaway, Nick Anderson, and Armstrong, who was named both Sixth Man, and Most Improved Player of the Year; it was Iverson's first ever NBA playoff appearance. The 76ers won Game 1 over the Magic on the road, 104–90 at the Orlando Arena, but then lost Game 2 on the road, 79–68 as the Magic evened the series. One notable highlight of the series occurred in Game 3 at the First Union Center, in which Iverson set an NBA playoff record of ten steals in a single game, as the 76ers defeated the Magic, 97–85. The 76ers won Game 4 over the Magic at home, 101–91 to win the series in four games.

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Central Division champion Indiana Pacers, who were led by All-Star guard Reggie Miller, All-Star center Rik Smits, and sixth man Jalen Rose. The 76ers lost the first two games to the Pacers on the road at the Market Square Arena, and then lost the next two games at home, including a Game 4 loss to the Pacers at the First Union Center, 89–86, thus losing the series in a four-game sweep.

The 76ers finished eleventh in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 436,444 at the First Union Center during the regular season. Following the season, Grant and second-year guard Anthony Parker were both traded to the Orlando Magic, who released Grant to free agency, and Mahorn retired after playing in his second stint with the 76ers.