Summary

It was the final season for three future Hall of Famers, Michael Jordan in Washington, John Stockton in Utah, and David Robinson in San Antonio. Jordan, who had come out of retirement again the previous season, showed occasional flashes of his old brilliance but missed the last 30 games of the season and the Wizards dropped out of the playoff hunt. Stockton retired as the NBA's all-time assist leader after 19 seasons, but without ever playing for a champion.

Robinson's career had a happier ending, as his Spurs won the NBA championship, eliminating the Los Angeles Lakers along the way.

The Lakers were going for four straight, but they lost 19 of their first 30 games, with Shaquille O'Neal injured a good part of that stretch. Then O'Neal came back and Kobe Bryant went on a scoring spree, scoring 40 or more points in nine straight games to get the team into the playoffs.

Bryant lost the scoring race to Tracy McGrady of the Orlando Magic, who averaged 32.1 points to Bryant's 30.0. It was the first time two players averaged 30 or more points since Michael Jordan and Karl Malone in 1989-90.

In the Western Conference, San Antonio and Dallas tied for the Midwest Division lead with 60 victories each, while Sacramento led the Pacific Division with 59 wins. The Detroit Piston were the best team in the East with 50 wins, while New Jersey had 49; Boston and Philadelphia were right behind them with 48 victories apiece.

The playoffs were longer, as the first-round series were changed from best-of-five to best-of-seven. It took the Nets six games to eliminate the Milwaukee Bucks, but they then swept both the Pistons and Celtics to move into the finals. The Spurs, meanwhile, won three six-game series, over Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Dallas.

Tim Duncan of San Antonio, the regular season MVP, ruled the finals. In the sixth and deciding game, he had 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists, and 8 blocks. He averaged 24.2 points, 17.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 5.3 blocked shots for the series. It was San Antonio's second championship in five years and Duncan won the Finals MVP award for the second time.

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