On this day in 1998, the NBA canceled its first games in league history due to a labor dispute as the lockout of that season began in earnest.
The league announced on this date that all 114 preseason games would be canceled as a result of that dispute, and the All-Star Game for that season and 32 of the season’s usual 82-game schedule would be canceled as well.
The dispute began when team owners re-opened the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in March of 1998 with the intention of putting a maximum salary limit into the CBA, in part sparked by future Celtic Kevin Garnett’s six years, $126 million deal that summer, at the time, the largest such deal in league history.
The National Basketball Players’ Association (NBPA) countered with demands for increased salary for veteran minimum earners, and neither side budged, forcing the lockout.
It would continue into January, 1999, and see a shortened season begin on February 5th of that year.
Feb. 5, 1999: Future HOFers @paulpierce34 & @mrvincecarter15 make their NBA debuts during the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season. #nba
Pierce: 19 pts, 9 reb, 5 ast, 4 blk, 7-14 fg
Carter: 16 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 5-11 fg#Raptors 103 – #Celtics 92(Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/ch9Ue72M00
— Cas (@theyknowSims_) February 5, 2019
Ultimately, the owners got their way and instituted rules for maximum salary based on years in the league, with players getting 55% of league revenue for their salaries as a countermeasure.
It would be the league’s penultimate lockout, another following in 2011.
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