The 1998–99 New Jersey Nets season was the Nets' 32nd season in the National Basketball Association, and 23rd season in East Rutherford, New Jersey. After a lockout wiped out nearly half of the season, the Nets signed free agents Eric Murdock and Scott Burrell, and also acquired Jim McIlvaine from the Seattle SuperSonics. However, they got off to a poor start losing 18 of their first 21 games. Head coach John Calipari was fired and replaced with assistant Don Casey. At mid-season, Sam Cassell, who was out with an ankle injury was traded along with Chris Gatling to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team trade, as the Nets acquired Stephon Marbury from the Minnesota Timberwolves. As the season wounded down, the Nets were dealt with a blow when Jayson Williams' career was ended with a severe leg injury. The Nets finished last place in the Atlantic Division with a 16–34 record. Second-year star Keith Van Horn had a stellar season averaging 21.8 points per game. Following the season, Murdock was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.
| Player | G | MP | FG | FG% | FT | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | A | S | B | TO | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earl Boykins | 5 | 51 | 10 | 0.48 | 0 | - | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 21 |
| Scott Burrell | 32 | 706 | 75 | 0.36 | 34 | 0.81 | 32 | 87 | 119 | 45 | 40 | 11 | 23 | 82 | 212 |
| Chris Carr (basketball) | 28 | 364 | 67 | 0.37 | 25 | 0.69 | 23 | 36 | 59 | 16 | 7 | 1 | 24 | 36 | 184 |
| Sam Cassell | 4 | 100 | 21 | 0.43 | 29 | 0.94 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 13 | 72 |
| William Cunningham | 15 | 161 | 3 | 0.17 | 0 | 0.00 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 30 | 6 |
| Brian Evans (basketball) | 11 | 121 | 11 | 0.32 | 4 | 1.00 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 30 |
| Jamie Feick | 26 | 849 | 67 | 0.50 | 43 | 0.72 | 112 | 174 | 286 | 24 | 25 | 18 | 34 | 73 | 177 |
| Chris Gatling | 18 | 281 | 36 | 0.37 | 12 | 0.50 | 21 | 44 | 65 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 29 | 40 | 84 |
| Kendall Gill | 50 | 1606 | 236 | 0.40 | 114 | 0.68 | 61 | 183 | 244 | 123 | 134 | 26 | 71 | 162 | 588 |
| Lucious Harris | 36 | 602 | 73 | 0.40 | 36 | 0.75 | 21 | 46 | 67 | 31 | 18 | 7 | 18 | 52 | 193 |
| Mark Hendrickson | 22 | 399 | 39 | 0.44 | 42 | 0.84 | 27 | 41 | 68 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 15 | 39 | 120 |
| Damon Jones | 11 | 131 | 14 | 0.32 | 11 | 0.85 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 49 |
| Kerry Kittles | 46 | 1570 | 227 | 0.37 | 88 | 0.77 | 52 | 139 | 191 | 116 | 79 | 26 | 66 | 82 | 592 |
| Stephon Marbury | 31 | 1234 | 254 | 0.44 | 159 | 0.83 | 20 | 60 | 80 | 270 | 30 | 3 | 109 | 81 | 725 |
| Jim McIlvaine | 22 | 269 | 22 | 0.43 | 4 | 0.67 | 31 | 23 | 54 | 2 | 9 | 32 | 13 | 59 | 48 |
| Eric Murdock | 15 | 401 | 45 | 0.40 | 21 | 0.81 | 3 | 32 | 35 | 66 | 22 | 2 | 29 | 35 | 119 |
| Gheorghe Muresan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Overton | 8 | 174 | 25 | 0.44 | 12 | 0.86 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 14 | 64 |
| Elliot Perry | 30 | 243 | 30 | 0.35 | 9 | 0.75 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 35 | 16 | 0 | 32 | 22 | 78 |
| Rony Seikaly | 9 | 88 | 4 | 0.20 | 7 | 0.39 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 15 |
| Keith Van Horn | 42 | 1576 | 322 | 0.43 | 256 | 0.86 | 114 | 244 | 358 | 65 | 43 | 53 | 133 | 134 | 916 |
| David Vaughn III | 10 | 103 | 13 | 0.54 | 8 | 0.80 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 22 | 34 |
| Jayson Williams | 30 | 1020 | 97 | 0.45 | 48 | 0.57 | 147 | 213 | 360 | 33 | 24 | 60 | 46 | 126 | 242 |
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