The 1998–99 NBA season was the Mavericks' 19th season in the National Basketball Association. In the 1998 NBA draft, the Mavericks selected Robert Traylor from the University of Michigan with the sixth pick, but soon traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for top draft pick, and German basketball star Dirk Nowitzki. In the off-season, the team acquired point guard Steve Nash from the Phoenix Suns, signed free agents Gary Trent and Hot Rod Williams, and released Khalid Reeves to free agency later on during the regular season, as he later on signed with the Detroit Pistons. In a season shortened by a lockout to 50 games, the young Mavericks still struggled losing eight of their first nine games, but began to show promise by posting their first winning record at home in nine years at 1