The NBA's Buzzer-Beater

By Frank Pellegrini Wednesday, Jan. 06, 1999
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NEW YORK: The 1998-99 NBA season is back on -- 50 or so games starting in February and appropriately, neither side is claiming victory. "Did we blink? I guess we both blinked,'' Players' union head Billy Hunter said Wednesday. Said NBA commissioner David Stern: "I will say that I am elated that we will be playing basketball this season." The terms of the deal indicate that both sides gained concessions, with the owners eking out a win at the negotiating table. But TIME senior business editor Bill Saporito says that nobody won this game.

"This was a loser on all sides," he says. "The NBA instigated this lockout, and what did it gain? A waste of time, money and goodwill for both the players and the league there's no great victory here." At least the end was convenient: hundreds of players were already in town to vote on the union's recommendation that the league's previous offer be rejected, and they quickly ratified the deal by a 179-5 vote. Afterwards, players expressed the usual homilies about healing rifts and making this up to the fans, but the overarching sentiment was relief. Soon, they'll be playing ball again -- and collecting those monstrous paychecks.