What team did Mike Dunleavy coach at the start of the 1998 NBA season?

Mike Dunleavy coached the Portland Trail Blazers at the start of the 1998 NBA season.

Dunleavy became Portland’s head coach before the 1997–98 season after previously coaching the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks. The Trail Blazers began that season with him on the bench and finished with a 46–36 record, reaching the playoffs. They were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.

The wording can be slightly confusing because the NBA’s 1998–99 season began after the 1998 lockout, and Dunleavy continued coaching Portland then. In that shortened season, the Trail Blazers went 35–15 and Dunleavy won the NBA Coach of the Year award. His Portland tenure therefore covered both the late 1990s seasons commonly associated with the question.

Dunleavy later coached the Los Angeles Clippers and became one of the few NBA coaches to lead multiple teams deep into the playoffs. He also played professionally before moving into coaching and front-office work.