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One of the uglier chapters in American sports was the NBA lockout that covered the end of the millennium. Both sides thought that it would end in January 1999, but NBA commissioner David Stern and NBPA Head Billy Hunter got into another shouting match and no contract was finalized. Hunter rationalized it as a complete victory for the owners if he signed; Stern blamed Hunter for forcing him to cancel the season. As such, there was no NBA that year, and it wasn’t until MLK weekend of 2000 that the league had games again.

Years later, a destroyed Hunter said, “I should have just signed the damn contract and told my guys to vote for it. I was a stubborn bastard.” What if he had done so and saved the 1998-99 and, to a lesser extent, the 1999-2000 season?
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