| 1998 NLL season | |
| League: | National Lacrosse League |
| Sport: | Indoor lacrosse |
| Pixels: | 100px |
| No Of Teams: | 7 |
| No Of Games: | 12 |
| Duration: | January 3, 1998 - April 28, 1998 |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Mvp: | Gary Gait (Baltimore Thunder) |
| Mvp Link: | National Lacrosse League MVP Award |
| Top Scorer: | Gary Gait (Baltimore Thunder) |
| Top Scorer Link: | 1998 NLL season |
| League Champs: | Philadelphia Wings |
| Second Place: | Baltimore Thunder |
| Finals: | Champion's Cup |
| Finals Link: | Champion's Cup |
| Finals Champ: | Philadelphia Wings |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Baltimore Thunder |
| Finals Mvp: | Dallas Eliuk (Philadelphia) |
| Finals Mvp Link: | Champion's Cup#Most Valuable Players |
| Seasonslistnames: | MILL/NLL |
| Prevseason Link: | 1997 MILL season |
| Prevseason Year: | 1997 season |
| Nextseason Link: | 1999 NLL season |
| Nextseason Year: | 1999 season |
Before the 1998 season, the Major Indoor Lacrosse League was renamed to be the National Lacrosse League, in the process increasing the length of the regular season from ten to twelve games. The first season as the NLL and the 12th season overall, began on January 3, 1998, and concluded with the second championship game on April 28. The championship was decided by a best-two-of-three series, with the Philadelphia Wings defeating the Baltimore Thunder 16–12 in the first game and 17–12 in the second.
The 1998 season featured the debut of two new teams, and the removal of one. The Boston Blazers folded after nine seasons in Boston and New England, while the Ontario Raiders and Syracuse Smash began play.
| 1998 National Lacrosse League | |||||
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity | ||
| Baltimore Thunder | Baltimore, Maryland | Baltimore Arena | 10,582 | ||
| Buffalo Bandits | Buffalo, New York | Marine Midland Arena | 18,595 | ||
| New York Saints | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 16,297 | ||
| Ontario Raiders | Hamilton, Ontario | Copps Coliseum | 17,383 | ||
| Philadelphia Wings | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | CoreStates Center | 19,511 | ||
| Rochester Knighthawks | Rochester, New York | Rochester Community War Memorial | 10,662 | ||
| Syracuse Smash | Syracuse, New York | Onondaga County War Memorial | 5,800 | ||
No All-Star Game was played in 1998.
| Award | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MVP Award | Gary Gait | Baltimore |
| Rookie of the Year Award | Colin Doyle | Ontario |
| Championship Game MVP (Series) | Dallas Eliuk | Philadelphia |
| Championship Game MVP (Game 1) | Dallas Eliuk | Philadelphia |
| Championship Game MVP (Game 2) | Bill Miller | Philadelphia |
Each week, a player is awarded "Player of the Week" honours.
| Week | Player of the Week |
|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Gait |
| 2 | Andy Piazza |
| 3 | Derek Collins |
| 4 | Chris Gill |
| 5 | Eric Seremet |
| 6 | Tom Marechek |
| 7 | Gary Gait |
| 8 | Darris Kilgour |
| 9 | Derek General |
| 10 | Russ Heard |
| 11 | Colin Doyle |
| 12 | Steve Sombrotto |
| 13 | Mark Millon |
| 14 | John Tavares |
| 15 | Bob Watson |
Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie. The 1998 season was the first season that the Rookie of the Month award was given out.
| Month | Overall | Rookie | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | Gary Gait | Curt Malawsky | |
| Feb | Darris Kilgour | Jake Bergey | |
| Mar | Mark Millon | Colin Doyle |
Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records.
| Stat | Player | Team | Number | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goals | Gary Gait | Baltimore | 57 | |
| Assists | Jim Veltman | Ontario | 40 | |
| Points | Gary Gait | Baltimore | 85 | |
| Penalty Minutes | Pat Coyle | Ontario | 48 | |
| Shots on Goal | Gary Gait | Baltimore | 156 | |
| Loose Balls | Jim Veltman | Ontario | 194 | |
| Save Pct | Steve Dietrich | Rochester | 77.9 |
| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance[1] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Wings | 6 | 14,197 | 85,182 | |
| Buffalo Bandits | 6 | 12,256 | 73,534 | |
| New York Saints | 6 | 6,725 | 40,349 | |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 6 | 6,706 | 40,234 | |
| Baltimore Thunder | 6 | 5,378 | 32,269 | |
| Ontario Thunder | 6 | 4,810 | 28,862 | |
| Syracuse Smash | 6 | 4,230 | 25,378 | |
| League | 42 | 7,757 | 325,808 |
| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Wings | 2 | 9,288 | 19,655 | |
| Baltimore Thunder | 2 | 3,282 | 6,564 | |
| League | 4 | 6,555 | 26,219 |