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Fansided

Utah Jazz Mount Rushmore Gets Shorted By NBA.com

By Jared Barker

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Imagine the four best players who ever played for the Jazz. Who’s there for you? John Stockton, Karl Malone… and who else? Would Jeff Hornacek make your list? What about Mark Eaton? Thurl Bailey, Gail Goodrich, or even Pistol Pete Maravich? When it comes down to it, which of them should be recognized among the greatest Jazzmen to have ever played?

This particular question elicited some great responses which I will detail a bit more later. For now, let’s focus on what the NBA included as options for the Utah Jazz.

According to NBA.com only three of them seem to matter. NBA Rushmore probably gives every team that isn’t the Los Angeles Lakers or the Boston Celtics the shaft historically speaking. I suppose these “Mount Rushmores” aren’t meant to be focused on one specific team, but for fun I immediately tried to make a Utah Jazz specific Rushmore and came up with this–


I soon realized NBA.com hadn’t forgotten about the man they called “Pistol,” but the website kept denying me the ability to create the post–

Clearly too profane for the NBA. Back to the tweets!

It still hurts to include Dominique Wilkins, but there really aren’t any other Jazzmen to choose from on the site. I don’t feel like Wilkins counts as a Jazz player even though the team originally owned his rights before being forced to trade them due to Wilkins’ refusal to play for Utah. He’s one of the better players that could have been a Jazzman.

Among the players who were major snubs are Jeff Hornacek and Mark Eaton. Eaton was a major defensive presence and still holds several records. Hornacek completed the Utah Jazz version of the big three and made the team a contender and a squad that could win on the road consistently for the first time in franchise history. For this reason, both of these men should be included as options for an NBA Rushmore.

Then again, this is probably just the Jazz fan in me talking. After all, who among all of the NBA fans knew who Jeff Hornacek was until he was in the NBA Finals? I honestly have no idea. As for Eaton, we all know the level of respect defensive big men get in Utah…

This is an excellent point. Jerry Sloan is amazing and meant–or rather means–so much to this franchise and its fans.

Let me know who would be on your Utah Jazz Rushmore! This is a great way to reminisce about all the great players the Jazz have had over the years. If Trevor Booker continues to sock it to the greatest former player the Jazz have ever had, we may have to consider him deserving of a spot on the mountain.

Next: Could the Jazz Snag Willie Cauley-Stein in the NBA Draft

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