Utah Jazz to Host ’97 Finals Team Reunion, Malone Not to Attend?

On March 22nd, the Utah Jazz will host a 1997 Finals Team Reunion during their nationally-televised contest against the New York Knicks.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly 20 years since that glorious moment in Utah Jazz history which saw them qualify for their first ever NBA Finals. It still gives me chills every time I watch John Stockton’s game-winning shot against the Houston Rockets in the 1997 Western Conference Finals to send the Jazz to biggest of all basketball stages, the NBA Finals.

And despite the fact that the Utah Jazz would ultimately fall to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls 4-2 in the series, it was still quite a time to be a Jazz fan as they rolled out the most successful team the franchise has ever seen by qualifying for back-to-back Finals appearances.

And that fabled team will have the chance to celebrate the 20-year reunion of their NBA Finals appearance in an upcoming Jazz game on March 22nd vs. the New York Knicks. The game will be nationally televised and also, not coincidentally, is against the Knicks so that New York head coach Jeff Hornacek and assistant Howard Eisley will also be able to be in attendance.

It’s an awesome idea and bound to be an incredible event. What a scene it will be to have that incredible Jazz squad reunited and honored on the court together during halftime for not only the fans inside Vivint Arena to see but also a national audience following on ESPN.

However, it appears likely that one of the all-time greats of not only that Finals squad, but of the NBA as a whole, may end up not being in attendance. Kay Malone, the wife of the great Karl Malone, tweeted out earlier in the week that due to a prior commitment, the Mailman will not be at the event.

This is a disappointment to be sure, especially considering that Malone, who averaged 27.4 points per game that season and 26 points per game during the ’97 Playoffs, was the league MVP that year and no doubt vital to Utah’s incredible success.

His absence will certainly be noticed and missed and I’m sure Jazz fans and the organizers of the event alike hope that somehow the great Mailman will find a way out of the conflicting event that his wife Kay alluded to.

Nevertheless, it will still be awesome to see the rest of the gang together. While some of the most popular names from that 1997 squad such as John Stockton, Karl Malone, Jeff Hornacek and head coach Jerry Sloan have remained quite visible in the public Jazz scene, I’m personally most excited to see a trio of guys who, despite not being quite as prominent, were among my favorite Jazzmen at the time – Antoine “Big Dog” Carr, Bryon Russell and Chris Morris.

Yes, I know he didn’t play all that much in the 1997 Playoffs but for one reason or another my childhood self was a huge Chris Morris fan.

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Anyway, this will undoubtedly be a thrilling event that I know that I, along with several other Jazz fans, am greatly looking forward to as a chance to walk down memory lane and remember the team that influenced nearly every aspect of my basketball childhood. As well as the current Utah Jazz are playing, for those of us who grew up with this team, we’ve waited nearly 20 years for a squad as thrilling as the one from 1997.

Yet, while the current Jazz still have a ways to go, hopefully the presence of these former Jazz legends will leave a little bit of magic, karma or whatever it takes to help our current squad get back to being a Finals contender sooner rather than later.