Utah Jazz Links: ‘The Shot,’ Season tickets on the rise

The best bits from the Utah Jazz blogosphere, including an oral history of ‘The Shot,’ fan reaction to the rising prices for season tickets and a ranking for the team’s Twitter account.

It’s probably a little hard to believe for longtime fans such as myself, but Monday (May 29) marked the 20th anniversary of what is likely the greatest moment in Utah Jazz history. It was the night of “The Shot” — John Stockton’s dagger three in the waning seconds of Game 6 of the 1997 Western Conference Finals against the Houston Rockets.

With the game level at 100 and just 2.8 seconds remaining, Bryon Russell was called on to inbound the ball. After a monster (potentially illegal) pick by Karl Malone freed him up, Stockton received the pass from Russell, launched the ball from deep and, as time expired, it flowed through the net, sending the Jazz to their first NBA Finals.

To commemorate the moment, Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune compiled An oral history of The Shot, featuring comments from Stockton, Jeff Hornacek, Jerry Sloan and a whole host of others who were part of making that history.

Here’s Stockton on The Shot, via Falk —

"“I think the first time I’ve seen a highlight of anything other than the shot was [in late March]. Somebody showed me the last few minutes, and you see the contributions and the things that led into it. Bryon Russell’s 3-point shots, Oster blocking shots all over the place, everybody was contributing. So much fun. And the shot just culminated the whole deal and got us where we all had dreamt of being.”"

Catch the full story HERE.

Jazz Season Ticket Prices on the Rise

Here’s another good one from Falk, although this one doesn’t quite inspire the same soft, fuzzy feelings inspired by The Shot. Thanks to the team’s success on the floor this past season, as well as the ongoing arena renovations, the Jazz feel they’re offering a more valuable experience to the fans.

So, naturally, they’ve decided to raise the price of season tickets by an average of five percent in the upper bowl and seven percent in the lower ball. In some spots, the price hike was substantially more than that. As one might expect, season ticket holders are less than impressed by this development.

From The Salt Lake Tribune —

"Ticket holders like Desmuke and her husband, Robert, were asked to pony up substantially more than that. The couple said they had to give up their ninth-row seats along the baseline when they learned the cost was going up 38 percent, from $100 per seat per game to $138."

Yeeeesh…

Read the full story with reaction from the ticket holders here: Sticker shock for some fans as team raises season-ticket prices

More from The J-Notes

• With the FIBA World Cup over for Simone Fontecchio, it’s clear he deserves minutes for the Utah Jazz
• Best, Worst and Most likely scenarios for the Utah Jazz this season
• Hoops Hype downplays the significance of the Utah Jazz’s valuable assets
• 3 Utah Jazz players who have the most to gain or lose this season
• Former Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gay is a free agent still and it shouldn’t surprise anyone

Jazz Twitter Garners Middle of the Pack Ranking

Finally, Complex has ranked all 30 of the NBA team-operated Twitter accounts. The Utah Jazz, who have made major strides in the social media department in recent years, come in at No. 16 according to evaluators.

Here’s the write-up on the Jazz, via Complex —

"For the most part, the Utah Jazz stay true to their brand. They’re likable and down-to-earth, and they’re not trying to flame anybody or put them down. But they still have a bit of swagger to them, and coming off their best season in nearly a decade they deserve to. But Jazz, you can afford to not be so nice…"

Catch the full rankings HERE.