Utah Jazz: The 50 greatest players in franchise history
By Matt Giles
All-time greatest Utah Jazz players: No. 14 Rickey Green
- Seasons with the franchise: Eight (1980-81 to 1987-88)
- Regular-season games played: 606
- Averages as a Jazzman: 11.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.1 blocks
- Shooting percentages: 47.9 from the field, 82.0 from the foul line
- Playoff games with Utah: 36
- Postseason averages: 11.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.1 blocks
Fastest of Them All.
After snagging Rickey Green as a free agent in 1980, the Utah Jazz saw eight productive seasons from the 6-foot guard. A former No. 16 overall selection out of Michigan from the 1977 NBA Draft, the heralded Chicago native earned a starting job in the backcourt in six of those campaigns as a Jazzman.
Green’s lone All-Star season came in 1983-84 when the lightning defender led the NBA with his 2.7 steals per game (his 2.8 per game the season before was No. 2 in the league). Also, he finished among the top 10 in assists per game four times.
Sure, John Stockton eventually took center stage on the perimeter for Utah, and Green landed with the Charlotte Hornets in June 1988 via the expansion draft. But before Stockton and Karl Malone rose to supremacy in the franchise record books, Green stood as the franchise’s all-time leader in assists, steals, and games played.