Ranking every season in Utah Jazz franchise history

1983-84 Utah Jazz record: 45-37, Lost NBA Western Conference Semifinals vs Phoenix Suns 2-4

This is the best Utah Jazz team we’ve covered so far in this slide, and it isn’t particularly close. They didn’t only reach the playoffs, but eliminate a talented Denver Nuggets squad in the first round.

It was also (perhaps not coincidentally) Adrian Dantley’s finest season as a Jazzman. The prolific scorer averaged 30.6 points per contest in 1983-84. Unlike some of his other seasons in Salt Lake City, this time around, Dantley actually had sufficient help.

The talented backcourt duo of Rickey Green and Darrell Griffith averaged 13.2 points and 9.2 assists per game and 20.0 point and 3.5 assists per game respectively. In tandem with Dantley’s immense production, the Utah Jazz finished the regular season with the league’s 9th best offense.

The defense was a little weaker, finishing 12th among the NBA’s 23 teams. Much of the credit for its relative competency is due to Mark Eaton. He (only) managed to block 4.3 shots per game in 1983-84, and his 102 Defensive Rating led the team.

In short, this wasn’t the first winning Utah Jazz team, but it may have been the first one that every other team in the Association was forced to take seriously.