1987-88 Utah Jazz Record: 47-35, Lost NBA Western Conference Semifinals vs Los Angeles Lakers 3-4
The 1987-88 Utah Jazz were a team in the midst of a nearly-completed transition. Franchise mainstays like Darrell Griffith and Rickey Green were still around, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that they were no longer the cornerstones in Salt Lake City.
The former’s minutes had been reduced to 20.2 per night, a career low for the career-long Jazzman. Meanwhile, the latter had clearly been usurped by John Stockton. Green averaged 4.9 points and 3.7 assists per game in 87-88,: Stockton averaged 14.7 points and 13.8 assists. The squad’s point guard of the future had been squarely decided.
Meanwhile, a 24-year-old Karl Malone was already averaging 27.7 points per game en route to the second-most points in NBA history.
As strong as this unit was, they dropped the Western Conference Semifinals to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers. Utah Jazz alumni from 1987-88 shouldn’t feel too badly about losing to Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: everyone was doing it at the time, and they impressively pushed the champs to 7 games.
Fun fact: did you know Darryl Dawkins played four games for the 1987-88 Utah Jazz? He wasn’t exactly the Dunk You Very Much that was shattering backboards to the delight of fans throughout the 70s: in fact, Dawkins converted two field goals over the entire season.
He’s still an NBA legend that was rostered by the Utah Jazz.