Ranking every season in Utah Jazz franchise history

1993-94 Utah Jazz Record: 53-29, Lost in Western Conference Finals vs Houston Rockets 1-4

The fact that the 1993-94 Utah Jazz featured John Stockton and Karl Malone running the pick and roll ad nauseam doesn’t make them notable. That was true of almost every Utah Jazz team for the better part of two decades. The most important thing about the 1993-94 season was that the Jazz duo found their third banana in Jeff Hornacek.

The man with the unprintable nickname was a perfect fit with the Jazz. His production admittedly declined after a midseason trade brought him to Salt Lake City from the Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged 16.6 points and 5.9 assists per game in 37.6 minutes per game in the City of Brotherly Love, and 14.6 points and 3.9 assists in 30.6 minutes for the Jazz.

The most important number there has to be his substantially decreased minutes per game. Beyond playing time, Hornacek’s role changed between squads. He was a primary playmaker on a significantly less talented 76ers team, and operated as a lower usage, off-ball weapon alongside Stockton in the Jazz’s backcourt.

Nonetheless, his value to this team was immeasurable. He was instrumental in the team’s success that year, as they’d advance to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the eventual NBA champion Houston Rockets.