1995-96 Utah Jazz Record: 55-27, Lost in Western Conference Finals vs Seattle Supersonics 3-4
Remember the 1989-90 season, wherein Stockton and Malone both put up historically elite individual numbers but the Utah Jazz disappointed in the playoffs? Consider 1995-96 the antithesis.
Not that the dynamic duo weren’t individually impressive. Malone averaged 25.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists in his age 32 season, with Stockton contributing 14.7 points and 11.2 assists at the age of 33.
Those are all great marks, but they pale in comparison to the egregious stats the duo had been racking up six years prior. It’s highly doubtful that either of the two Utah Jazz greats were concerned, and far more likely that each wished they’d been able to advance past the Seattle Supersonics in the Western Conference Finals.
The difference between the two Western Conference powerhouses may have been depth. Jeff Hornacek was still a high quality contributor to the Jazz, but if Hershey Hawkins was roughly his equal on the Sonics, Detlef Schrempf was his clear superior. With those two flanking another elite point guard / power forward combo in Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, the Sonics were too much for the Jazzmen to handle.