The next time you hear someone say the Jazz is better in Utah than New Orleans, make sure they’re not talking about the Utah Jazz as a franchise before you rush to correct them. If they are, proceed to correcting their grammar.
The Jazz’s storied history may have started in the Big Easy, but it really found its footing in the land of the big mountains. Nonetheless, there are fond memories to be found in its New Orleans lineage (many of which are attached to one flashy, NRA nickname-approved point guard).
This franchise has seen its share of ups and downs. Having said that, they’ve been remarkably consistent for a long time as by far the most winning franchise to stop short of winning an NBA championship in league history.
The early years were rough, as they tend to be. Fans in New Orleans were not treated to a great deal of success, and even the beginnings in Utah were humble. Once they got off the ground, however, they never really landed. Since the early 1990s, the Utah Jazz securing a ticket to the NBA playoffs has been almost as safe a bet as death and taxes.
In some seasons, they’ve advanced further than in others. Here, we’ll cover every season in the Jazz’s franchise history, allowing older readers to reminisce and younger ones to learn.
Without further ado, here is every season in Jazz history, ranked.
1974-75 New Orleans Jazz record: 23-59, missed playoffs
Teams, like players, have a tendency to lose in the beginning. The New Orleans Jazz were no exception, finishing their debut 1974-75 season a dismal 23-59. Still, the fanbase in New Orleans had to be excited. A 23-win season is a lot easier to stomach when it coincides with Pistol Pete Maravich’s debut for your squad.
Maravich razzled and dazzled in equal measure, to the tune of 21.5 points, 6.2 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. The Pistol probably could have used a few more weapons in the Jazz’s arsenal, as their next leading scorer was 24-year old Nate Williams, who averaged 14.3 points over the 43 games he was available to suit up.
While this roster may have wanted for capable talent, it was not lacking in notable names. Arguably, Maravich wasn’t even the most accomplished player on the roster. 35-year-old Walt Bellamy played a single game for the New Orleans Jazz in 1974, but the 1993 Hall of Fame inductee’s name still bears mention. This is a man who scored 31.6 points per game in his rookie campaign in 1961.
Meanwhile, Rick Adelman, former NBA head coach, suited up 28 times for this squad, and Henry Bibby, the father of long time NBA point guard Mike Bibby, contributed the same number of games.
Frankly, it might be difficult to identify a more interesting 23-win team in NBA history.
1979-80 Utah Jazz record: 24-58, missed playoffs
By winning percentage, the first season of Pistol Pete’s tenure with the Jazz was the worst in franchise history. It only seems fitting that their second worst season was his last.
It was also their first season as the Utah Jazz. On paper, they should have been a rousing success. This team boasted a Big 3 of Pete Maravich, Adrian Dantley and Bernard King. For younger readers, Dantley and King were two of the league’s most elite scorers throughout the 80s. Each was especially renowned for their mastery of the midrange, which before the 3-point era was (cue a chorus of horrified gasps) a popular way to score the basketball in the NBA.
Unfortunately, the sum of the Utah Jazz’s season was considerably lesser than its parts. Maravich’s age-related decline was becoming increasingly apparent, as the 32-year-old managed a solid-but-unspectacular 17.1 points and 3.2 assists per game. Perhaps more significantly, Bernard King had comfortably the worst season of his career.
He averaged 9.3 points per game throughout the 1979-80 season. For context, that figure is sandwiched between a 21.6 points per game mark the season before, and 21.9 points per game the season after. For further context, he scored a career high 32.9 points per game for the New York Knicks in 1984-85.
Bernard King could score in droves. He just couldn’t seem to do it for the Utah Jazz. He only managed 19 games as a Jazzman, taking the rest of the season to rehab from substance abuse issues.
As a silver lining, the 1979-80 season marked Dantley’s Jazz debut. He poured in 28.3 points per game for the Utah Jazz that season, and would continue to rack up buckets for the franchise for years to come.
1981-82 Utah Jazz record: 25-57, missed playoffs
The 1981-82 season marked another losing Utah Jazz season featuring Adrian Dantley not having enough help. Dantley certainly did his part, with his 30.3 points per game bolstered by 6.3 rebound and 4.0 assists per game. It was his fellow Jazzman left dragging their feet.
Dantley’s most talented teammate was historically underrated Utah Jazz mainstay Darrell Griffith. The owner of, arguably, the coolest nickname in human history, Dr. Dunkenstein averaged 19.8 points per game over the season. Point guard Rickey Green contributed a solid season as well, with averages of 14.8 points and 7.8 assists per game.
It simply wasn’t enough, as the Utah Jazz finished the season with an unsightly 25-win total, missing the playoffs by a long shot.
2013-14 Utah Jazz record: 25-57, missed playoffs
The Utah Jazz finished up the 2013-14 season in similarly unspectacular fashion. This squad was built around names that will be more recognizable to younger readers, including a 23-year-old Gordon Hayward, 22-year-old Derrick Favors and 21-year-old Trey Burke. In other words, this was a young Jazz squad, and they lost in the same fashion that many young teams do: frequently.
The most encouraging aspect of this season was Gordon Hayward’s continued growth, as the young wing averaged a well-rounded 16.2 points, 5.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game. With the benefit of hindsight, however, it’s clear that the most significant event of this season for the Jazz was the debut of another player altogether.
Rudy Gobert would begin his career with the Utah Jazz in the 2013-14 season. The 9.6 minutes per game he would average do not qualify as a harbinger of what was to come.
Spoiler alert: he’ll be an important part of many of the more successful Utah Jazz seasons we’ll cover in this article.
1978-79 New Orleans Jazz record: 26-56, missed playoffs
The 1978-79 version of the New Orleans Jazz are reminiscent of several iterations of the club that we’ve already covered: heavy on star-power, light on wins.
Pistol Pete returned for another season at the helm, and he delivered to the tune of 22.6 points and 5 assists per game. The Jazz also featured one NBA history’s most underrated stars in Truck Robinson. If you’re not familiar with that (amazing) name, familiarize yourself with the following stats: 24.2 points, 13.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
Those were the numbers the former second round pick produced in the 1978-79 season. These Jazz also featured two more legendary players in Spencer Haywood, who accounted for 24 points and 9.6 rebounds a night, and Los Angeles Lakers legend Gail Goodrich, who was admittedly past his prime at 35 but still contributed 12.7 points and 4.8 assists per game.
For those of us who weren’t born yet, it’s hard to account for how this team only managed a mere 26 wins, especially factoring in support from Jim McElroy (16.9 points, 5.7 assists) and Rich Kelley (15.7 points, 12.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists). It has every appearance of a deep, talented playoff team.
Appearances can be misleading, and this team fell short enough to warrant a move to Utah in the following season.
2004-05 Utah Jazz record: 26-56, missed playoffs
If the 1978-79 Jazz’s failures left you scratching your head, the 2004-05 Utah Jazz’s are more likely to induce yawning. Matt Harpring was a solid role player throughout his career, but third-leading scorer is not a role most associate with him in their memories.
That’s exactly what Harpring was for these Jazzmen, with an average of 14.0 points per game. The club’s top two scorers, on the other hand, would both go onto become cornerstones on better Utah Jazz teams in the future. Unfortunately, both Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko were only 22 heading into the 2004-05 season.
Both young stars showed flashes of potential that we know, in hindsight, they would go onto actualize. Boozer’s 17.8 points and 9 rebounds per game were solid, and Kirilenko’s remarkably well-rounded stat line was indicative of a player entering into an early prime: 15.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 3.3 blocks and 1.6 steals per game.
Wings who block 3.3 blocks per game don’t grow on trees: in fact, you can’t even engineer them in a lab. AK-47 was a singular force of unprecedented nature on the defensive side of the floor. The 2004-05 Utah Jazz simply couldn’t capitalize on his dominance.
1980-81 Utah Jazz record: 28-54, missed playoffs
Another late-70s / early-80s Utah Jazz team, another year of Adrian Dantley and Darrell Griffith not getting enough help.
Such was the story of this era of Utah Jazz basketball. The dynamic duo couldn’t even get a double digit scoring average from a teammate, as the Jazz’s third leading scorer through 1980-81 was Ben Poquette with 9.5 points per game. Perhaps the 25-year old combo big could have contributed more if not for the 4.2 fouls per game that kept him frequently off the floor.
This would be the Jazz’s first season since 1974-75 without Maravich manning the point. We’d like to suggest that this was a major factor in their 28 win total, however, that actually marked a 4 win improvement over the year before.
The Utah Jazz have a rich history of success in the NBA, but boy, were the early years rough.
1982-83 Utah Jazz record: 30-52, missed playoffs
The 1982-83 season was almost business-as-usual for the Utah Jazz: the operative word being almost.
Adrian Dantley scored 30.7 a night, Darrell Griffith scored 22.2, and the Jazz were bad anyway. However, something was looming in Salt Lake City. Something huge.
Something like the 7’4, 275 pound behemoth known as Mark Eaton. The newly drafted big man (talk about an understatement) averaged 4.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game over the course of his rookie campaign, to go with 3.4 blocks. Yes, 3.4 blocks; in 18.9 minutes per game.
We’ll save you the trouble of crunching the numbers: that’s 6.5 blocks per 36 minutes.
Little else went right for the Utah Jazz during the 1982-83 season, but Eaton would go onto man the middle for the franchise for about a decade afterwards. For an otherwise unsuccessful season, that qualifies as a victory.
Eaton tragically passed away in a bicycle accident on May 28, 2021. He was 64. As basketball fans, we cannot afford to forget one of the most singular players in NBA history. Nobody blocked shots like prime Mark Eaton, and he was a staple in the Utah community long after his playing career. Fans of the Utah Jazz should preserve his legacy on and off the court.
1976-77 New Orleans Jazz record: 35-47, missed playoffs
There isn’t much separating the 1976-77 New Orleans Jazz from the rest of the franchise’s seasons in the Big Easy. Once again, Pistol Pete Maravich dazzled crowds with ahead-of-his-time passing and dribbling wizardry, and once again, the team lost more games than they won and missed the playoffs.
The biggest difference was probably the Pistol’s individual performance. He racked up an incredible 31.1 points and 5.4 assists per game for the future Utah Jazz in 1976-77. Once again, his supporting cast was a little below par, as the team’s second leading scorer was a past-his-prime, 33-year-old Gail Goodrich at 12.6 points per game.
Otherwise, this club’s list of scoring leaders is populated by names recognizable only to Jazz diehards. Nate Williams, Aaron James and Jim McElroy may easily have been solid pros, but they’re the types of names that even a J-Notes site expert may not recognize (for example).
In some ways, the 1976-77 season encapsulates the New Orleans Jazz experience: NBA legend Pete Maravich, a significantly aged Gail Goodrich, little else and a losing season.
1975-76 New Orleans Jazz record: 38-44, missed playoffs
The 1975-76 Jazz made a significant improvement from their debut season, increasing their win total by a healthy 16 wins. Nonetheless, this was another season during which New Orleans fell short of the playoffs despite stellar play from Pistol Pete Maravich.
He contributed an impressive 25.9 points per game during this season, but once again, his supporting cast fell short of sufficient. The next leading scorer for the Jazzmen was Nate Williams at 12.8 points per game.
The super team era may have been decades away, but there has never been a point in NBA history where 12.8 points per game qualified as a strong secondary scorer.
Louie Nelson contributed 12.5 per, and Ron Behagen added 11.5 to the ledger, and nobody else on the 1975-76 New Orleans Jazz cracked double digits in scoring.
2014-15 Utah Jazz record: 38-44, missed playoffs
Fans of the Utah Jazz may not have realized they were witnessing the beginning of an era in 2014-15, but they were. That season marked the debut of two men who have been instrumental to the club’s recent era of success in Head Coach Quin Snyder and Utah demigod Joe Ingles.
At 27, Ingles was an older NBA rookie, having spent his professional career in Australia and Europe to that point. His maiden campaign may not have garnered Rookie of the Year consideration, with humble averages of 5.0 points and 2.3 assists per game. However, as any Utah Jazz fan will enthusiastically tell you, Jingles impacts the game in ways that go beyond traditional stats, and that was apparent from the onset.
Meanwhile, 2014-15 also marked the sophomore season of Rudy Gobert, and the Stifle Tower took a significant step forward from his debut. He averaged 8.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and an impressive 2.3 blocks per game for the Jazzmen that year, eventually claiming the starting center position that he still comfortably holds today.
With a 38-44 record, Coach Quin Snyder wasn’t necessarily able to put his coaching mastery on full display in his first go-round. In retrospect, this was clearly a team in transition. Gordon Hayward was still the team’s leading scorer at 19.3 points per game, and perhaps even more tellingly, Derrick Favors finished second with 16.0 points per contest.
A 22-year-old Rodney Hood looked like a future All-Star, and Gobert had to spend half the season wrestling his starting gig from Enes Kanter. This team clearly didn’t know who they were yet, and Utah Jazz fans didn’t know who they’d become.
1977-78 New Orleans Jazz record: 39-43, missed playoffs
If you’re noticing a trend, we appreciate that you’re reading attentively: the New Orleans Jazz missed the playoffs despite an impressive season from Pete Maravich.
Since we’ve already dedicated substantial space in this article to the Pistol, we’ll focus on the contributions of the criminally underrated Truck Robinson here. The aptly-named power forward averaged a gargantuan 22.7 points and 15.7 rebounds per game over the 1977-78 season.
That’s a substantial statistical contribution, but it just wasn’t enough for New Orleans to punch a ticket to the league’s postseason dance. Neither was Maravich’s 27.0 points and 6.7 assists per game. Gail Goodrich was even a solid contributor in his age-34 season, averaging 16.1 points and 4.8 assists per game.
By the 1977-78 season, the franchise was nearing the end of its tenure in New Orleans, and it isn’t difficult to see why. Year-after-year, the Jazz fielded a talented roster in the Big Easy, and year-after-year, they missed the playoffs anyway.
The 1977-78 season was no exception.
2010-11 Utah Jazz record: 39-43, missed playoffs
If any iteration of the Utah Jazz could be accused of underperformance, it may be the 2010-11 version. This was a tumultuous season marked by in-fighting that ultimately culminated in the dissolution of a highly-talented group.
The 2010-11 Utah Jazz’s fate is perhaps best captured by its mid-season coaching change. Jerry Sloan had this group with a solid record of 31-23 when he resigned. It seems that a rift between himself and star point guard Deron Williams forced the Jazz icon into retirement.
Nonetheless, a coaching change wouldn’t be enough to keep Williams in Salt Lake City, as the front office honored his trade request by sending him packing to the New Jersey Nets. In return, the Jazz would receive franchise mainstay Derrick Favors, Devin Harris and two future first-round picks.
It was a solid return for Williams, but it did little to improve the Jazz’s short-term prospects. Interim head coach Tyrone Corbin would finish out the season 8-20, and the Utah Jazz would miss the playoffs.
A team that started out the season with a core of Deron Williams, Paul Millsap, Andre Kirilenko and Al Jefferson undoubtedly had higher expectations. The Jazz also rostered a 20-year-old rookie named Gordon Hayward, but his future significance to the franchise was not yet apparent.
The 2010-11 season is far from the worst Utah Jazz season we’ve covered in this article, but with the possible exception of 1979-80, it may be the most disappointing.
2015-16 Utah Jazz record: 40-42, missed playoffs
We’ve still yet to cover a playoff team in this complete history of the Utah Jazz, but with the 2015-16 version of the club, we’re inching closer to .500.
Perhaps most significantly, 2015-16 marked Rudy Gobert’s first full-time season as a starter, a position he’s held ever since. A 23-year-old Stifle Tower averaged 9.1 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks that season, in addition to a characteristically elite 99 Defensive Rating. Gobert’s status as starting center is about the only familiar aspect of this version of the Utah Jazz.
Otherwise, this team encapsulates a bygone era. Derrick Favors was in tow, but the 16.4 points and 8.1 rebounds he contributed on a nightly basis read like the statistics of a completely different player than the one we know today. In retrospect, the concept of Head Coach Quin Snyder running a twin-towers look in his starting lineup is odd given his current club’s wing-heavy, three-point focused unit.
Gordon Hayward was the clear alpha in the offensive pecking order, averaging 19.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists. The rest of this roster was rounded out with solid young talent. 23-year-old Rodney Hood had the appearance of All-Star potential, as did 23-year-old Trey Burke and 24-year-old Alec Burks.
Flash forward to 2021, and none of those players are All-Stars. None of them are on the Utah Jazz either. Hope still springs eternal, however, and the 2015-16 Jazz were arguably building towards the contending club that Salt Lake City fans are in love with today.
2005-06 Utah Jazz record: 41-41, missed playoffs
If you’re still with us, congratulations: it took 12 slides, but we’re finally covering a .500 Utah Jazz team.
The 2005-06 Jazzmen could have pushed that win total higher had they known what they had in rookie point guard Deron Williams. Unfortunately, either Williams wasn’t ready to take the reigns, or Head Coach Jerry Sloan wasn’t ready to give them to him. The soon-to-be superstar floor general averaged a modest 10.8 points and 4.5 assists over his rookie campaign.
In the absence of a superstar veteran, these Utah Jazz leaned on their depth, and were successful to a degree. Their leading scorer was ahead-of-his-time stretch 5 Mehmet Okur with 18.0 points per game, followed by throwback power forward Carlos Boozer with 16.3.
All told, six members of the Utah Jazz averaged double digit scoring figures in 2005-06. That’s an impressive mark, but it wasn’t quite enough to get the Jazz in the playoffs. For all of their offensive depth, they may have had more success had they chosen to hand Deron Williams a higher usage rate than Matt Harpring.
2003-04 Utah Jazz record: 42-40, missed playoffs
The 2003-04 Utah jazz could be aptly described as a ragtag bunch. This was the franchise’s first season without their famed duo of Karl Malone and John Stockton, and as with any team entering into an entirely new era, expectations were reasonably low. Although this team missed the league’s postseason dance, their winning regular season record (the first we’ve covered in this article) exceeded those expectations.
Much of which can be attributed to the breakout campaign of Andrei Kirilenko. The 22-year-old wing posted an absurdly well-rounded 16.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.8 blocks and 1.9 steals per contest over the 2003-04 season. That was good for an equally outrageous 7.2 VORP.
Simply put, AK-47 was one of the best players in the entire NBA in 2003-04, an elite defensive wing who was named to the 2003-04 All-Defensive Second Team with a solid offensive game to boot.
Otherwise, Utah Jazz fan favorite Matt Harpring was second on this team in scoring, with 16.2 points and 8 rebounds per game. Outside of those two, this roster was somewhat unremarkable, although 22-year-old DeShawn Stevenson would go on to enjoy a solid NBA career.
2012-13 Utah Jazz record: 43-39, missed playoffs
The 2012-13 Utah Jazz represent the last hurrah of an entire era of Jazz basketball, headlined by the last cast of talented players who cannot be directly tied to the current era of the club’s history.
The leading scorer in 2012-13 was Big Al Jefferson, himself emblematic of a bygone time. His vast array of low block head fakes and spin moves produced 17.8 points per game for a talented, yet ultimately mediocre Utah Jazz team.
The gap between Jefferson and the team’s next leading scorer, Paul Millsap, was substantial, as Millsap scored a mere 14.6 points per game that season. That was a steep and unexpected drop-off for the former second round steal, who’d averaged 16.6 and 17.3 points per game in his two seasons prior.
Another positive development for the Jazzman that season was Gordon Hayward’s continued development. He averaged 14.1 points per game and began to look the part of a future franchise cornerstone.
As always, the benefit of hindsight is immeasurable.
1984-85 Utah Jazz record: 41-41, Lost NBA Western Conference Semifinals 1-4 vs Denver Nuggets
Just like the 2005-06 version of the Utah Jazz, the club finished an even .500 in 1984-85 at 41-41. The major difference between those two historic squads, however, is that this version made the playoffs.
They actually managed to do some damage when they got there as well, upsetting the Houston Rockets in the first round to advance to the Western Conference semifinals.
For more recent Utah Jazz fans, the notion of upsetting the Rockets in the playoffs has to be deeply, if not sickly, satisfying.
The Rockets were led by the twin towers of Ralph Sampson and a rookie (then) named Akeem Olajuwon. It simply wasn’t enough to stifle a Jazz attack led by franchise icons like Adrian Dantley, Mark Eaton, Darrell Griffith and Rickey Green.
Plus, the Utah Jazz had a soon-to-be franchise icon playing out his rookie season as well. John Stockton wasn’t quite ready to prove himself the greatest guard in Jazz history yet, as the rookie point guard averaged 5.6 points and 5.1 assists over the course of the 1984-85 season. That’s a far cry from the 20.6 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game Olajuwon would average in his maiden campaign.
Nonetheless, Stockton and his Utah Jazz would have the last laugh, dispelling the Rockets 3-2 in what was then a 5-game first round series. They’d continue on to lose to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semis, but on the bright side, John Stockton wouldn’t submit such a modest statistical output for 18 more years in the National Basketball Association.
1985-86 Utah Jazz record: 42-40, Lost Western Conference First Round 1-3 vs Dallas Mavericks
Like so many placements in an exercise of this nature, the decision between the 1984-85 Utah Jazz and the previous year is largely subjective. On the one hand, the Jazzmen won a playoff series in the 1984-85, but on the other, this iteration of the club actually finished the season with a winning record (in addition to playing in the postseason).
Ultimately, we ranked 1985-86 one spot ahead because of the future-focused implication of this group’s roster construction. Essentially, the presence of an extra Jazz icon gave this season a boost.
We think it’s fair to say that Karl Malone’s rookie season is a pretty significant one in Utah Jazz history.
The Mailman wasn’t an obvious superstar in his rookie campaign, but he did point to his immense potential with averages of 14.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, his longtime counterpart John Stockton was on his way to Point God status, albeit not there yet. His 7.7 points and 7.9 assists don’t leap off of the page like the statistics from some of his prime years, but considering his limited minutes in 1985-86, they’re impressive. For added context, he averaged 11.7 points and 11.3 assists per 36 minutes.
Rickey Green was still blocking his path on the Utah Jazz depth chart, and deservingly so, as Green turned in a solid campaign with 11.7 points and 5.1 assists per game. Otherwise, the Jazz were still Adrian Dantley’s team in 1986-86. He averaged 29.8 points per game in what would be his last season with the club.
The Utah Jazz were in the dawn of the most successful era in their franchise’s history by 1985-86, and their fans largely had no idea it was coming.
2001-02 Utah Jazz record: 44-38, Lost NBA Western Conference First Round 1-3 vs Sacramento Kings
The 1985-86 Utah Jazz may have been in the dawn of a new era, but by 2001-02, the sun was definitively setting on John Stockton and Karl Malone.
The duo were both still All-Star caliber players. Stockton averaged 15.5 points and 9.5 assists in his age 39 season, while Malone averaged 22.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists at the age of 38.
Such productivity at each man’s advanced age was nothing short of remarkable, however, there was an obvious cap on this team’s ceiling, as it precisely met its expected 43-38 win/loss total. In the playoffs, each Utah Jazz star players’ age would begin to show dramatically, as they got ran off the floor by the running-and-gunning Sacramento Kings.
In 2001-02, the Kings led the NBA in pace. That posed a problem for two superstars in their late 30s. Meanwhile, the Kings were an overwhelmingly talented squad, led by Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, Mike Bibby and Vlade Divac. They would go on to push the dynastic Los Angeles Lakers to 7 games in the Western Conference Finals.
They were one of the most talented teams to ever fall short of an NBA Finals appearance, and the Jazz were simply ill-equipped to handle their attack. John Stockton and Karl Malone saw more successful years together, to say the least.
1986-87 Utah Jazz record: 44-38, Lost NBA Western Conference First Round 2-3 vs Golden State Warriors
If Karl Malone and John Stockton were too weathered to lead an elite NBA team in 2001-02, they were probably a little too green for the task in 1986-87. The former was beginning to emerge as a potential franchise player by his age 23 season with averages of 21.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest.
Stockton, on the other hand, looked like something closer to an elite role player with averages of 7.9 points and 8.2 assists per game. He was stuck behind franchise icons Rickey Green and Darrell Griffith in Head Coach Frank Layden’s rotation.
This Utah Jazz team also lost in the first round of the NBA playoffs, this time to a Golden State Warriors outfit led by a historically-underrated Sleepy Floyd and a 23-year-old Chris Mullin. On paper, one might have expected this Jazz club to best the Warriors, but that’s why the games are played on the hardwood.
An underrated storyline from this season was Kelly Tripucka’s tremendous fall from grace. His first season in Salt Lake City, Tripucka’s points per game dipped from the 20.0 he averaged as a Piston in 1985-86 all the way down to 10.1 points per game. Evidently, something in Utah’s fresh mountain air didn’t agree with the star forward.
2011-12 Utah Jazz record: 36-30, Lost NBA Western Conference First Round 0-4 vs San Antonio Spurs
The 2011-12 NBA season is primarily remembered for its lockout-related shortening. For fans of the NBA in general, it is decidedly not remembered for the Utah Jazz.
Having said that, the Jazz did boast a strong frontcourt during this season. Al Jefferson was a throwback, low-block bruising big man, but if a team did wish to play someone like him in 2021, it’s hard to envision a better fitting frontcourt partner than Paul Millsap. His multi-positional defense and floor spacing compensated for Jefferson’s deficiencies in those areas.
Meanwhile, future (brief) face of the franchise Gordon Hayward lined up at the small forward position. At 21, Hayward began to flash his immense potential with averages of 11.8 points, 3.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds.
Nonetheless, this team’s backcourt play was simply not good enough to compete for anything other than a first-round exit. Their lead scoring guard was Devin Harris, with 11.3 points per game. Ultimately, a team built around Jefferson’s low-block mastery ended up being a recipe for mediocrity.
1992-93 Utah Jazz record: 47-35, Lost Western Conference First Round 2-3 vs Seattle SuperSonics
The 1992-93 Utah Jazz had a higher winning percentage than any iteration of the team we’ve covered in this article so far. Unfortunately, a flameout in the playoffs holds this team’s ranking behind even some less impressive regular season Jazzmen.
It was Karl Malone’s age 29 season, and his counterpart John Stockton’s age 30 campaign. With both men firmly entrenched in their primes, one may expect that this Jazz squad would be among the best that Salt Lake City ever witnessed. One would be wrong for at least two reasons.
The first would be that both former Utah Jazz superstars aged into later-than-average primes. As good as Malone (27.0 points, 11..2 rebounds, 3.8 assists per game) and Stockton (15.1 points, 12.4 assists, 2.4 steals) were by 1993-94, they would both, remarkably, get better.
The second is that the duo was lacking a quality supporting cast. Jeff Malone was solid with an 18.1 point per game scoring average, but otherwise, this team was simply lacking in premiere talent. Utah Jazz legend Mark Eaton, by 36, was rapidly losing his effectiveness. He managed a humble 17.3 minutes per game in 1992-93.
Ultimately, these Utah Jazz would drop the first round to a Seattle SuperSonics club featuring a younger power forward/point guard duo in Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton, in addition to a much deeper supporting cast.
2002-03 Utah Jazz record: 47-35, Lost NBA Western Conference First Round vs Sacramento Kings (1-4)
The 1992-93 Jazz were on the cusp of greatness. The 2002-03 Jazz were desperately attempting to relive the same greatness their decade-earlier iteration were on the cusp of.
By 2002-03, Karl Malone was 39 and John Stockton was 40. Both men were still effective, but decidedly removed from their primes. Malone averaged 20.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game, with Stockton posting 10.8 points and 7.7 assists per contest.
Meanwhile, the Jazz’s cupboards were somewhat restocked, but the job had not been finished. Matt Harpring had a career year for the Jazzmen, averaging 17.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. A 21-year-old Andrei Kirilenko was effective, but still a few years away from his impressive peak.
All told, it would be the Mailman’s last season in Salt Lake City, and Stockton’s last in the NBA, period.
2008-09 Utah Jazz Record: 48-34, Lost NBA Western Conference First Round vs Los Angeles Lakers 1-4.
In the grand scheme of things, the Utah Jazz didn’t have to wait long to host a player with a case as the best point guard in the NBA after John Stockton’s retirement.
By 2008-09, Deron Williams was arguably at the zenith of his immense powers. In his age 24 season, Williams averaged 19.4 points per game and 10.7 assists per game. If you didn’t think he was the best point guard in the NBA, that could only have been because you preferred Chris Paul.
Otherwise, this version of the Jazzmen boasted solid depth, rostering an in-prime Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur, a pre-prime Paul Millsap and an Andrei Kirilenko who was inexplicably past his prime by the age of 27.
Otherwise, Matt Harpring was still kicking around, but by the age of 32 his production had fallen off one of Utah’s vast mountains. Another notable Jazzman on this roster was Kyle Korver, but the 38.6% he shot from three-point range on 3.6 attempts per contest don’t compare to either the volume or accuracy we’d later come to expect from him.
That’s a lot of notable talent here, but not enough to drag the Jazz past a dominant Lakers team led by Kobe Bryant.
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.
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.
2017-18 Utah Jazz Record: 48-34, Lost NBA Western Conference Semifinals to Houston Rockets 1-4
The 2017-18 Utah Jazz are not fundamentally different from the group of Jazzmen that fans know and love today. Donovan Mitchell led this group in scoring in his rookie campaign with 20.5 points per game. Meanwhile, Rudy Gobert may not have been as fully realized as the 2021-22 version, but with 13.5 points per game, 10.7 rebounds per game and 2.3 blocks per game, he was fully entrenched as the team’s starting center.
The Jazz’s All-Star duo weren’t the only familiar faces in 2017-18. Joe Ingles authored a breakout season with the only NBA franchise he’s ever known with averages of 11.5 points, 4.8 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game. Royce O’Neale was a 24-year-old rookie as well, although in 16.7 minutes per game he wasn’t ready to make the impact that he does in 2021-22.
The most satisfying development in this Jazz season was Donovan Mitchell’s readiness to assume the position of number one offensive option. The team was a year removed from Gordon Hayward’s unexpected departure, and expected to regress in the absence of a star offensive player. Instead, they began one of the most successful eras in the team’s history.
On the novelty side, Stockton suited up for the 2017-18 Utah Jazz. David Stockton, that is. The son of the franchise icon suited up for 3 games for the Jazzmen before he was released.
As talented as this team was, a rookie Spida wasn’t ready to lead them past a Houston Rockets team headlined by an elite backcourt of James Harden and Chris Paul.
2018-19 Utah Jazz Record: 50-32, Lost NBA Western Conference First Round vs Houston Rockets 1-4
Generally, we’ve prioritized playoff success in these rankings. We’re putting the 2018-19 season ahead of its immediate predecessor despite a worse playoff outcome for two reasons. Firstly, this is the first version of the Utah Jazz we’ve covered to surpass the 50 win threshold. Secondly, the gains made by current franchise cornerstones Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell in 2018-19 are more significant than any short term playoff success.
Rudy Gobert won his first of several Defensive Player of the Year awards with averages of 15.9 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. Meanwhile, Mitchell took a significant step forward in his sophomore season with averages of 23.8 points and 4.2 assists per contest.
Ricky Rubio started at the point guard position for his second and final season in Salt Lake City. Arguably, his greatest contribution to the Jazz was the lesson that floor-spacing was more important than passing ability at that position in Quin Snyder’s system. The team acquired Mike Conley directly after this season, and they haven’t looked back yet
Despite the growth of Mitchell and Gobert, there remained a constant between these two seasons: the Jazz couldn’t handle the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs.
Utah Jazz 2019-20 Record: 44-28, Lost NBA Western Conference First Round vs Denver Nuggets 3-4
These three seasons being ranked chronologically was not the result of an error: instead, it’s a testament to the consistent success of the Donovan Mitchell / Rudy Gobert era.
The 2019-20 NBA season was the first to be marred by the (somehow) still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Having said that, this iteration of the Jazz is about as consistent with the current club as the space required to socially distance.
Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert continued to headline. Bogdan Bogdanovic had his first season with the club, as did Jordan Clarkson. Joe Ingles and Royce O’Neale remained in tow. The backend of the rotation has changed in the two offseasons separating 2019-20 and the current season, but the central players remain the same.
Once again, Utah Jazz fans could argue that the 2019-20 season represented a step backward from the 2017-18 season when the club actually won a playoff series. We’d remind those fans that we’re writing this piece with the same benefit of hindsight that they’re reading it with.
This core group would spend 2019-20 gelling, and spend 2020-21 reaping the rewards of that opportunity.
1988-89 Utah Jazz Record: 51-31, Lost NBA Western Conference First Round vs Golden State Warriors 0-3
One might assume that any team featuring Karl Malone and John Stockton at the peak of their powers would field a dominant offensive team. Try telling that to the 1988-89 Utah Jazz.
Malone averaged 29.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, while John Stockton averaged 17.1 points and 13.6 assists per contest. Yet, in direct defiance of reason, the Utah Jazz finished the 1988-89 season with the 17th best Offensive Rating in the NBA at 106.6. To make matters worse, here’s a friendly reminder: that’s 17th out of 25, not 30.
Instead, this group was dominant on the defensive end. They had the best Defensive Rating in the league at 101.5. That much checks out, as any Jazz team with Mark Eaton manning the middle tended to have an elite Defensive Rating throughout his prime.
It’s hard to account for that problematic offense though. Thuri Bailey, one of the NBA’s forgotten talents, averaged 19.5 points per game as Malone’s second scoring fiddle.
It’s possible that even on the standards of the late 80s, the Eaton/Malone pairing was too offensively limited. It’s an interesting thought experiment: take Karl Malone and pluck him into 2021, and there are strong odds that he’d spend the bulk (pun intended) of his minutes at the 5. Any coach that preferred him at the 4 would inevitably be forced to pair him with a stretch 5.
The standards were different in 1988-89, but if the Jazz’s Offensive Rating from that season is any indication, they may not have been as different as we think.
2016-17 Utah Jazz Record: 51-31, Lost in Western Conference Semifinals to Golden State Warriors 0-4
The 2016-17 season was the apex of the Gordon Hayward era. Paradoxically, it was also the end of it.
Few could have seen the star wing departing for (literally) greener pastures following a season in which he averaged 21.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game en route to a 51 win season. With a 24-year-old Gobert reaching new heights (14.0 points, 12.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game) and Hayward rounding into a star, the Jazz appeared to have their future mapped out.
Appearances can be deceiving. In the meantime, this group was rounded out by a 30-year-old George Hill having a career season, a pair of young players who still appeared to have some star potential in Rodney Hood and Dante Exum, and aging-but-effective veterans like Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw. Gobert and Hayward may have been this team’s focal points, but their well-rounded roster was equally responsible for the season’s success.
They’d suffer a sweep at the hands of the eventual NBA champion Golden State Warriors. That team was a powerhouse, but outside of them, this iteration of the Utah Jazz would have been a challenge to any other team in the Western Conference.
It may have been Gordon Hayward’s last season in Salt Lake City, but this group set a standard that the Utah Jazz are still meeting to this day.
2000-01 Utah Jazz Record: 53-29, Lost in Western Conference First Round vs Dallas Mavericks 2-3
As far as the John Stockton and Karl Malone era was concerned, 2000-01 was not one of its most inspiring seasons. That was probably to be expected, with Stockton in his age 38 season and Malone being a mere year his junior.
The regular season, evidently, went quite well. The Jazz finished the season with an Offensive Rating of 107.6, good for third in the NBA. Karl Malone (23.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists) looked like roughly the player that Utah Jazz fans had grown to love. Stockton was a half step slower, but his per game averages of 11.5 points and 8.7 assists still made him one of the top point guards in the National Basketball Association.
Meanwhile, veteran role players like Bryon Russell, John Starks and Greg Ostertag assisted the cause. All that experience contributed to a wonderful regular season, but it was age that caught up to the 2000-01 Jazzmen. They couldn’t handle a run-and-gun Mavericks squad that had been fourth in the NBA in pace behind the play of a dynamic Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash pairing.
1989-90 Utah Jazz Record: 55-27, Lost in Western Conference First Round vs Phoenix Suns 2-3
In terms of pure individual numbers, this was arguably the best season in the storied history of John Stockton and Karl Malone. The former averaged 17.2 points and 14.5 assists per game, with Malone contributing 31.0 points and 11.1 rebounds. That’s remarkable combined production, and that’s exactly what made their first round playoff exit so disappointing.
Arguably, the duo just didn’t have enough help. The third leading scorer on this iteration of the Utah Jazz was Thuri Bailey at 14.2 points per game. Blue Edwards may have one of the best names in the history of the NBA, but the 8.9 points per game he averaged weren’t a lot for a team’s fourth leading scorer.
John Stockton and Karl Malone may have carried considerable weight for this Utah Jazz franchise for a long time, but even they couldn’t couldn’t advance in the playoffs without help.
2009-10 Utah Jazz Record: 53-29, Lost in Western Conference Semifinals vs Los Angeles Lakers 0-4
The 2009-10 the Utah Jazz could probably be accused of underachieving. Individually, it was arguably the best season of then-franchise player Deron Williams’ career. The floor general averaged 18 points and 10.7 assists per game over the course of this season.
He wasn’t alone either. Carlos Boozer was in fine form with 19.5 points and 11.2 rebounds per contest. Andrei Kirilenko was in the beginning stages of his rapid, almost inexplicable decline, but with 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals per night, he was still one of the best defensive wings in the NBA.
Other notable names on this roster include Mehmet Okur, a 24-year-old Paul Millsap and a 28-year-old Kyle Korver. This team probably could have used a glimpse into the future of the NBA: with a stretch 5 in Okur and a small-ball 5 in Millsap, they had the positional versatility to run a modern offense. Furthermore, Korver could have shot more than 4.2 threes per 36 minutes with his 53.6% conversion rate.
Unfortunately, such a strategic decision would have scandalized the town folk. This team did manage an impressive 53 wins, but they eventually fell to the (here we go again) eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.
2006-07 Utah Jazz Record: 51-31, Lost in Western Conference Finals vs San Antonio Spurs 1-4
Of every Utah Jazz team we’ve covered in this list so far, this might be the first one that had a bonafide shot at winning the NBA championship.
All of the pieces were in place. They had a genuine superstar point guard in Deron Williams, who finished the season with averages of 16.3 points and 9.3 assists per game. They had great balance in their frontcourt, with Carlos Boozer devastating defenses with inside scoring, Mehmet Okur spacing the floor from the three-point line, and Andrei Kirilenko handling the bulk of the defensive responsibilities.
Quality rotation players like Matt Harpring, Ronnie Brewer, and a 32-year-old Derrick Fisher otherwise populated this roster. They had real potential to win it all, but ultimately fell short against the eventual champion Spurs.
If you’re noticing a trend here, you’re not alone. Throughout history, the Utah Jazz have made a regular habit of assembling the second-best team in the Western Conference, if not the entire NBA. Second best doesn’t earn you any trophies, but the organization does deserve credit for staying competitive.
The 2006-07 Utah Jazz were about as competitive as a team can get without hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
2007-08 Utah Jazz record: 54-28, Lost in Western Conference Semifinals vs Los Angeles Lakers 2-4
The Utah Jazz loved the point guard/power forward driven offensive model so much, they doubled down on it long after John Stockton and Karl Malone hung up their laces. The 2007-08 season was the most successful of the Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer versions.
This era of Jazz basketball was marked by consistency more than anything. Williams and Boozer were surrounded by the usual cast of supporting players, including Andrei Kirilenko, Mehmet Okur, Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver. However, the offense was clearly built around the prowess of the two men pictured above.
Boozer had the best season of his career in 2007-08, with averages of 21.1 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Williams continued in his trajectory towards a brief but brilliant prime, averaging 18.7 points and 10.3 assists per game.
This talented, deep group was one of the best in the Western Conference, but they weren’t quite strong enough to get past the late, great Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers in the Semifinals.
1990-91 Utah Jazz Record: 54-28, Lost in Western Conference Semifinals vs Portland Trail Blazers 1-4
In 1990-91, the Utah Jazz were in a bit of a transitional phase. They knew they were built around the dynamic combination of John Stockton and Karl Malone: they just didn’t know much else about themselves.
Shooting guard Jeff Malone enjoyed a quality season (side note: is Malone the greatest surname in NBA history?). He averaged 18.6 points per game for the Jazzmen over 1990-91. He managed that mark while shooting 19.6 from three-point range on a whopping 0.1 attempts per game. Those of us who were even alive at the time are certain to feel old after reading that statistic.
Otherwise, most of the key players on this team were aging out of their primes. Franchise staples like Mark Eaton and Darrell Griffith were simply unable to contribute like they had for the Utah Jazz for so long.
1999-00 Utah Jazz Record: 55-27, Lost in Western Conference Semifinals vs Portland Trail Blazers 1-4
If you’ve ever heard the expression “an oldie but a goodie”, know that it was coined in honor of the 1999-00 Utah Jazz.
Not really, but it might as well have been. This group was built around a 36-year-old Karl Malone, 37-year-old John Stockton and 36-year-old Jeff Hornacek. Bryon Russell spearheaded the youth movement…at 29.
Nonetheless, this was an effective group, as indicated by their regular season record. The aging core was surrounded by solid role players like Russell, Howard Eisley, Greg Ostertag and Olden Polynice.
They enjoyed a quality season, but ultimately fell short in the Western Conference Semifinals to a younger, deeper and (somehow) meaner Portland Trail Blazers squad.
1994-95 Utah Jazz Record: 60-22, Lost in Western Conference First Round vs Houston Rockets 2-3
In seemingly all these rankings, it’s difficult to decide how to weigh the regular season. On the one hand, history is written by the victor. The deeper you proceed into the playoffs, therefore, the greater your share in determining how history is written. On the other hand, it feels a bit silly to disregard an entire regular seasons’ worth of work on the basis of winning one extra playoff series.
The 1994-95 Utah Jazz encapsulate this dilemma. This is the first team in franchise history to clear the 60 win threshold, but they also lost in the first round of the playoffs. Of course, it has to be said that they lost to the eventual NBA champion Houston Rockets.
That series lost highlighted a common shortcoming of the Stockton and Malone era: depth. The pair of superstars were, as was often the case, overcome by a pair of superstars with a better supporting cast. Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler were formidable enough, but flanked by Robert Horry, Vernon Maxwell, Kenny Smith, Mario Elie and a young Sam Cassell, they were practically unbeatable.
A midseason trade of Otis Thorpe for Drexler probably explains Houston’s relatively modest 47 regular season wins. These Utah Jazz were good, but the Rockets were substantially better.
2020-21 Utah Jazz Record: 52-20, Lost in Western Conference Semifinals vs Los Angeles Clippers 2-4
Unless you started following basketball this year, you probably don’t need a thorough write-up on last season’s Utah Jazz. Swap Derrick Favors and Georges Niang for Hassan Whiteside and Rudy Gay, and you’ve essentially got the same squad.
This group was disappointed to lose to the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Semifinals. Between Mike Conley’s sporadic health and the Clippers utilizing an effective small-ball strategy that neutralized Rudy Gobert, the Jazz dropped a competitive series.
It was still a successful year. The Jazz’s .722 win percentage was the fifth highest in NBA history, and it was the first time the club finished with the best record in the NBA. Jazz fans would take a repeat of the regular season this year, with a different outcome in the playoffs.
1998-99 Utah Jazz Record: 37-13, Lost in Western Conference Semifinals to Portland Trail Blazers 2-4
1998-99 was generally one of the weirdest seasons in NBA history. The league was in the throes of a Michael Jordan hangover, as His Airness had just retired for the last time (as a Chicago Bull). Furthermore, a dispute between the league and the Player’s Association resulted in a lockout shortened season.
When action resumed, the Utah Jazz hoped to capitalize. Jordan may not have been in the league anymore, but Karl Malone and John Stockton were still going strong. They were fresh off of two consecutive Finals appearances, with Jordan’s Bulls having eliminated them in each. Who could stop them this year?
As it turned out, the answer was the Portland Trail Blazers, who themselves would lose to a soon-to-be-dynastic San Antonio Spurs. Still, this was another quality season for the Jazz. They finished with the second best record in the Western Conference, and Karl Malone was named the regular season MVP.
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.
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.
1991-92 Utah Jazz Record: 55-27, Lost in Western Conference Finals vs Portland Trail Blazers 2-4
The Stockton and Malone era of Utah Jazz basketball was marked by consistency more than anything else. It’s hard to distinguish the 1991-92 Jazz from other versions of the Jazz.
Malone was still setting picks and rolling, and Stockton was still finding him under the basket. Mark Eaton was still aging, and the duo of stars were probably still wishing his prime had intersected more closely with theirs. Thuri Bailey and Blue Edwards were still contributing, although the latter had usurped the former in the offensive pecking order by 1991-92.
There was another consistent theme during this era of Jazz basketball: success. This Utah Jazz team enjoyed (another) 55 win season, and advanced to the Western Conference Finals before losing to a Portland Trail Blazers squad featuring Clifford Robinson, Jerome Kersey, Terry Porter and Clyde “The Glide” Drexler.
1997-98 Utah Jazz Record: 62-20, Lost in NBA Finals v Chicago Bulls 2-4
Diehard Utah Jazz fans know this was the second of two consecutive seasons in which the team lost to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals. The season prior is getting the nod because they won 2 more regular season games. There is nothing else to distinguish the two seasons from each other.
Karl Malone was still winning his ongoing battle with Father Time. At the age of 34, he averaged 27.0 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists. John Stockton may have been showing signs of decline, but he was still an upper tier point guard with averages of 12.0 points and 8.5 assists per contest.
Otherwise, the two best players in Utah Jazz history were flanked by a platoon of solid role players. Guys like Greg Ostertag, Bryon Russell, Howard Eisley and Shandon Anderson may not have been household names, but they provided ample support for the dynamic duo and Jeff Hornacek.
It was a remarkably successful season, but it just wasn’t enough to to dethrone arguably the greatest dynasty in NBA history.
1996-97 Utah Jazz Record: 64-18, Lost in NBA Finals vs Chicago Bulls 2-4
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably already a big enough fan of the Utah Jazz to know that 1996-97 was the best season in the history of the organization.
It’s hard to distinguish this season from 1997-98. That’s largely due to the team’s reliance on continuity in building a contender. Roughly the same group of Jazzmen took the same Chicago Bulls team to the same 6 game series before suffering heartbreak.
It was the culmination of a team building effort that began when the team drafted John Stockton over a decade earlier. For the “rings or bust” crowd, it may not have been enough. It was, however, a time when Jazz fans had real hope: more hope than any fanbase other than the Chicago Bulls.
It was the best time in Utah Jazz history.
The Utah Jazz have seen a wide range of outcomes throughout their 48 years of existence. The current group has the potential to rank among some of the best in franchise history, but they’ll have their work cut out for them if they hope to top this list.