The Utah Jazz have a rich history of standout All-Star performances. That’s to be expected from a team who has made every effort to remain competitive since they moved to Salt Lake City in 1979. While this franchise may not have made it to the top of the NBA’s mountain yet, they’ve spent much of their existence on its periphery.
In order to do that, you need All-Stars. More often than not, the Utah Jazz have one or two on the roster. On several occasions, they’ve come up big in the league’s annual midseason showcase.
Here we’re ranking the best All-Star games in Utah Jazz history. Note that we’re not ranking the best individual Jazz performances. The simple reason for that is, on a couple of occasions, it was too difficult to say which of two Jazz All-Stars deserved the designation.
Call it another product of historically rostering elite talent.
Utah Jazz All-Star Game #5: 1983-84
In terms of history’s notable Jazzmen, Rickey Green is one of the most underrated. Just don’t get it confused: Green was a bonafide All-Star in his prime.
A wiry, athletic point guard with a high basketball IQ, Green was the resident point guard in Salt Lake City for quite some time. In 1983-84, he averaged 13.2 points, 9.2 assists and 2.7 steals per game.
His scoring totals were rarely gaudy. That’s because Green was a pure point guard. In the modern age of score-first point guards, that’s a relatively foreign concept. In 1984, it was the standard.
Green brought that standard of play into the 1983-84 All-Star Game. He only tallied 6 points, but racked up an impressive 11 assists.
Unsurprisingly, Green was overshadowed by one Magic Johnson. Of course, Johnson is arguably the best point guard in NBA history, and it showed that night. He finished this game with 15 points and a whopping 22 helpers.
Green wouldn’t be the first or last player to get outshone by Magic Johnson. He still deserves credit for a great All-Star performance.