Utah Jazz All-Star Game #4: 1987-88
The Utah Jazz were a team on the rise in 1987-88. They increased their win total for the third consecutive season, hitting a mark of 47 by season’s end. They were a team deserving of an All-Star designation, and 24-year-old Karl Malone was the obvious candidate.
After all, the rising star was averaging 27.7 points and 12.0 rebounds per contest. John Stockton may not have been ready to join Malone as perennial participants in the big dance, but Malone had more than solidified his spot.
He didn’t let Utah Jazz fans down either. He finished the contest with 22 points and 10 boards.
Unfortunately for Jazz fans, the Eastern Conference came away with a 138-133 victory. They were led by a certain bald-headed guard who would be a thorn in the franchise’s side a whole decade later.
Michael Jordan finished with 40 points and 8 rebounds.
Utah Jazz All-Star Game #3: 1979-80
Digging through NBA history is fun. All of us know the All-Stars who have been active during our watching lives. The further back you dig, the less familiar the names get.
World B. Free is a name that was familiar to this author, but it’s one worth noting for younger readers. We can’t say we’d heard of either Otis Birdsong or Kermit Washington, two Western Conference All-Stars from 1979-80.
We’d certainly heard of Adrian Dantley. He was the representative for the Utah Jazz in this one, and he represented them well.
In fact, the master of the midrange led the team with 23 points. Unfortunately, it came in another Western Conference defeat, by a final score of 144-136. George “The Iceman” Gervin led the Eastern Conference with 34 points and 10 rebounds.
On an unrelated note: god, the 1970s sound like they were cool.