The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz: 10 best scorers in franchise history

By Nathan Smith

Utah Jazz celebrates with teammate Greg Ostertag as head coach Jerry Sloan (far right) looks on during the Jazz 78-73 win over the Chicago Bulls in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Utah Jazz celebrates with teammate Greg Ostertag as head coach Jerry Sloan (far right) looks on during the Jazz 78-73 win over the Chicago Bulls in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. /
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Referee Ed Rush (L) explains his call to Utah Jazz player Karl Malone after Malone was called for a technical foul during the first game of the NBA Western Conference semi-finals 04 May against the Los Angeles Lakers in Salt Lake City, Utah. AFP PHOTO/DOUG COLLIER (Photo by DOUG COLLIER / AFP) (Photo by DOUG COLLIER/AFP via Getty Images)
Referee Ed Rush (L) explains his call to Utah Jazz player Karl Malone after Malone was called for a technical foul during the first game of the NBA Western Conference semi-finals 04 May against the Los Angeles Lakers in Salt Lake City, Utah. AFP PHOTO/DOUG COLLIER (Photo by DOUG COLLIER / AFP) (Photo by DOUG COLLIER/AFP via Getty Images) /

2. Karl Malone – 25.4 PPG

Karl Malone is certainly in the discussion for greatest Jazz player of all-time (most have him at No. 2 behind John Stockton), but when it comes to who the go-to scorer was for those successful Jazz teams of the 1990’s, there’s no doubt that The Mailman was option No. 1 at all times. Malone had one of the greatest seasons in Jazz history in 1999, en route to his only MVP award, and when it came to scoring, there were few in the entire league during his incredible 18-year Jazz career that could match him out of the post.

Many regard The Mailman as one of, if not the greatest power forwards in history too, and with his dominant size and all-around scoring ability, it’s hard to argue, with the standout scoring year of his career coming in 1990 where he was able to put up 31 PPG on 56% shooting from the field.

If the three point game was as important during Karl’s day as it is now, there’s no doubting that he’d be a great stretch-four in today’s game, but even during his time, Malone was ahead of his time, and even if he was hated by many in the 90’s, it’s hard to deny just how unstoppable a scorer he was.