Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz are a National Basketball Association team based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Founded: 1974

Formerly known as: New Orleans Jazz (1974–79)

Home Arena: Delta Center

Uniform colors: Purple and blue

Logo design: The word "JAZZ" superimposed over a mountain inside a gold ring with the word "UTAH" at the top

NBA Western Conference Championships: 1997, 1998

NBA Championships: None

2004–05 Record: 26–56

Franchise history

In 1974 the Jazz franchise began play in New Orleans. The franchise proved unsuccessful both on the court and financially, even after the addition of "Pistol" Pete Maravich as the star player. Though Maravich was viewed as one of the NBA's most entertaining and talented players, the Jazz were continually a losing team. After five losing seasons in New Orleans, they moved to Salt Lake City, Utah in 1979. Although the team nickname was not particularly fitting for Salt Lake City – known more as a center for Mormon culture than as a mecca for jazz music – the franchise decided to retain it.

In Utah, the team continued to languish toward the bottom of the standings until the 1983-1984 season, when it won the Midwest Division title and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. That spring, the Jazz drafted John Stockton from Gonzaga. In 1985 the team drafted Karl Malone from Louisiana Tech. Neither pick was initially well received by fans. However, the pair ultimately flourished under the guidance of Frank Layden and later Jerry Sloan coaching the team. The Jazz became one of the most successful teams throughout the late 1980's and throughout the 1990's. Stockton eventually set NBA records for the most career steals and assists, and would be recognized as one of the top point guards in league history. Stockton and Malone developed a remarkable rapport with each other, running pick-and-roll plays with great success. "Stockton to Malone" was a common refrain, as Stockton regularly found ways to pass the ball to Malone in good scoring position. Other good players of the era included Mark Eaton, Adrian Dantley, Jeff Malone, and later Jeff Hornacek, Bryon Russell, and Howard Eisley. Malone went on to score the second most points in NBA history (behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), and received MVP awards in 1997 and 1999. Hornacek was one of the best three-point and free throw shooters in the league. He retired in 2000.

Though the Jazz were consistently strong in the league's regular season, earning 19 consecutive playoff appearances (1984–2003), the franchise failed to win a league championship over that time. The Jazz won Western Conference titles in 1997 and 1998, but were defeated by the Chicago Bulls both times, each in six games. After that, the team declined in the standings, although they continued to make the playoffs until 2003, after which Stockton retired and Malone moved to the Los Angeles Lakers.

In the 2003–04 season, the Jazz were expected to be one of the weakest teams in the league. Instead they greatly exceeded most analysts' expectations. The team featured several unheralded players who emerged into key contributors, including Andrei Kirilenko, Raja Bell, Matt Harpring, Gordan Giricek, Carlos Arroyo and Raúl López. The team remained in the playoff race to the end of the season, missing out by just one game to the Denver Nuggets. Jerry Sloan finished second in the voting for the NBA Coach of the Year Award, losing to Hubie Brown of the Memphis Grizzlies. In the 2004 offseason, with the free agent signings of Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur, the franchise was expected to again contend in the West.

Under a realignment plan that went into effect in 2004, the Jazz were transferred to the new Northwest Division with the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Seattle SuperSonics.

The 2004–05 season began well for the Jazz, as it won six of its first seven games behind strong performances from Boozer and Kirilenko. However, a series of injuries caused the team's performance to sharply decline. While the season proved disappointing on the whole, the team has seen promising performances in some of its young players, especially Bell, Giricek, Keith McLeod, and Okur.

Players of note

Basketball Hall of Famers

• Pete Maravich
• Walt Bellamy – only played one game with the Jazz

Others

• Adrian Dantley
• Jeff Malone
• Karl Malone
• Jeff Hornacek
• Mark Eaton
• John Stockton
• Darrell Griffith

Retired numbers

• 1 Frank Layden
• 7 Pete Maravich
• 12 John Stockton
• 14 Jeff Hornacek
• 35 Darrell Griffith
• 53 Mark Eaton

Current roster

Starters

• PF – #43 Kris Humphries (Minnesota)
• SF – #15 Matt Harpring (Georgia Tech)
• C – #31 Jarron Collins (Stanford)
• PG – #25 Keith McLeod (Bowling Green)
• SG – #10 Gordan Girićek (Croatia)

Bench

• SG – #19 Raja Bell (FIU)
• C – #22 Curtis Borchard (Stanford)
• PG – #6 Howard Eisley (Boston College)
• PF – #44 Ben Handgloten (Western Michigan)
• PG – #2 Randy Livingston (LSU)
• C – #13 Mehmet Okur (Turkey)
• SG – #3 Kirk Snyder (Nevada)

Injured Reserve (as of April 21, 2005)

• PF – #5 Carlos Boozer (Duke)
• F – #47 Andrei Kirilenko (Андрей Кириленко) (Russia)
• PG – #24 Raúl López (Spain)
• SF – #23 Jamel Thomas (Providence)

Coaches

Years Coach Record

1974–75 Scotty Robertson 1 – 14

1974–75 Elgin Baylor 0 – 1

1974–77 Bill Van Breda Koff 74 – 100

1977–79 Elgin Baylor 86 – 134

1979–81 Tom Nissalke 60 – 124

1981–88 Frank Layden 277 – 294

1988- Jerry Sloan 823 – 440

1974–03 1321 -1107

External links

• Utah Jazz official web site
• Utah Jazz Official Summer Pro League web site
• Utah Jazz Historical Archives