The Utah Jazz are a Salt Lake City based team who are part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the NBA. The team is currently coached by Will Hardy and play their home games at the Delta Center.
Led by John Stockton and Karl Malone, the Jazz were a powerhouse in the 1990s. The duo helped the team reach two consecutive NBA Finals, in 1997 and 1998. However, they have not been to the Finals since.
After trading Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, the Jazz are currently in rebuilding mode. The team (37-45) finished 12th in the west last season. They will be looking to build around Lauri Markkanen, who had a breakthrough year in Utah in 2022/23. In 66 games for the Jazz, Markkanen averaged 25.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
Utah Jazz Championships
The Utah Jazz are yet to win an NBA championship. However, they have come close twice, reaching the Finals in 1997 and 1998.
In the 1997 season, the Jazz (64-18) were the best team in the west and Karl Malone won his first league MVP award. They beat the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets in the playoffs to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. Unfortunately for the team, they lost to the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls in the Finals in six games.
The following season, the Jazz won 62 games and faced the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals. The Lakers were led by a young Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal at the time.
The Jazz swept the LA Lakers and rewarded themselves with a NBA Finals ticket for the second consecutive year. The team met the Chicago Bulls again in the Finals, where MJ and the Bulls won again in six games.
Who from the Utah Jazz is in the Hall of Fame?
Below is the list of Utah Jazz players who have been inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame:
| Player | Team |
| Walt Bellamy | Utah Jazz |
| Spencer Haywood | Utah Jazz |
| Bernard King | Utah Jazz |
| Gail Goodrich | Utah Jazz |
| Adrian Dantley | Utah Jazz |
| Karl Malone | Utah Jazz |
| John Stockon | Utah Jazz |
| Pete Maravich | Utah Jazz |
FAQs
A. Utah Jazz have played in two NBA Finals till date — in 1997 and 1998.
A. The Utah Jazz have never had the number one draft pick. However, they selected Darrell Griffith with the second overall pick in 1980.
A. In the 1974-75 season, the Utah Jazz had their worst record of all time (23-59).
A. According to Forbes, the Utah Jazz has a worth of $2.025 billion.
A. John Houston Stockton was the all time favorite player of Utah Jazz. He plays at the position of point guard and spent 19 seasons in the league.
