The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team in the NBA. They are part of the Western Conference and Northwest Division of the League. The team was formed as part of the NBA’s expansion in 1974. They were initially named the New Orleans Jazz in light of the birth of Jazz music in New Orleans. When the team relocated to Salt Lake City in 1979, the team was renamed as the Utah Jazz.
The Utah Jazz home court, named Vivint Arena, has a seating capacity of over 18,000 fans. The Utah Jazz have aimed to propagate a culture of teamwork and excellence on all fronts over their time in the NBA. The team is owned by Larry H. Miller Group of Companies.
Throughout history, the team has seen many basketball greats on its roster including John Stockton and Karl Malone. While the team does not have a lot of star power on its roster at present, it strives to win and make a mark in the league.
How many times has the Utah Jazz made the playoffs?
In their 49 year history, the Utah Jazz have made the playoffs 31 times indicating a 63% success rate of reaching the NBA postseason. As the New Orleans Jazz, he team did not make it to the postseason even once.
Starting from 1983, the Utah Jazz were in the playoffs every NBA season until the 2003-04 NBA season. After a three-year break from the postseason, the Jazz got back to playing in the postseason, making deep playoff runs over the next three years. In the recent past, the team has been consistent to play in the postseason. However, they did not make it to the postseason in the 2022-23 NBA season.
The team saw its most successful years from 1996 to 1998 when the dynamic duo of Karl Malone and John Stockton was at its peak. The Utah Jazz made it to the NBA finals in both these seasons.
Utah Jazz Playoff Record
The Utah Jazz have played 309 playoff games since their inception into the NBA. Off these games, the Jazz have a losing record of 143 wins to 166 losses. This indicates a win percentage of 46% in the playoffs. The Jazz have been unsuccessful in scoring more points cumulatively in the playoffs than their opponents, having scored 28334 points and conceded 28500 points. They are placed 14th in the league in terms of all time playoff appearances and are placed 15th in the league for most number of playoff wins.
The team's most memorable playoff run was in the 1996-97 NBA season, where the Jazz ended the regular season with a record of 64 wins to 18 losses. They reached the NBA finals having beaten the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets. They competed against the Chicago Bulls in the finals but lost 4-2 in the thrilling series.
Number of conference championships won by Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz have won two Western Conference Championships. These were back to back victories in the 1996-97 NBA season and 1997-98 NBA season. Both seasons saw the Jazz complete the regular season at the top of their conference with under 20 losses. In the 1996-97 season the Jazz bested contending teams like The Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets. The 1997-98 playoff run, saw them pitched against Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and the Lakers. The finals of both seasons were played against Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.
| Season | Team | Series Score |
| 1976-77 | Houston Rockets | 4-2 |
| 1977-78 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-0 |
Number of NBA championships won by Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz is one of the NBA franchises to have never won an NBA championship. The closest that the Jazz have gotten to winning the prestigious Larry O’Brien trophy is having appeared in the NBA finals on two occasions. The Utah Jazz made back to back NBA finals appearances in the years 1996-97 and 1997-98. The Jazz faced the Chicago Bulls who were led by Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman at the time in both the finals. The 1996-97 NBA season also marked Karl Malone’s MVP campaign. The Jazz were unable to overcome the skill and star power of the Bulls, losing both serieses 4-2.
Utah Jazz Last Playoff Appearance
The Uah Jazz made their most recent appearance in the NBA postseason in the year 2021-22. They finished the regular season placed 5th on the Western Conference standings with a record of 49 wins to 33 losses. Their position on the standings led them to play against the 4th seeded Dallas Mavericks.
The Jazz at this point had a talented roster with players such as Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles. The Mavericks on the other hand, were led solely by Luka Doncic who had the support of Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber and Dorian Finny Smith. The Jazz were knocked out of title contention by the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs, having lost the series 2-4 in six games.
What is the biggest playoff series comeback in Utah Jazz history?
1993-94
The Utah Jazz experienced their biggest playoff series comebacks in the 1994 NBA playoffs in the Western Conference Semifinals. The team faced the Denver Nuggets. The Jazz started the series with a 3-0 lead against the Nuggets, creating an impression that the series was theirs to win. The Nuggets made a comeback over the next three games to level the series and take the Western Conference Semifinals to seven game series. In a must win game 7, the Jazz fought hard against the Nuggets at Denver and won the game 91-81 to clinch the series and advance to the next round.
FAQ's On Utah Jazz Playoff History
A. The Utah Jazz made their latest appearance in the playoffs in the 2021-22 NBA season. They were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks.
A. The Utah Jazz’ biggest rivals is the Los Angeles Lakers, a rivalry that stems from multiple playoff interactions amongst star players Karl Malone, John Stockton, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
A. No, the Utah Jazz has not yet won an NBA championship. They have reached the NBA finals twice and lost both finals to the Chicago Bulls.
A. In 309 playoff games, the UtahJazz have won 143 games and lost 166 games.
