UTAH JAZZ FRANCHISE HISTORY
Previous Franchise Names: New Orleans Jazz
Principal Owner: Gail Miller
CFO: John Larson
General Manager: Dennis Lindsey
Head Coach: Quin Snyder
Best Season: 1996-97 (64-18, .780)
Playoff Appearances: 25
NBA Championships: 0
SEATTLE, UNITED STATES: Utah Jazz’ John Stockton (L) dribbles around a screen set by teammate Karl Malone (R) on Seattle Supersonic Gary Payton (C) during fourth quarter action of their game in Seattle, WA, 24 March, 2000. Stockton scored two points off of the screen as Utah went to win 98-95. AFP PHOTO Dan LEVINE (Photo credit should read DAN LEVINE/AFP/Getty Images)
The franchise now known as the Utah Jazz needed 10 seasons to finally reach the NBA Playoffs. Once they got there, it seemed for awhile as if they’d never miss them again.
Born as the New Orleans Jazz as an expansion team in 1974, the team moved to Salt Lake City in 1979 and missed the playoffs for the first nine seasons of its existence.
Finally getting over the hump behind scoring sensation Adrian Dantley in 1983-84, the Jazz went on to make the playoffs 20 straight seasons.
But none of that ever led to a championship for the Jazz, despite the presence of Hall of Famers Karl Malone and John Stockton for most of that run of playoff berths.
The Jazz made the NBA Finals in consecutive years, 1997 and 1998, but lost to the Chicago Bulls dynasty in six games each season.
Arriving in New Orleans, the Jazz made a splash early, trading for former LSU legend Pete Maravich before launching their inaugural season. But while The Pistol scored points aplenty, wins were scarce and fans in the gargantuan Louisiana Superdome were sparse.
In 1979, the Jazz moved to Salt Lake City, becoming that market’s second pro team after the ABA’s Utah Stars played there from 1970 until folding early in the league’s final season of 1975-76.
In 42 seasons, the Jazz have 25 postseason appearances—just one since 2010.
Jerry Sloan took over the head coaching reins from Frank Layden 17 games into the 1988-89 season. By the time he resigned 54 games into the 2010-11 campaign, Sloan had the longest tenure with one team of any coach in NBA history, a whopping 23 seasons.
He amassed a record of 1,127-682 with Utah, but was just 96-100 in the playoffs.
Utah Jazz Career Leaders (as of 3/9/2016)
- Games, John Stockton, 1504
- Points, Karl Malone, 36374
- Rebounds, Karl Malone, 14601
- Assists, John Stockton, 15806
- Steals, John Stockton, 3265
- Blocks, Mark Eaton, 3064
PISCATAWAY, NJ: Guard “Pistol” Pete Maravich #7 of the New Orleans Jazz jumps for a lay up during an NBA game against the New Jersey Nets circa 1977-79 at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Utah Jazz Retired Numbers
- 1, Frank Layden
- 4, Adrian Dantley
- 7, Pete Maravich
- 9, Larry Miller
- 12, John Stockton
- 14, Jeff Hornacek
- 32, Karl Malone
- 35, Darrell Griffith
- 53, Mark Eaton
- Mic, Hot Rod Hundley
Utah Jazz Official Links
Official Team Site: nba.com/jazz
Official Twitter Handle: @utahjazz
Official Facebook Page: Utah Jazz
Official Instagram Page: Utah Jazz
Official Arena Page: Vivint Arena
Utah Jazz Beat Writers
Aaron Falk, Salt Lake Tribune, @tribjazz
Tony Jones, Salt Lake Tribune, @tjonessltrib
Jody Genessy, Deseret News, @djjazzyjody
Kareem Copeland, Associated Press, @kareemcopeland
Related Utah Jazz Blogs and Links
Utah Jazz Logo History, courtesy of Chris Creamer’s Sportslogos.net
Salary Page: Utah Jazz Salaries at Spotrac
FanSided Utah Jazz: Purple and Blues
SB Nation Utah Jazz: SLC Dunk
ESPN TrueHoop Utah Jazz: Salt City Hoops
HoopsHabit Utah Jazz Archive: Utah Jazz
Bleacher Report Utah Jazz Team Stream: Utah Jazz
RealGM Utah Jazz Page: Utah Jazz
Stats and retired number information courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com
