Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the team has played its home games at the Delta Center, an arena they share with the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League. The franchise began as an expansion team in the 1974–75 season as the New Orleans Jazz, a tribute to New Orleans' history of originating jazz music. The Jazz relocated from New Orleans to Salt Lake City on June 8, 1979.
The Jazz were one of the least successful teams in the league in their early years. Although 10 seasons elapsed before the Jazz qualified for their first playoff appearance in 1984, they did not miss the playoffs again until 2004. During the late 1980s, John Stockton and Karl Malone arose as the franchise players for the team and formed one of the most famed pick and roll duos in NBA history. Led by coach Jerry Sloan, who took over from Frank Layden in 1988, they became one of the powerhouse teams of the 1990s, culminating in two NBA Finals appearances in 1997 and 1998, where they lost both times to the Chicago Bulls.
Both Stockton and Malone moved on in 2003. After missing the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, the Jazz returned to prominence under the on-court leadership of point guard Deron Williams. However, partway through the 2010–11 season, the Jazz began restructuring after Sloan retired and Williams was traded. Quin Snyder was hired as head coach in June 2014. With the development of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell into All-Stars, the Jazz launched themselves back into title contention, eventually earning the league's best regular season record in the 2020–21 season. However, following disappointing early playoff exits in both 2021 and 2022, the Jazz traded Mitchell and Gobert in the 2022 offseason and entered a new era of rebuilding centered around Lauri Markkanen, who was acquired in the Mitchell trade.
History
1974–1979: Early years in New Orleans with Pete Maravich
On June 7, 1974, the New Orleans Jazz were admitted as an expansion franchise into the National Basketball Association. The first owner of the team was an ownership group led by Sam Battistone. Team officials selected the name because of its definition in the dictionary: collective improvisation. The team began its inaugural season in New Orleans in the 1974–75 season. The team colors were purple, gold, and green. The team's first major move was to trade for star player Pete Maravich from the Atlanta Hawks for two first-round draft picks, three second-round picks, and one third-round pick over the next three years.Venue issues were a continual problem for the team while it was based in New Orleans. In the Jazz's first season, they played in the Municipal Auditorium and Loyola Field House, where the basketball court was raised so high that the NBA Players Association made the team put a net around the court to prevent players from falling off of the court and into the stands. Later, the Jazz played games in the cavernous Louisiana Superdome, but things were no better, because of high demand for the stadium, onerous lease terms, New Orleans' 11% amusement tax, and Maravich's constant knee problems. They also faced the prospect of spending a whole month on the road each year because of New Orleans' Mardi Gras festivities, similar to the long road trip faced by the San Antonio Spurs each season during their city's rodeo.
1979–1984: Moving to Utah, and the Frank Layden era
Deciding the Jazz were no longer viable in New Orleans, Battistone decided to move elsewhere. After scouting several new homes, he decided on Salt Lake City, even though it was a smaller market. Salt Lake City had previously been home to the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The Stars had been extremely popular in the city and had even won an ABA title in their first season after moving from Los Angeles. However, their financial situation deteriorated in their last two seasons, and they were shut down by the league 16 games into the 1975–76 season in December 1975 after missing payroll. The franchise kept the name despite the lack of a jazz music scene in Utah, as there was not enough time before the start of the 1979–80 season to receive league approval for a name change. The NBA would return to New Orleans in 2002 when the Charlotte Hornets relocated to become the New Orleans Hornets.The Jazz's attendance declined slightly after the team's move from New Orleans to Utah, partly because of a late approval for the move and also poor marketing in the Salt Lake City area.
Tom Nissalke departed as coach after the Jazz started the 1981–82 season 8–12, and general manager Frank Layden replaced him.
In 1983, team was losing money, and management was crafting stunts, such as playing games at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, to help the team become more profitable. The team was rumored to be moving as a result of Battistone's cash shortage as well as the fact they were playing in the league's smallest market. However, fortunes on the court improved, with a healthy Adrian Dantley, Jeff Wilkins, and rookie Thurl Bailey at the forward positions, Mark Eaton and Rich Kelley jointly manning the post, Rickey Green and Darrell Griffith at the guards, and John Drew adding 17 points per game off the bench. They went 45–37 and won the Midwest Division, the first winning season and division championship in team history.
1984–2003: The Malone and Stockton era
Jazz fans were not happy when the team picked an unknown guard in the first round of the 1984 NBA draft, John Stockton. The Jazz fans on hand for the draft party booed the selection.The 1984–85 season saw the emergence of Mark Eaton as a defensive force. Eaton averaged 5.6 blocks per game along with 9.7 points and 11.3 rebounds, and won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. On the downside, John Drew played only 19 games all season, which deprived the team of their high-scoring sixth man. However, the Jazz returned to the playoffs, facing the Houston Rockets and their All-Star centers, Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. The Jazz prevailed in the series, 3–2, and advanced to the second round, losing the series to the high-scoring Denver Nuggets, 4–1.
The team's perennial financial woes and instability were somewhat stabilized during April 1985, when auto dealer Larry H. Miller bought 50% of the team from Battistone for $8 million. Battistone had been seeking to move the team.
In the 1985 NBA draft, the team added Louisiana Tech forward Karl Malone, who made an immediate impact in the, averaging 14.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. However, starter Darrell Griffith missed the season with a stress fracture, and the Jazz hovered around.500 most of the year. Adrian Dantley missed the postseason, and the Jazz lost in the first round to the Dallas Mavericks, 3–1.
During the 1986 off-season, Battistone was approached to sell the team to Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner, who would have moved the team to Minneapolis. Larry Miller did not want to sell the team, but because of contractual language in his agreement with Battistone, could have been bought out by the new owners if he had refused to sell. Offers went as high as $28 million before Miller stepped in at the last minute, purchasing Battistone's remaining 50% for $14 million and keeping the team in Utah. Wolfenson and Ratner later became the founders of the Minnesota Timberwolves expansion franchise which, coincidentally, was almost sold and moved to New Orleans in 1994.
In 1986, Adrian Dantley, the team's star player who had carried them through the early years in Utah, was traded to Detroit for Kelly Tripucka, who ended up splitting time with Thurl Bailey. Darrell Griffith, back from injuries that caused him to miss the 1985–86 season, lost his starter spot at guard to Bob Hansen. Stockton warranted more time at the point guard position. Despite all these changes, the team finished 44–38 before losing to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs.
For the 1987–88 season, Stockton took over for Rickey Green as the starting point guard, and Malone established himself as one of the better power forwards in the league. The team finished 47–35 and defeated Portland, 3–1, in the first round, earning a second-round matchup with the reigning NBA champions, the Los Angeles Lakers. After Los Angeles took Game 1 at home, the Jazz won Game 2 in Los Angeles, 101–97, and took the lead in the series 2–1 with a Game 3 win in Salt Lake City. The Jazz lost Games 4 and 5, but won Game 6, 108–80, tying the series 3–3. In the decisive Game 7, the Lakers won 109–98.
1988–1990: Arrival of Jerry Sloan
During the 1988–89 season, Frank Layden stepped down as head coach of the Jazz after the first 17 games, and was replaced by Jerry Sloan. The Jazz won 51 games and the Midwest Division championship as they grew better overall. Malone and Stockton, as well as Mark Eaton, were the leaders of the team and also All-Star selections. Eaton won Defensive Player of the Year for the second time, and it appeared the Jazz were ready to take the next step toward contending for an NBA title, after having pushed the Lakers to seven games in the Western Conference semifinals the previous season. However, the second-seeded Jazz were eliminated in the first round in three games by the seventh-seeded Golden State Warriors.The following year, 1989–90, the Jazz made some changes. Thurl Bailey, who was relied on for 19 points per game the previous season, saw his playing time reduced in favor of rookie Blue Edwards, who played a prominent role with the team. The result was the best win–loss mark in team history, as the Jazz finished, second in the division to the San Antonio Spurs. Malone had his best season statistically, averaging 31.0 points and 11.1 rebounds. Stockton averaged 17.2 points and 14.5 assists per game, both career highs, with the assist total and average leading the NBA that season. In the playoffs, the Jazz played the Phoenix Suns in the first round, led by All-Stars Tom Chambers and Kevin Johnson. The Suns defeated the Jazz 3 games to 2. Again, the Jazz were left with questions as to how they could do so well in the regular season but fail to advance in the playoffs.