1996–97 Utah Jazz season
1996–97 Utah Jazz season | |
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Midwest Division Champions Western Conference Champions |
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Head coach | Jerry Sloan |
Arena | Delta Center |
Results | |
Record | 64–18 (.780) |
Place | Division: 1st (Midwest) Conference: 1st (Western) |
Playoff finish | NBA Finals (eliminated 2–4) |
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com |
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Local media | |
Television | Fox Sports Rocky Mountain, KJZZ |
Radio | KSOP-AM and FM |
The 1996–97 Utah Jazz season was the team's 23rd season in the NBA.[1] For the season, the Jazz changed their logo that more closely reflects the state of Utah featuring purple mountains, and sky blue in the script. The new colors seemed to agree with the Jazz as they finished first place in the Western Conference with a franchise best record of 64-18, as Karl Malone took home MVP honors.
In the playoffs, the Jazz got off to a flying start in the first round sweeping the Los Angeles Clippers in the three straight games. In the semifinals, they continued to roll easily knocking the Los Angeles Lakers four games to one. In the Western Conference Finals, they took a 2-0 lead over the Houston Rockets. However, the Rockets would even the series at two games a piece as Eddie Johnson hit a dramatic buzzer beater to win Game 4. After taking Game 5 at home, Game 6 would be another battle and appeared to be heading for overtime as John Stockton nailed a three point buzzer beater that launched the Jazz to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. In their first trip to the finals, the Jazz lost 4-2 to the Chicago Bulls.
Contents
Draft picks
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Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
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1 | 25 | Martin Muursepp | PF/SF | ![]() |
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2 | 54 | Shandon Anderson | SF/SG | ![]() |
Georgia |
Roster
Utah Jazz roster
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Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Regular season
Season standings
# | Western Conference | ||||
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Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
1 | c-Utah Jazz | 64 | 18 | .780 | – |
2 | y-Seattle SuperSonics | 57 | 25 | .695 | 7 |
3 | x-Houston Rockets | 57 | 25 | .695 | 7 |
4 | x-Los Angeles Lakers | 56 | 26 | .683 | 8 |
5 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 49 | 33 | .598 | 15 |
6 | x-Minnesota Timberwolves | 40 | 42 | .488 | 24 |
7 | x-Phoenix Suns | 40 | 42 | .488 | 24 |
8 | x-Los Angeles Clippers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 28 |
9 | Sacramento Kings | 34 | 48 | .415 | 30 |
10 | Golden State Warriors | 30 | 52 | .366 | 34 |
11 | Dallas Mavericks | 24 | 58 | .293 | 40 |
12 | Denver Nuggets | 21 | 61 | .256 | 43 |
13 | San Antonio Spurs | 20 | 62 | .244 | 44 |
14 | Vancouver Grizzlies | 14 | 68 | .171 | 50 |
- z - clinched division title
- y - clinched division title
- x - clinched playoff spot
Game log
1996-97 Game Log | |
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November: 11-2 (Home: 8-1; Road: 3-1)
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December: 11-5 (Home: 7-1; Road: 4-4)
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January: 9-6 (Home: 5-0; Road: 4-6)
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February: 9-3 (Home: 7-1; Road: 2-2)
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March
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April
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1996-97 Schedule |
Playoffs
West First Round
(1) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Los Angeles Clippers Last Playoff Meeting: 1992 Western Conference First Round (Utah won 3–2)
Game | Date | Home | Score | Visitor | Score | Record
(UTAH-LAC) |
Venue | Recap | |
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1 | April 24 | Utah | 106 | L.A. Clippers | 86 | 1-0 | Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah | 1 | |
2 | April 26 | Utah | 105 | L.A. Clippers | 99 | 2-0 | Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah | 2 | |
3 | April 28 | L.A. Clippers | 92 | Utah | 104 | 3-0 | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California | 3 | |
Utah wins series 3–0 |
West Conference Semifinals
(1) Utah Jazz vs. (4) Los Angeles Lakers Last Playoff Meeting: 1988 Western Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles won 4-3)
Game | Date | Home | Score | Visitor | Score | Record
(UTAH-LAL) |
Venue | Recap | Television |
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1 | May 4 | Utah | 93 | Los Angeles | 77 | 1-0 | Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah | 1 | NBC |
2 | May 6 | Utah | 103 | Los Angeles | 101 | 2-0 | Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah | 2 | |
3 | May 8 | Los Angeles | 104 | Utah | 84 | 2-1 | Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California | 3 | |
4 | May 10 | Los Angeles | 95 | Utah | 110 | 3-1 | Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California | 4 | NBC |
5 | May 12 | Utah | 98 | Los Angeles | 93 | 4-1 | Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah | 5 | TNT |
Utah wins series 4–1 |
West Conference Finals
(1) Utah Jazz vs. (3) Houston Rockets Last Playoff Meeting: 1995 Western Conference First Round (Houston won 3-2)
Game | Date | Home | Score | Visitor | Score | Record
(UTAH-HOU) |
Venue | Recap | Television |
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1 | May 19 | Utah | 101 | Houston | 86 | 1-0 | Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah | 1 | NBC |
2 | May 21 | Utah | 104 | Houston | 92 | 2-0 | Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah | 2 | NBC |
3 | May 23 | Houston | 118 | Utah | 100 | 2-1 | The Summit, Houston, Texas | 3 | NBC |
4 | May 25 | Houston | 95 | Utah | 92 | 2-2 | The Summit, Houston, Texas | 4 | NBC |
5 | May 27 | Utah | 96 | Houston | 91 | 3-2 | Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah | 5 | NBC |
6 | May 29 | Houston | 100 | Utah | 103 | 4-2 | The Summit, Houston, Texas | 6 | NBC |
Utah wins series 4–2 |
NBA Finals
In the finals, the Jazz faced the Chicago Bulls losing the first two games on the road. However, the Jazz upon arriving at the Delta Center continued their home court advantage by taking Game 3, and Game 4 to even the series. With a chance to take a series lead in Game 5, the Jazz were beaten by a heroic performance by Michael Jordan playing with the flu like ailment 90-88. Back in Chicago for Game 6, the Jazz battled the Bulls tightly before falling by four points as the Bulls won their fifth title in seven years.[3]
(E1) Chicago Bulls vs. (W1) Utah Jazz
Game | Date | Home | Score | Visitor | Score | Record
(CHI-UTAH) |
Venue | Recap | Television |
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1 | June 1 | Chicago | 84 | Utah | 82 | 1-0 | United Center, Chicago, Illinois | 1 at the Wayback Machine (archived February 24, 1999) | NBC |
2 | June 4 | Chicago | 97 | Utah | 85 | 2-0 | United Center, Chicago, Illinois | 2 at the Wayback Machine (archived February 24, 1999) | NBC |
3 | June 6 | Utah | 104 | Chicago | 93 | 2-1 | Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah | 3 at the Wayback Machine (archived February 24, 1999) | NBC |
4 | June 8 | Utah | 78 | Chicago | 73 | 2-2 | Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah | 4 at the Wayback Machine (archived February 24, 1999) | NBC |
5 | June 11 | Utah | 88 | Chicago | 90 | 3-2 | Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah | Archived February 24, 1999 at the Wayback Machine | NBC |
6 | June 13 | Chicago | 90 | Utah | 86 | 4-2 | United Center, Chicago, Illinois | 6 at the Wayback Machine (archived February 24, 1999) | NBC |
Chicago wins NBA Finals series 4–2 |
Player statistics
Legend | |||||
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GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Season
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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Shandon Anderson | |||||||||||
Antoine Carr | |||||||||||
Howard Eisley | |||||||||||
Greg Foster | |||||||||||
Jeff Hornacek | |||||||||||
Stephen Howard | |||||||||||
Adam Keefe | |||||||||||
Karl Malone | |||||||||||
Chris Morris | |||||||||||
Ruben Nembhard | |||||||||||
Greg Ostertag | |||||||||||
Byron Russell | |||||||||||
John Stockton | |||||||||||
Brooks Thompson | |||||||||||
Jamie Watson |
Playoffs
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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Shandon Anderson | |||||||||||
Antoine Carr | |||||||||||
Howard Eisley | |||||||||||
Greg Foster | |||||||||||
Jeff Hornacek | |||||||||||
Stephen Howard | |||||||||||
Adam Keefe | |||||||||||
Karl Malone | |||||||||||
Chris Morris | |||||||||||
Greg Ostertag | |||||||||||
Byron Russell | |||||||||||
John Stockton |
Awards and records
Awards
- Karl Malone, NBA Most Valuable Player Award
- Karl Malone, All-NBA First Team
- John Stockton, All-NBA Third Team
- Karl Malone, NBA All-Defensive First Team
- John Stockton, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
Records
Transactions
Trades
Free Agents
Additions
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Subtractions
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References
- ↑ [http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/UTA/1997.html
- ↑ 1996–97 NBA season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.