1996–97 Utah Jazz season

1996–97 Utah Jazz season
Conference Champions
Division Champions
Head coach Jerry Sloan
Arena Delta Center
Results
Record 6418 (.780)
Place Division: 1st (Midwest)
Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finish NBA Finals
(eliminated 2–4)

Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

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.

Draft picks

Main article: 1996 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 25 Martin Muursepp PF/SF  Estonia
2 54 Shandon Anderson SF/SG  United States Georgia

Roster

Utah Jazz roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From
SG 40 United States Anderson, Shandon 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Georgia
PF 55 United States Carr, Antoine 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Wichita State University
PG 10 United States Eisley, Howard 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 177 lb (80 kg) Boston College
C 44 United States Foster, Greg 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Texas–El Paso
SG 14 United States Hornacek, Jeff 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Iowa State
SF 43 United States Howard, Stephen 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) DePaul
PF 31 United States Keefe, Adam 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Stanford
PF 32 United States Malone, Karl 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Louisiana Tech
SF 34 United States Morris, Chris 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Auburn
C 00 United States Ostertag, Greg 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 280 lb (127 kg) Kansas
SF 3 United States Russell, Bryon 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Long Beach State
PG 12 United States Stockton, John 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Gonzaga
Head coach

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

RosterTransactions

Regular season

Season standings

# Western Conference
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

[2]

Game log

1996-97 Game Log
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
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
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
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
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
  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
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
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

Transactions

Free Agents

Additions

Player Signed Former team

Subtractions

Player Left New team

References

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