Before the Jazz moved from New O
Before the Jazz moved from New Orleans to Utah, as Salt Lake
City had previously been home to the Utah Stars of the ABA from 1971 to 1976.
As for the Jazz, their history goes back to 1974, when they
started play in New Orleans, Louisiana. Despite having high scorers such as Pete
Maravich and Adrian Dantley in the lineup between 1975 and 1983, the Jazz
wouldn't make the playoffs until 1984, long after Pistol Pete had departed.
In the franchise's first ever playoff appearance in 1984,
they defeated the Denver Nuggets of Kiki Vandeweghe, Alex English and Dan Issel
in the first round, but lost to the Phoenix Suns of Walter Davis and Larry Nance
in the second round. This postseason appearance would be the first of 20
straight.
In 1992, the Utah Jazz made the franchise's first trip to the
Western Conference Finals, where they faced Clyde Drexler and the Portland
Trailblazers. Although the Jazz were led by Karl Malone and John Stockton they
succumbed in 6 games to the Blazers.
In 1996 the Jazz once again advanced to the Western
Conference Finals only to lose in 7 games to the Seattle Supersonics of Gary
Payton and Shawn Kemp.
The following two seasons would see the Jazz reach greater
heights. First, in 1997 the Jazz defeated the Clippers, Lakers and Houston
Rockets to make it all the way to the NBA Finals. In the match up against the
Bulls, the Jazz showed their mettle by taking two games against a Chicago team
that had won 69 games during the regular season. Nevertheless, the Jazz couldn't
pull off the upset and fell to the Bulls in 6 games.
1998 saw the Jazz make it to the NBA Finals for the second
consecutive season. To get back to the Finals they weaved their way through the
Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers. In the Finals, the
Jazz shocked the Bulls by winning the first game. The Bulls came back to win
games 2, 3 and 4, while the Jazz took game 5. In game 6 Michael Jordan hit the
game winning in the final seconds as the Bulls won their sixth NBA Championship.
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Thurl Bailey (1984-1991)
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Walt Bellamy (1975) Hall of Famer
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Carlos Boozer (2005-)
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Adrian Dantley (1980-86)
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Mark Eaton (1983-1993)
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Gail Goodrich (1977-79) Hall of Famer
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Rickey Green (1981-88)
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Darrell "Dr. Dunkenstein" Griffith (1981-1991)
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Matt Harpring (2003-)
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Spencer Haywood (1979)
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Jeff Hornacek (1994-2000)
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Bernard King (1980)
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Andrei Kirilenko (2002-)
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Jeff Malone (1992-93)
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Karl Malone (1986-2003)
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Pete "Pistol Pete" Maravich (1975-79) Hall of Famer
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Mehmet Okur (2005-)
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Truck Robinson (1978)
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John Stockton (1985-2003)
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Deron Williams (2006-)
The pattern of the Utah Jazz fabric consists of
French blue and navy squares. Within the squares are basketballs, jerseys and the
Jazz's logo.
This Utah Jazz fabric is licensed by the NBA and is for
individual consumption. Any other use of this NBA fabric is prohibited and
illegal. The Utah Jazz cotton fabric is not suitable for
children's sleepwear.