Utah Jazz
Team of Note
1987-1988 Utah Jazz
Record: 47-35Overall ranking: 250th, 3.163 points above average
The 1987-1988 season marks the point when John Stockton and Karl Malone truly emerged as household names.
Stockton, in his fourth season out of Gonzaga, finally supplanted Rickey Green as Utah’s starting point guard. He promptly won the first of his nine straight league assist titles with 13.8 per game.
Malone, in his third season out of Louisiana Tech, enjoyed his true breakthrough season. He upped his scoring average from 21.7 points per game to 27.7 points per outing.
Stockton and Malone led Utah to a 47-35 mark, at the time a club record for wins. (The Jazz would match or surpass that winning percentage every year for the next 13 years).
Stockton and Malone burst into national consciousness when they pushed the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers to seven games in the Western Conference semifinals. The Jazz led the series 2-1, and lost by just two points in the series’ pivotal fifth game.
Stockton and Malone had arrived.
Utah Jazz From Top to Bottom
| All-time Ranking | W-L | Playoffs | ||
| 19 | 1996-97 | Utah Jazz | 64-18 | NBA finalist |
| 31 | 1994-95 | Utah Jazz | 60-22 | West first round |
| 81 | 1995-96 | Utah Jazz | 55-27 | West finals |
| 97 | 1997-98 | Utah Jazz | 62-20 | NBA finalist |
| 102 | 1998-99 | Utah Jazz | 37-13 | West semifinals |
| 107 | 1991-92 | Utah Jazz | 55-27 | West finals |
| 150 | 2000-01 | Utah Jazz | 53-29 | West first round |
| 157 | 1989-90 | Utah Jazz | 55-27 | West first round |
| 166 | 1999-00 | Utah Jazz | 55-27 | West semifinals |
| 186 | 1988-89 | Utah Jazz | 51-31 | West first round |
| 188 | 1993-94 | Utah Jazz | 53-29 | West finals |
| 263 | 1987-88 | Utah Jazz | 47-35 | West semifinals |
| 267 | 1990-91 | Utah Jazz | 54-28 | West semifinals |
| 276 | 2006-07 | Utah Jazz | 51-31 | West finals |
| 312 | 2002-03 | Utah Jazz | 47-35 | West first round |
| 405 | 1992-93 | Utah Jazz | 47-35 | West first round |
| 474 | 2001-02 | Utah Jazz | 44-38 | West first round |
| 500 | 1983-84 | Utah Jazz | 45-37 | West semifinals |
| 578 | 1986-87 | Utah Jazz | 44-38 | West first round |
| 616 | 1984-85 | Utah Jazz | 41-41 | West semifinals |
| 648 | 1985-86 | Utah Jazz | 42-40 | West first round |
| 666 | 2003-04 | Utah Jazz | 42-40 | |
| 671 | 1975-76 | New Orleans Jazz | 38-44 | |
| 781 | 1977-78 | New Orleans Jazz | 39-43 | |
| 847 | 2005-06 | Utah Jazz | 41-41 | |
| 864 | 1976-77 | New Orleans Jazz | 35-47 | |
| 939 | 2004-05 | Utah Jazz | 26-56 | |
| 958 | 1982-83 | Utah Jazz | 30-52 | |
| 1031 | 1981-82 | Utah Jazz | 25-57 | |
| 1038 | 1979-80 | Utah Jazz | 24-58 | |
| 1046 | 1980-81 | Utah Jazz | 28-54 | |
| 1051 | 1978-79 | New Orleans Jazz | 26-56 | |
| 1092 | 1974-75 | New Orleans Jazz | 23-59 | |