NBA History: The best era for each of the 30 franchises

Utah Jazz: 1984-03

On the heels of their first-ever appearance in the NBA playoffs in 1984, the Utah Jazz looked to be on the come up as an NBA franchise. They’d made it to the conference semi-finals and housed one of the top scoring options in the league in Adrian Dantley.

Little did the organization know the gold they would eventually strike in consecutive drafts shortly after that magical season. There was no No. 1 overall pick, not even one in the top 10, but selecting John Stockton and Karl Malone wound up paying massive dividends for a franchise that had only recently arrived in Salt Lake.

Drafted 16th and 13th overall, respectively — Stockton in 1984, Malone in 1985 — the two became the latest in a long line of elite pick-and-roll duos, complementing each other’s style with a hand-in-glove fit.

It didn’t take long for the individual accolades to begin piling up, ranging from All-Star and All-NBA nods assist titles and MVP trophies. With them came the continuous presence of Utah in the postseason, a place it would remain until the early stages of the 21st century.

Despite a consistent string of postseason outings, multiple flameouts and shortcomings led few to believe in the Jazz as legitimate contenders. It wasn’t until the mid-90s where that image began to shift in the opposite direction, culminating in back-to-back Finals appearances in 1997 and 1998.

By the time Stockton and Malone arrived on the scene, the Jazz had only been in Utah for five seasons. There was the one playoff appearance but not even a 50-win campaign.

The two Hall of Famers took the franchise and made it their own with nearly two decades worth of elite-level basketball those in Utah will always be thankful for even in the absence of a championship.