10 best teams that fell short of winning NBA title
By Phil Watson
1996-97 Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz made all sorts of history in 1996-97. For the first time in franchise history, a member of the Jazz was named NBA MVP, with Karl Malone also becoming the oldest player to win the award at age 33. He broke the record set in 1995-96 by Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls, who would reclaim the record in 1997-98 before Malone snatched it back in 1998-99.
Utah also won 60 games for the second time in team history, setting a new club mark with 64 wins in all. The Jazz ran off 15 straight wins from Nov. 13-Dec. 10, 1996, for a new team record and then tied that mark with 15 more in succession from March 12-April 11, 1997.
That was more than enough to secure the top spot in the Western Conference for Utah, which finished seven games clear of both the Houston Rockets and Seattle SuperSonics for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs out West. But the Bulls finished 69-13 and claimed the top record in the NBA.
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Malone and John Stockton were both named All-Stars in 1996-97, even as Stockton’s run of nine consecutive seasons leading the NBA in assists was ended; he finished second with 10.5 assists per game, trailing Mark Jackson, who split the season between the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers. Malone was runner-up to Jordan in the scoring race at 27.4 points per game.
The Jazz had more than just Malone and Stockton; veteran Jeff Hornacek averaged 14.5 points per game and fourth-year wing Bryon Russell broke out by starting 81 games and averaging 10.8 points per game after averaging 4.2 points per game over his first three seasons in Utah.
The Jazz opened the playoffs with seven wins in eight games over Los Angeles, sweeping the Clippers in three straight in the first round before taking down the Lakers in five games in the conference semifinals.
After losing Game 7 at Seattle in the previous Western Conference Finals, the Jazz would have the home-court edge against the Houston Rockets this time around. But after the teams split the first four games in their own arenas, Utah came home to win Game 5 and then reached the Finals for the first time on Stockton’s 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 103-100 Game 6 win at Houston.
The Jazz lost the first two games of the Finals in Chicago before returning home to tie the series at 2-2. But Jordan’s 3-pointer with 25 seconds left gave the Bulls the lead in Game 5 and Hornacek’s potential game-tying 3 missed the mark in the closing ticks.
That set up one of the most memorable — and surprising — Finals clinching shots ever as Michael Jordan passed off to Steve Kerr for the game-winner in Game 6 to seal Chicago’s second straight title and its fifth in seven seasons.