Hoops4theSoul

May

29

5-29-1997: Stockton’s Three Puts Jazz in Finals

Filed Under On This Day . . ., NBA, Loose Balls

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Charles Barkley & Hakeem Olajuwon Are Helpless As John Stockton Fires for Three John Stockton Shoots the Utah Jazz into the 1997 NBA Finals (AP) Karl Malone & John Stockton Finally Get the Utah Jazz to the NBA Finals After 23 seasons in the NBA (18 in Salt Lake City), the Utah Jazz finally advanced to the NBA Finals when point guard John Stockton hit a dramatic, game-winning three pointer 12 years ago today at the end of Game Six of the 1997 Western Conference Finals.

Stockton’s heroics would forever be immortalized by Greg Gumbel’s words: “John Stockton sends the Utah Jazz to the NBA Finals.”

For Stockton and his Hall-of-Fame teammate Karl Malone and Head Coach Jerry Sloan, the shot ended years of playoff disappointment for the Jazz.

Prior to facing a Houston Rockets team with three future Hall of Famers on its roster — Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Charles Barkley — in the ‘97 Western Conference Finals, Stockton, Malone and Sloan had appeared in three conference finals.

While the names and faces of the players around them may have changed, Utah’s “Big Three” were constants as the Jazz failed to make the NBA’s Promise Land after the following deep runs in the playoffs.

Here’s a more thorough breakdown of Stockton and Malone’s playoff history together prior to reaching the 1997 NBA Finals (note that Stockton joined the team in 1984 and Malone in 1985; thus the following begins with the 1986 NBA Playoffs).

Playoff Appearances prior to 1997: 11.

Lost in First Round: 6 times (1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995).

Lost in Second Round: 2 times (1988, 1991).

Lost in Western Conference Finals:  3 times (1992, 1994, 1996).

Upset in First Round (Lost to Lower-Seeded Team): 4 times (1987, 1989, 1990, 1995).

Pulled Upset in First Round (Won as a Lower-Seed): 3 times (1988, 1991, 1994).

Went the Distance in a Series but Lost Decisive Game: 5 times (1987, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1995).

Highest Seed to Lose in First Round: 1989 (as #2 seed, swept in three games by the #7 seed Golden State Warriors).

Lowest Seed to Advance to Western Conference Finals: 1994 (as #5 seed, lost to #3 seed Houston Rockets in five games).

Well, with his huge three against Houston in Game Six of the 1997 Western Conference Finals, Stockton put an end to all of Utah’s past heartbreaks in the playoffs (including the following three pointer by Houston’s Eddie Johnson in Game Four of this series) and sent the Jazz to the 1997 NBA Finals, which the team would lose in a valiant, six game effort against the Chicago Bulls.

A year later, Utah would complete a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1998 Western Conference Finals and rematch the Bulls in the NBA Finals.

This time, the Jazz were the favorites. However, the results of the 1998 NBA Finals would be the same as the 1997 NBA Finals, with Chicago winning in six games thanks to some more late game heroics, this time from Michael Jordan as opposed to Steve Kerr.

Once Jordan and the Bulls dynasty ended in 1998, the Jazz were not able to win the title despite being sentimental favorites in 1999.

Here’s how Stockton and Malone fared in their final five playoffs together.

1999: as #3 seed, lose to #2 seed Portland Trail Blazers in six games in second round.

2000: as #2 seed, lose to #3 seed Portland Trail Blazers in five games in second round.

2001: as #4 seed, lose to #5 seed Dallas Mavericks in five games in first round.

2002: as #8 seed, lose to #1 seed Sacramento Kings in four games in first round.

2003: as #7 seed, lose to #2 seed Sacramento Kings in five games in first round.

While Utah may have never won a championship under Stockton and Malone, their accomplishments can not be denied.

In fact, it can be argued that Stockton’s three in Game Six of the 1997 Western Conference Finals was then and still remains the most satisfying moment in Jazz history.

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