The all-time “Dream Team” for the Utah Jazz

We are right in the middle of the NBA Finals and there are fantastic players carrying their respective teams to success including the likes of LeBron James and Tim Duncan.  These are the kind of players that the Utah Jazz have a hard time competing with at this time and hope to have on the roster in the near future.  That hasn’t always been the case though.  The Jazz have had some amazing players on their roster since they arrived in Utah and throughout franchise history.

Even with all of the all-stars and hall of famers who have donned a Jazz jersey throughout their illustrious history there are some who have elevated themselves to even greater heights as team players.  Guys that would do what ever it took to win both on and off the floor.  Players who played the role assigned to them with near perfection for the good of the team.

This is a look at the all-time team for the Jazz since they arrived in Utah.  The all-time Utah Jazz team consists of 12 players and is built like you would a regular NBA roster.  There is an equal balance of guards and forwards along with a couple of centers with only the best of the best in Jazz history make the team.

Note: only what each player did on the floor with the Jazz was taken into consideration since it is the ultimate Utah Jazz team.

The reserves

Mehmet Okur, center (2004-11): Okur was one of the best shooting big men in the NBA during his time with the Jazz and hit so many big shots that it’s hard to keep track of them all.  Okur signed with the Jazz as a free agent after winning a ring with the Detroit Pistons and played 474 games over seven seasons.  His most impressive statistical season came in 2005-06 when he averaged 18 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 82 games.  A year later, Okur made his only all-star game appearance after averaging

For his Jazz career, Okur averaged 15.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists.

Darrell Griffith, shooting guard (1980-91): Griffith was one of the best scorers during the early days of the Utah Jazz.  He came to the Jazz with the second overall pick in the 1980 draft out of Louisville.  Griffith played his entire 11-year career with the Jazz and appeared in 765 games.  One of his best seasons came in 1984-85 when he averaged a career-high 22.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals in 78 games.

For his career, Griffith averaged 16.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals.

Andrei Kirilenko, small forward (2001-11): Kirilenko played 681 games over 10 seasons after being selected with the 24th overall pick in the 1999 draft.  Kirilenko was one of the best all-around players the Jazz have ever had.  One of his best seasons came in 2003-04 when Kirilenko made the all-star game when he averaged a career-high 16.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.9 steals and 2.8 blocks in 78 games.

For his Jazz career, Kirilenko averaged 12.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 steals and two blocks a game and was named to the all-defensive first or second-team three times.

Paul Millsap, power forward (2006-13): Millsap came to the Jazz as the 17th pick of the second round (47th overall) in the 2006 draft.  He played 540 games over seven seasons in Utah and was the heart and soul of the team for much of his time because of his hustle. One of his best seasons came in 2010-11 when Millsap averaged 17.3 points on 53.1 percent shooting from the floor, 7.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals in 76 games.

For his Jazz career, Millsap averaged 12.4 points, seven rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals and one block a game.

Deron Williams, point guard (2005-11): Williams landed with the Jazz with the third overall pick in the 2005 draft.  Williams played 439 games over five-plus seasons in Utah and was a great lead guard until the day he was traded.  One of his most productive seasons with the Jazz came in 2007-8 when Williams averaged 18.8 points on 50.7 percent shooting from the floor to go along with three rebounds, 10.5 assists and 1.1 steals in the only season where he played all 82 games.

For his Jazz career,  Williams made two all-star games and averaged 17.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 1.1 steals.

Carlos Boozer, power forward (2004-10): although he was never considered a fan favorite because of his many injuries, Boozer was a force for the Jazz when he was on the floor.  Boozer played 354 games over six seasons after landing in Utah as a free agent in the summer of 2004.  One of his most productive seasons with Utah came in 2006-07 when he averaged 20.9 points on 56.1 percent shooting from the field, 11.7 rebounds, and three assists in 74 games.

During his time in Utah, Boozer was named to two all-star games as well as earning a third-team all-NBA selection.  For his Jazz career, he averaged 19.3 points on 54.4 percent shooting, 10.5 rebounds, 2.9 rebounds and one steal a game.

Rickey Green, point guard (1981-89): Green signed with the Jazz off waivers after spending a season in the CBA according to Basketball-reference.com.  He played in 606 over eight seasons with the Utah and was one of the best point guards in franchise history.  One of his best seasons came in 1983-84 when Green played in the all-star games after he averaged 13.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 9.2 assists and a league-leading 2.7 steals a night.

For his Jazz career, Green averaged 11.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.8 steals.

The starters

Mark Eaton, center (1982-93): Eaton landed with the Jazz with the third pick in the fourth round (72nd overall) in the 1982 draft.  Eaton played 875 games over 11 seasons with Utah and was by far the best defensive center the Jazz have ever had.  He led the league in blocks shots a game in four different seasons, made the nba all-defensive first-, or second-team five times and earned the NBA defensive player of the year on two separate occasions.  His most productive season came in 1984-85 when Eaton averaged 9.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 5.6 blocks in 82 games.

For his career, the one-time all-star averaged six points, 7.9 rebounds, one assist and 3.5 blocks a game.

Adrian Dantley, small forward (1979-86): Dantley landed with the Jazz in the fall of 1979 in a trade that sent Spencer Haywood to the Los Angeles Lakers according to basketball-reference.com.  Dantley played 461 games over seven seasons and appeared in six all-star games.  During that time, Dantley was the most prolific scorer Utah had ever seen on a per game basis.  His most productive season came in 1980-81 when he scored a league-leading 30.7 points on 55.9 percent shooting, 6.4 rebounds, four assists and 1.4 steals in 80 games.

For his Jazz career, Dantley averaged 29.6 points on 56.2 percent shooting, 6.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists  and 1.1 steals a game, and earned second-team all-NBA twice.

Karl Malone, power forward (1985-2003): Malone landed with the Jazz with the 13th overall pick in the 1985 NBA draft.  He played 1,476 games in a Jazz uniform over 18 seasons and finished as the franchise leader in scoring and rebounding.  The 14-time all-star earned first-team all-NBA an astounding 11 times and was the NBA MVP on two occasions.  One of his most impressive statistical season came in 1989-90 when Malone averaged a career-high 31 points on 56.2 percent shooting, 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals a night.

For his Jazz career, Malone averaged 25 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals a game.

Jeff Hornacek, shooting guard (1993-2000): Hornacek landed with the Jazz as part of a trade that sent Jeff Malone to the Philadelphia 76ers mid way through the 1994 season according to Basketball-reference.com. He played 477 games over six-plus seasons with the Jazz and turned out to be one of the best shooters Utah ever had from the perimeter and the free-throw line.  His most productive season came 1994-95 when he averaged 16.5 points on 51.4 percent shooting, 2.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals in 81 games.

For his Jazz career, Hornacek averaged 14.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, four assists and 1.3 steals a game.

John Stockton, point guard (1984-2003): Stockton landed with the Jazz as the 16th overall pick in the 1984 draft.  He spent his entire 19-year career with the Jazz  and is the best point guard the franchise has ever had and one of the greatest lead guards in NBA history.  Stockton is the definition of a pass first point guard who was all about team first.  Even when he had a clear path to the basket on a fast break he would drop the ball off for someone else to get the glory.  The 10-time all-star led the league in assists per game nine straight seasons as well as steals two times.  One of his most productive seasons came in 1989-90 when he averaged 17.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 14.5 assists and 2.7 steals in 78 games.

For his career, Stockton averaged 13.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 10.5 assists and 2.2 steals in 1,504 games. For his efforts, Stockton earned first, second or third-team all-NBA 11 times and is the all-time NBA leader in assists and steals.

Advertisement

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s