1987–88 Utah Jazz season

Off-season

The Jazz had the 15th overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft, and selected center Jose Ortiz out of Oregon State University; however, Ortiz went to play overseas in Spain, and would not play for the Jazz until the next season.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team acquired Melvin Turpin from the Cleveland Cavaliers.^[5][6]

Regular season

The Jazz played around .500 in winning percentage in the first half of the regular season, holding a 22–22 record at the All-Star break,^[7] but then played above .500 for the remainder of the season, winning seven of their final eight games. The Jazz finished in third place in the Midwest Division with a 47–35 record, and earned the fifth seed in the Western Conference;^[8] the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.^[1]

Karl Malone averaged 27.7 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. In addition, sixth man Thurl Bailey averaged 19.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game off the bench, while John Stockton showed improvement, replacing Rickey Green as the team's starting point guard this season,^[9] averaging 14.7 points, 13.8 assists and 3.0 steals per game, and also being named to the All-NBA Second Team, and Darrell Griffith contributed 11.3 points per game also off the bench, but only played 52 games due to a season-ending left knee injury.^[10][11] Meanwhile, Bob Hansen provided the team with 9.6 points per game, Kelly Tripucka contributed 7.5 points per game, but only played just 49 games due to a right calf injury and the flu,^[10][12] and Mark Eaton averaged 7.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game, and was also named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Off the bench, Turpin provided with 5.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, while Green contributed 4.9 points and 3.7 assists per game, and starting small forward Marc Iavaroni averaged 4.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.^[13]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, Malone was selected for the 1988 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was his first ever All-Star appearance. Malone scored 22 points along with 10 rebounds and 2 steals, despite the Western Conference losing to the Eastern Conference, 138–133.^[14][15][16] Malone also finished in eighth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Stockton finished in tenth place;^[17] Stockton also finished in second place in Most Improved Player voting, behind Kevin Duckworth of the Portland Trail Blazers,^[18][17] while Bailey finished in second place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, behind Roy Tarpley of the Dallas Mavericks,^[19][17] and Eaton finished in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, behind Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls, and with Stockton and Hansen both finishing tied in eighth place.^[20][17]

The Jazz finished 13th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 503,969 at the Salt Palace during the regular season.^[13][21]

NBA playoffs

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1988 NBA playoffs, the Jazz faced off against the 4th–seeded Trail Blazers, who were led by All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, Jerome Kersey, and Most Improved Player of the Year, Duckworth. The Jazz lost Game 1 to the Trail Blazers on the road, 108–96 at the Memorial Coliseum.^[22] However, the team managed to win the next three games, which included a Game 4 win over the Trail Blazers at home, 111–96 at the Salt Palace to win the series in four games.^[23][24][25]

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the top–seeded, and defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, who won the Pacific Division title, and were led by the quartet of All-Star guard Magic Johnson, All-Star forward James Worthy, Byron Scott and All-Star center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Jazz lost Game 1 to the Lakers on the road, 110–91 at the Great Western Forum, but managed to win the next two games, including a Game 3 home win over the Lakers at the Salt Palace, 96–89 to take a 2–1 series lead.^[26][27][28] The Jazz lost the next two games, but managed to win Game 6 over the Lakers at the Salt Palace, 108–80 to even the series.^[29][30][31] However, the Jazz lost Game 7 to the Lakers at the Great Western Forum, 109–98, thus losing in a hard-fought seven-game series.^[32][33][34]

The Lakers would defeat the Detroit Pistons in a full seven-game series in the 1988 NBA Finals, winning their second consecutive NBA championship.^[35][36][37]

Aftermath

Following the season, Green was left unprotected in the 1988 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Charlotte Hornets expansion team, while Tripucka was traded to the Hornets after two mediocre seasons with the Jazz,^[38][39][40] and Turpin left to play overseas in Spain.

Season standings

Regular season

Season

Playoffs