1994–95 Utah Jazz season

Off-season

During the off-season, the Jazz signed free agent Antoine Carr,^[2][3] and acquired Adam Keefe from the Atlanta Hawks.^[4][5]

Regular season

With the addition of Carr and Keefe, the Jazz struggled losing four of their first six games of the regular season, but then won seven of their next eight games, and posted an eight-game winning streak in December.^[6] The team posted a 14–1 record in January, which included a 14-game winning streak which ended in early February,^[7] as the Jazz held a 35–13 record at the All-Star break.^[8] At mid-season, the team traded Jay Humphries to the Boston Celtics in exchange for former Jazz guard Blue Edwards.^[9][10][11] The Jazz posted a nine-game winning streak between February and March,^[12] and then won their final seven games of the season, finishing in second place in the Midwest Division with a 60–22 record, and earning the third seed in the Western Conference;^[13] the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the twelfth consecutive year.^[1]

Karl Malone averaged 26.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game, while Jeff Hornacek averaged 16.5 points, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and John Stockton provided the team with 14.7 points, 12.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game, and also led them with 102 three-point field goals. In addition, David Benoit contributed 10.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while Felton Spencer provided with 9.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, but only played just 34 games due to an Achilles tendon injury.^[14][15] Off the bench, Carr averaged 9.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, while Edwards contributed 6.6 points per game in 36 games after the trade, Keefe provided with 6.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, Tom Chambers contributed 6.2 points per game, and James Donaldson averaged 2.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.^[16]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, Malone and Stockton were both selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team,^[17][18][19] while rookie small forward, and second-round draft pick Jamie Watson participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.^[20][21] In a year of milestones, Stockton became the NBA's all-time assist leader passing Magic Johnson with 9,921 on his way to a record tying eighth straight assist title.^[22][23] Meanwhile, Malone and Chambers both passed the 20,000 point mark in their careers.^[24] Malone and Stockton were also both named to the All-NBA First Team, while Stockton was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Malone finished in third place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Stockton finished in eighth place;^[25][26] Carr finished in seventh place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,^[27][26] and head coach Jerry Sloan finished in fourth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[28][26]

The Jazz finished fifth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 811,159 at the Delta Center during the regular season.^[16][29]

NBA playoffs

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1995 NBA playoffs, and for the second consecutive year, the Jazz faced off against the 6th–seeded, and defending NBA champion Houston Rockets, a team that featured All-Star center Hakeem Olajuwon, All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, and Robert Horry. With the series tied at 1–1, the Jazz won Game 3 over the Rockets on the road, 95–82 at The Summit to take a 2–1 series lead.^[30][31][32] However, the Jazz lost the next two games, which included a Game 5 loss to the Rockets at home, 95–91 at the Delta Center, thus losing in a hard-fought five-game series.^[33][34][35]

The Rockets would go on to defeat the Orlando Magic in a four-game sweep in the 1995 NBA Finals, winning their second consecutive NBA championship.^[36][37][38]

Aftermath

Following the season, Chambers left to play overseas in Israel,^[39][40][41] and Edwards was left unprotected in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies expansion team.^[42][43][44]

Season standings

Regular season

Season

Playoffs

Player statistics citation:^[16]