1999–2000 Utah Jazz season

The 1999–2000 Utah Jazz season was the 26th season for the Utah Jazz in the National Basketball Association, and their 21st season in Salt Lake City, Utah.^[1] During the off-season, the Jazz signed free agent Olden Polynice,^[2][3][4] then later on signed Armen Gilliam in January;^[5][6] Polynice became the team's starting center this season, with Greg Ostertag coming off the bench as a backup center.^[7] With aging players on their roster, the Jazz were the oldest team in the NBA.^[8][9]

With the addition of Polynice, the Jazz got off to a solid 15–7 start to the regular season, which included a seven-game winning streak in December.^[10] However, the team posted a six-game losing streak between January and February, and held a 29–18 record at the All-Star break.^[11] The Jazz posted a nine-game winning streak between February and March, and finished in first place in the Midwest Division with a solid 55–27 record, earning the second seed in the Western Conference;^[12] the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the 17th consecutive year.^[13]

Karl Malone averaged 25.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and also reached a milestone by scoring his 30,000th career point during this season.^[14][15][16] In addition, Bryon Russell averaged 14.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, and led the Jazz with 106 three-point field goals, while Jeff Hornacek contributed 12.4 points per game, John Stockton provided the team with 12.1 points, 8.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and sixth man Howard Eisley contributed 8.6 points and 4.2 assists per game off the bench. On the defensive side, Gilliam averaged 6.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in 50 games, while Polynice averaged 5.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, and Ostertag provided with 4.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.^[17]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at The Arena in Oakland in Oakland, California, Malone and Stockton were both selected for the 2000 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was Stockton's final All-Star appearance.^[18][19][20] Meanwhile, Hornacek participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout for the third time, and also participated in the NBA 2Ball Competition, along with Natalie Williams of the WNBA's Utah Starzz;^[21][22] Hornacek won the Three-Point Shootout for the second consecutive year, and also won the 2Ball Competition along with Williams.^[23][19][24] Malone also finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[25][26] while head coach Jerry Sloan finished in fourth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[26]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 2000 NBA playoffs, the Jazz faced off against the 7th–seeded Seattle SuperSonics, a team that featured All-Star guard Gary Payton, Vin Baker and Brent Barry. The Jazz won the first two games over the SuperSonics at home at the Delta Center, before losing the next two games on the road, which included a Game 4 loss to the SuperSonics at the KeyArena at Seattle Center, 104–93.^[27][28][29] With the series tied at 2–2, the Jazz won Game 5 over the SuperSonics at the Delta Center, 96–93 to win in a hard-fought five-game series.^[30][31][32]

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, and for the second consecutive year, the team faced off against the 3rd–seeded Portland Trail Blazers, who were led by All-Star forward Rasheed Wallace, Scottie Pippen and Steve Smith. Despite the Jazz winning the Midwest Division title, the Trail Blazers had home-court advantage in the series, since the team finished with a better regular-season record than the Jazz.^[33][34] The Jazz lost the first three games to the Trail Blazers, but managed to win Game 4 at home, 88–85 at the Delta Center.^[35] However, the Jazz lost Game 5 to the Trail Blazers on the road, 81–79 at the Rose Garden Arena, thus losing the series in five games.^[36][37][38]

The Jazz finished fifth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 801,268 at the Delta Center during the regular season.^[17][39] Following the season, Hornacek retired after fourteen seasons in the NBA.^[40][41][42] Meanwhile, Gilliam also retired, and Eisley and Adam Keefe were both involved in a four-team trade; Eisley was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, while Keefe was traded to the Golden State Warriors.^[43][44][45]