1989–90 Utah Jazz season

1989–90   Utah Jazz season
Head coach	Jerry Sloan
General manager	Tim Howells
Owner	Larry H. Miller
Arena	Salt Palace
Results
Record	55–27 (.671)
Place	Division: 2nd (Midwest) Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Suns 2–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KSTU Prime Sports Intermountain West
Radio	KALL
< 1988–89 1990–91 >

The 1989–90 Utah Jazz season was the 16th season for the Utah Jazz in the National Basketball Association, and their 11th season in Salt Lake City, Utah. ^[1] The Jazz had the 21st overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Blue Edwards out of East Carolina University. ^[2]

The Jazz got off to a fast start early into the regular season by winning seven of their first eight games. ^[3] The team continued to play solid basketball winning 11 of their 14 games in January, including a nine-game winning streak, and holding a 33–14 record at the All-Star break. ^[4] The Jazz finished in second place in the Midwest Division with a 55–27 record, and earned the fourth seed in the Western Conference; ^[5] the team made their seventh consecutive trip to the NBA playoffs. ^[6]

Karl Malone averaged 31.0 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, while John Stockton averaged 17.2 points, 14.5 assists and 2.7 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and Thurl Bailey provided the team with 14.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. In addition, Edwards and Darrell Griffith both contributed 8.9 points per game each, with Edwards being named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, while Bob Hansen provided with 7.6 points per game, Mike Brown averaged 6.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, and Mark Eaton provided with 4.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and led the team with 2.5 blocks per game. ^[7]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida, Malone and Stockton were both selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team. However, Malone threatened to boycott the All-Star Game, after A.C. Green of the Los Angeles Lakers was voted to be the starting power forward for the Western Conference instead of Malone; ^{[8] [9] [10]} Malone did not play in the All-Star Game due to an ankle injury, despite playing all 82 games this season; ^{[11] [12]} Rolando Blackman of the Dallas Mavericks was selected as his replacement. ^{[13] [14] [15]} Meanwhile, Hansen participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout. ^{[16] [17]}

Malone finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Stockton finished in ninth place, ^{[18] [19]} and Eaton finished tied in fifth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting. ^[19] In the Western Conference First Round of the 1990 NBA playoffs, the Jazz won Game 1 against the 5th-seeded Phoenix Suns, ^{[20] [21]} but lost the series in five games. ^{[22] [23] [24]} Following the season, Hansen was traded to the Sacramento Kings in an off-season three team trade. ^{[25] [26]}

One notable highlight of the regular season was Malone scoring a career-high of 61 points in a 144–96 home win over the Milwaukee Bucks on January 27, 1990. ^{[27] [28] [29]}

Draft picks

Main article: 1989 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	21	Blue Edwards	SG/SF	United States	East Carolina
2	48	Junie Lewis		United States	South Alabama

Roster

1989–90 Utah Jazz roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F 41 Thurl Bailey 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1961–04–07 NC State C 40 Mike Brown 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 257 lb (117 kg) 1963–07–19 George Washington F 24 Raymond Brown 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1965–07–05 Idaho C 53 Mark Eaton 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 1957–01–24 UCLA G/F 30 Blue Edwards 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1965–10–31 East Carolina G 35 Darrell Griffith 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1958–06–16 Louisville G 20 Bob Hansen 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1961–01–18 Iowa G 15 Eric Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1966–02–07 Nebraska C 45 Eric Leckner 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1966–05–27 Wyoming F 32 Karl Malone 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1963–07–24 Louisiana Tech G 11 Delaney Rudd 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1962–11–08 Wake Forest G 12 John Stockton 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1962–03–26 Gonzaga

Head coach Jerry Sloan Assistant(s) Gordon Chiesa David Fredman Phil Johnson Scott Layden Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: February 16, 1990

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	–	34–7	22–19	19–9
x-Utah Jazz	55	27	.671	1	36–5	19–22	21–7
x-Dallas Mavericks	47	35	.573	9	30–11	17–24	17–11
x-Denver Nuggets	43	39	.524	13	28–13	15–26	15–13
x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	15	31–10	10–31	13–15
Minnesota Timberwolves	22	60	.268	34	17–24	5–36	6–22
Charlotte Hornets	19	63	.232	37	13–28	6–35	7–21

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Los Angeles Lakers	63	19	.768	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	7
3	x-Portland Trail Blazers	59	23	.720	4
4	x-Utah Jazz	55	27	.671	8
5	x-Phoenix Suns	54	28	.659	9
6	x-Dallas Mavericks	47	35	.573	16
7	x-Denver Nuggets	43	39	.524	20
8	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	22
9	Seattle SuperSonics	41	41	.500	22
10	Golden State Warriors	37	45	.451	26
11	Los Angeles Clippers	30	52	.366	33
12	Sacramento Kings	23	59	.280	40
13	Minnesota Timberwolves	22	60	.268	41
14	Charlotte Hornets	19	63	.232	44

Game log

Regular season

1989–90 game log Total: 55–27 (home: 36–5; road: 19–22)
November: 8–4 (home: 7–2; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 November 3 Denver W 122–113 Salt Palace 1–0 2 November 8 Charlotte W 102–86 Salt Palace 2–0 3 November 10 San Antonio W 106–92 Salt Palace 3–0 4 November 11 @ Houston L 92–100 The Summit 3–1 5 November 13 Washington W 106–93 Salt Palace 4–1 6 November 15 Chicago W 108–107 Salt Palace 5–1 7 November 17 Indiana W 114–100 Salt Palace 6–1 8 November 21 @ Minnesota W 103–101 (OT) Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 7–1 9 November 22 Orlando L 97–119 Salt Palace 7–2 10 November 25 L.A. Lakers L 86–92 Salt Palace 7–3 11 November 27 New Jersey W 105–68 Salt Palace 8–3 12 November 29 @ Indiana L 88–100 Market Square Arena 8–4
December: 11–5 (home: 7–1; road: 4–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 13 December 1 @ Atlanta L 103–114 The Omni 8–5 14 December 2 @ Washington W 100–98 Capital Centre 9–5 15 December 5 @ Cleveland W 94–80 Richfield Coliseum 10–5 16 December 7 Dallas W 107–97 Salt Palace 11–5 17 December 9 Houston W 104–90 Salt Palace 12–5 18 December 11 Cleveland L 110–113 (OT) Salt Palace 12–6 19 December 13 Phoenix W 102–95 Salt Palace 13–6 20 December 15 Detroit W 94–91 Salt Palace 14–6 21 December 17 @ Minnesota W 122–112 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 15–6 22 December 19 @ New York L 107–115 Madison Square Garden 15–7 23 December 20 @ Boston L 109–113 Boston Garden 15–8 24 December 22 @ Charlotte W 114–100 Charlotte Coliseum 16–8 25 December 23 @ San Antonio L 98–115 HemisFair Arena 16–9 26 December 26 Golden State W 133–118 Salt Palace 17–9 27 December 28 Portland W 113–109 Salt Palace 18–9 28 December 30 Miami W 117–98 Salt Palace 19–9
January: 11–3 (home: 7–0; road: 4–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 29 January 2 @ Golden State L 120–133 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 19–10 30 January 3 @ Seattle W 119–108 Seattle Center Coliseum 20–10 31 January 5 @ Portland L 89–118 Memorial Coliseum 20–11 32 January 6 @ Denver W 123–120 McNichols Sports Arena 21–11 33 January 10 Denver W 130–99 Salt Palace 22–11 34 January 13 @ Dallas W 109–99 Reunion Arena 23–11 35 January 17 Atlanta W 95–88 Salt Palace 24–11 36 January 19 Charlotte W 116–93 Salt Palace 25–11 37 January 20 @ Sacramento W 94–81 ARCO Arena 26–11 38 January 23 Houston W 102–94 Salt Palace 27–11 39 January 25 New York W 115–89 Salt Palace 28–11 40 January 27 Milwaukee W 144–96 Salt Palace 29–11 41 January 30 @ Portland L 98–122 Memorial Coliseum 29–12 42 January 31 L.A. Clippers W 120–101 Salt Palace 30–12
February: 9–4 (home: 5–0; road: 4–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 43 February 2 Dallas W 105–92 Salt Palace 31–12 44 February 4 @ Detroit L 83–115 The Palace of Auburn Hills 31–13 45 February 5 @ Philadelphia L 89–114 The Spectrum 31–14 46 February 7 @ New Jersey W 108–101 Brendan Byrne Arena 32–14 47 February 8 @ Charlotte W 94–74 Charlotte Coliseum 33–14 48 February 13 Minnesota W 110–104 (OT) Salt Palace 34–14 49 February 14 @ Phoenix L 103–114 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 34–15 50 February 16 @ San Antonio L 86–100 HemisFair Arena 34–16 51 February 17 Sacramento W 110–106 Salt Palace 35–16 52 February 19 Philadelphia W 115–102 Salt Palace 36–16 53 February 21 Boston W 116–103 Salt Palace 37–16 54 February 22 @ L.A. Clippers W 116–102 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 38–16 55 February 25 @ L.A. Lakers W 104–103 Great Western Forum 39–16
March: 11–4 (home: 6–1; road: 5–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 56 March 1 Portland W 119–102 Salt Palace 40–16 57 March 3 San Antonio W 112–98 Salt Palace 41–16 58 March 5 @ Miami L 104–105 Miami Arena 41–17 59 March 6 @ Orlando W 111–101 Orlando Arena 42–17 60 March 8 @ Chicago W 98–94 Chicago Stadium 43–17 61 March 9 @ Milwaukee W 108–100 Bradley Center 44–17 62 March 11 @ Denver W 110–109 McNichols Sports Arena 45–17 63 March 13 Phoenix L 106–114 Salt Palace 45–18 64 March 15 Seattle W 117–95 Salt Palace 46–18 65 March 17 @ Sacramento L 109–122 (OT) ARCO Arena 46–19 66 March 19 Sacramento W 105–97 Salt Palace 47–19 67 March 21 L.A. Clippers W 118–102 Salt Palace 48–19 68 March 23 Golden State W 106–91 Salt Palace 49–19 69 March 24 @ L.A. Clippers W 112–79 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 50–19 70 March 29 @ Golden State L 123–128 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 50–20
April: 5–7 (home: 4–1; road: 1–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 71 April 1 @ L.A. Lakers L 103–119 Great Western Forum 50–21 72 April 3 Charlotte W 127–104 Salt Palace 51–21 73 April 5 @ Seattle L 91–101 Seattle Center Coliseum 51–22 74 April 9 @ Phoenix L 115–119 (OT) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 51–23 75 April 10 Seattle W 114–102 Salt Palace 52–23 76 April 12 L.A. Lakers W 107–104 Salt Palace 53–23 77 April 14 Houston L 99–103 Salt Palace 53–24 78 April 15 @ Minnesota W 103–90 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 54–24 79 April 17 @ Dallas L 96–97 Reunion Arena 54–25 80 April 18 @ San Antonio L 93–102 HemisFair Arena 54–26 81 April 20 Minnesota W 97–89 Salt Palace 55–26 82 April 22 @ Houston L 88–100 The Summit 55–27
1989–90 schedule

Playoffs

1990 playoff game log
Western Conference First Round: 2–3 (home: 1–2; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 27 Phoenix W 113–96 Karl Malone (21) Karl Malone (11) John Stockton (17) Salt Palace 12,616 1–0 2 April 29 Phoenix L 87–105 Karl Malone (20) Karl Malone (10) John Stockton (8) Salt Palace 12,616 1–1 3 May 2 @ Phoenix L 105–120 Thurl Bailey (30) Karl Malone (11) John Stockton (19) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 14,487 1–2 4 May 4 @ Phoenix W 105–94 Karl Malone (33) Karl Malone (11) John Stockton (14) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 14,487 2–2 5 May 6 Phoenix L 102–104 Bailey, Malone (26) Mark Eaton (9) John Stockton (17) Salt Palace 12,616 2–3
1990 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Thurl Bailey	82	33	31.5	.481	.000	.779	5.0	1.7	.4	1.2	14.2
Mike Brown	82	0	17.0	.515	.500	.789	4.5	.6	.4	.3	6.2
Raymond Brown	16	0	3.5	.286		.000	.9	.3	.0	.0	1.0
Mark Eaton	82	82	27.8	.527		.669	7.3	.5	.4	2.5	4.8
Blue Edwards	82	49	23.0	.507	.300	.719	3.1	1.8	.9	.4	8.9
Darrell Griffith	82	1	17.6	.464	.372	.654	2.0	.8	.8	.2	8.9
Bob Hansen	81	81	26.8	.467	.351	.516	2.8	1.8	.6	.1	7.6
Eric Johnson	48	2	5.7	.238	.167	.765	.6	1.3	.4	.0	1.1
Nate Johnston †	6	0	2.2	.364	1.000	1.000	.3	.0	.0	.2	1.8
Eric Leckner	77	0	9.9	.563		.743	2.5	.2	.2	.3	4.3
Jim Les †	1	0	6.0			.500	.0	1.0	.0	.0	2.0
Karl Malone	82	82	38.1	.562	.372	.762	11.1	2.8	1.5	.6	31.0
José Ortiz	13	0	4.9	.452	.500	.600	1.2	.5	.2	.1	3.2
Delaney Rudd	77	2	11.0	.429	.286	.660	.7	2.3	.3	.0	3.5
John Stockton	78	78	37.4	.514	.416	.819	2.6	14.5	2.7	.2	17.2

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Thurl Bailey	5	5	38.0	.489		.792	6.4	1.4	1.0	1.2	21.0
Mike Brown	5	0	13.4	.467		.800	2.0	.6	.2	.2	3.6
Raymond Brown	3	0	2.0				.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Mark Eaton	5	5	25.6	.529		.200	6.0	.0	.6	2.8	3.8
Blue Edwards	5	0	18.8	.538	.333	.875	3.6	1.6	1.4	.4	7.2
Darrell Griffith	5	0	19.4	.452	.556	.800	4.2	.6	1.2	.2	9.4
Bob Hansen	5	5	29.0	.488	.500	.250	2.8	1.0	.6	.0	10.0
Eric Johnson	1	0	3.0				.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Eric Leckner	3	0	9.3	.600	1.000	.556	2.7	.7	.0	.0	6.0
Karl Malone	5	5	40.6	.438	.000	.756	10.2	2.2	2.2	1.0	25.2
Delaney Rudd	5	0	9.0	.348	.143	.500	.6	2.6	.2	.0	3.6
John Stockton	5	5	38.8	.420	.077	.800	3.2	15.0	1.2	.0	15.0

Player statistics citation: ^[7]

Awards and records

• Karl Malone, All-NBA First Team
• John Stockton, All-NBA Second Team
• Blue Edwards, NBA All-Rookie Team 2nd Team

Transactions

Free agents

Subtractions
Player	Date signed	New team
Jim Farmer	Expansion Draft June 15, 1989	Orlando Magic

References

1. 1989-90 Utah Jazz
2. "1989 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
3. "Utah Jazz at Minnesota Timberwolves Box Score, November 21, 1989". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
4. "NBA Games Played on February 8, 1990". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
5. "1989–90 Utah Jazz Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
6. "Utah Jazz". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
7. "1989–90 Utah Jazz Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
8. McManis, Sam (January 26, 1990). "A.C. Green Boxes Out Unhappy Malone for Starting Berth: NBA All-Stars: Utah Player Says He Will Boycott Game. Magic and Worthy Make It Three Lakers on West Squad". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
9. Kragthorpe, Kurt (January 26, 1990). "All-Star Voters Pick Green, and Malone's Angry". Deseret News. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
10. Howard-Cooper, Scott (February 11, 1990). "NBA ALL-STAR GAME: Entire Family Is Back Together--Almost". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
11. Hafner, Dan (February 9, 1990). "NBA ROUNDUP: New Twist: Malone to Skip All-Star Game Again". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
12. Kragthorpe, Kurt (February 10, 1990). "NBA Wants a Look at Hurt Ankle". Deseret News. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
13. "Blackman to Replace Injured Karl Malone". Tampa Bay Times. February 10, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
14. "1990 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com. NBA.com Staff. September 13, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
15. "1990 NBA All-Star Game: East 130, West 113". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
16. "NBA All-Star Weekend". The Hour. February 9, 1990. p. 32. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
17. "NBA & ABA All-Star Game Contest Winners". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
18. McManis, Sam (May 22, 1990). "Magic Repeats in MVP Vote; Barkley Is 2nd: Pro Basketball: Johnson Is the First Back-to-Back Winner Since Larry Bird. Michael Jordan Finishes a Close Third". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
19. "1989–90 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
20. Howard-Cooper, Scott (April 28, 1990). "Jazz Loses Big Lead, But Still Wins, 113-96". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
21. Wakley, Ralph (April 28, 1990). "Jazz 113, Suns 96". United Press International. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
22. "Last-Gasp Jump Shot Sends Suns to Round 2". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 7, 1990. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
23. Howard-Cooper, Scott (May 7, 1990). "Suns' Truth Hurts Jazz in Game 5: NBA Playoffs: Kevin Johnson's Last-Second Basket Sets Up a Date with the Lakers for Phoenix, 104-102". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
24. "1990 NBA Western Conference First Round: Suns vs. Jazz". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
25. "Bullets Get Pervis Ellison in Three-Way Trade: Pro Basketball: Jeff Malone Goes to Jazz, with Hansen and Leckner Going to Sacramento. Nets Deal for Theus, Meaning They Will Probably Pick Coleman". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 26, 1990. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
26. Brady, Jim (June 25, 1990). "Bullets, Jazz, Kings Make Three-Way Deal". United Press International. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
27. "NBA ROUNDUP: Malone Eloquently States His Case, Scoring 61 Points in Jazz Victory". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. January 28, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
28. Kragthorpe, Kurt (January 28, 1990). "Malone Scores 61 - Says He'll Play in All-Star Game". Deseret News. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
29. "Milwaukee Bucks at Utah Jazz Box Score, January 27, 1990". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved April 9, 2023.