1994–95 Utah Jazz season

Last updated

1994–95   Utah Jazz season
Head coach Jerry Sloan
General manager Tim Howells
Owner Larry H. Miller
Arena Delta Center
Results
Record60–22 (.732)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Midwest)
Conference: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish First round
(lost to Rockets 2–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television
Radio KCNR
< 1993–94 1995–96 >

The 1994–95 Utah Jazz season was the 21st season for the Utah Jazz in the National Basketball Association, and their 16th season in Salt Lake City, Utah. [1] During the off-season, the Jazz signed free agent Antoine Carr, [2] [3] and acquired Adam Keefe from the Atlanta Hawks. [4] [5] The Jazz struggled losing four of their first six games of the regular season, but then won seven of their next eight games, then won eight straight games 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]

Contents

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] 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 made their twelfth consecutive trip to the NBA playoffs. [14]

Karl Malone averaged 26.7 points, 10.6 rebounds 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. [15] [16] 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. [17]

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, [18] [19] [20] while rookie small forward, and second-round draft pick Jamie Watson participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. [21] [22]

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. [23] [24] Meanwhile, Malone and Chambers both passed the 20,000 point mark in their careers. [25] 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; [26] [27] Carr finished in seventh place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, [28] [27] and head coach Jerry Sloan finished in fourth place in Coach of the Year voting. [29] [27]

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 to the Rockets, including a Game 5 home loss, 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]

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. [17] [39] Following the season, Chambers left to play overseas in Israel, [40] [41] [42] and Edwards was left unprotected in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies expansion team. [43] [44] [45]

Draft picks

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityCollege
247 Jamie Watson SFFlag of the United States.svg United StatesSouth Carolina

Roster

1994–95 Utah Jazz roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.PlayerHeightWeightDOBFrom
F 21 David Benoit 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg)1968–05–09 Alabama
G 20 Walter Bond 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)200 lb (91 kg)1969–02–01 Minnesota
F 55 Antoine Carr 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)225 lb (102 kg)1961–07–23 Wichita State
F 42 Tom Chambers 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)220 lb (100 kg)1959–06–21 Utah
G 25 John Crotty 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)185 lb (84 kg)1969–07–15 Virginia
C 54 James Donaldson 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)275 lb (125 kg)1957–08–16 Washington State
G 30 Blue Edwards 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg)1965–10–31 East Carolina
G 14 Jeff Hornacek 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)190 lb (86 kg)1963–05–03 Iowa State
F 31 Adam Keefe 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)230 lb (104 kg)1970–02–22 Stanford
F 32 Karl Malone 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)250 lb (113 kg)1963–07–24 Louisiana Tech
F 34 Bryon Russell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)225 lb (102 kg)1970–12–31 Long Beach State
C 50 Felton Spencer 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)265 lb (120 kg)1968–01–15 Louisville
G 12 John Stockton 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg)1962–03–26 Gonzaga
F 15 Jamie Watson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)190 lb (86 kg)1972–02–23 South Carolina
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injury icon 2.svg Injured

Roster
Updated: February 3, 1995

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
z- San Antonio Spurs 6220.756—33–829–1220–6
x- Utah Jazz 6022.732233–827–1417–9
x- Houston Rockets 4735.5731525–1622–1913–13
x- Denver Nuggets 4141.5002123–1818–2313–13
Dallas Mavericks 3646.4392619–2217–2411–15
Minnesota Timberwolves 2161.2564113–288–334–22
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1z-San Antonio Spurs 6220.756–
2y-Phoenix Suns 5923.7203
3x-Utah Jazz 6022.7322
4x-Seattle SuperSonics 5725.6955
5x-Los Angeles Lakers 4834.58514
6x-Houston Rockets 4735.57315
7x-Portland Trail Blazers 4438.53718
8x-Denver Nuggets 4141.50021
9 Sacramento Kings 3943.47623
10 Dallas Mavericks 3646.43926
11 Golden State Warriors 2656.31736
12 Minnesota Timberwolves 2161.25641
13 Los Angeles Clippers 1765.20745

Game log

Regular season

1994–95 game log
Total: 60–22 (home: 33–8; road: 27–14)
November: 9–5 (home: 7–1; road: 2–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
December: 10–4 (home: 2–4; road: 8–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
28December 30
7:00 p.m. MST 		Houston L 103–111 Malone (25) Malone (14) Stockton (16) Delta Center
19,911		19–9
January: 14–1 (home: 9–1; road: 5–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
February: 8–6 (home: 4–1; road: 4–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
45February 2
6:30 p.m. MST 		@ Houston L 101–121 Malone (26) Malone (10) Stockton (5) The Summit
16,611		34–11
All-Star Break
March: 12–4 (home: 5–1; road: 7–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
68March 23
6:30 p.m. MST 		@ Houston W 112–104 Malone (30) Malone (15) Stockton (16) The Summit
16,611		50–18
April: 8–2 (home: 6–0; road: 2–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
80April 19
7:00 p.m. MDT 		Houston W 115–96 Malone (45) Malone (17) Stockton (15) Delta Center
19,911		58–22
82April 23
5:00 p.m. MDT 		@ Houston W 103–97 Malone (23) Malone (15) Malone, Stockton (8) The Summit
16,611		60–22
1994–95 schedule

Playoffs

1995 playoff game log
Western Conference First Round: 2–3 (home: 1–2; road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1April 27
7:30 p.m. MDT 		Houston W 102–100 Stockton (28) Malone (14) Stockton (10) Delta Center
19,911		1–0
2April 29
7:30 p.m. MDT 		Houston L 126–140 Malone (28) Malone (17) Sockton (12) Delta Center
19,911		1–1
3May 3
7:30 p.m. MDT 		@ Houston W 95–82 Malone (32) Malone (19) Stockton (13) The Summit
16,611		2–1
4May 5
7:30 p.m. MDT 		@ Houston L 106–123 Malone (31) Benoit (7) Stockton (11) The Summit
16,611		2–2
5May 7
1:00 p.m. MDT 		Houston L 91–95 Malone (35) Malone (10) Hornacek (6) Delta Center
19,911		2–3
1995 schedule

Player statistics

Legend
  GPGames 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

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3FG%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
Karl Malone 828238.1.536.268.74210.63.51.61.026.7
Jeff Hornacek 818133.3.514.406.8822.64.31.60.216.5
John Stockton 828235.0.542.449.8043.112.32.40.314.7
David Benoit 716725.9.486.330.8415.20.80.60.710.4
Antoine Carr 78421.5.531.250.8213.40.90.30.99.6
Felton Spencer 343426.6.488.7937.60.50.40.99.3
Blue Edwards 36016.8.495.344.7621.80.80.70.26.6
Tom Chambers 81415.3.457.167.8072.60.90.30.46.2
Adam Keefe 75016.9.577.6764.40.40.50.36.1
Walter Bond 18013.3.500.378.6881.50.90.30.25.4
Bryon Russell 631513.7.437.295.6672.20.50.80.24.5
John Crotty 80012.7.403.306.8101.22.60.50.13.7
Jamie Watson 60111.2.500.263.6791.21.00.60.23.3
James Donaldson 434014.3.595.7102.50.30.10.72.6
Jay Humphries 12012.4.160.6670.80.80.60.00.8

Playoffs

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3FG%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
Karl Malone 5543.2.466.333.69213.23.81.40.430.2
John Stockton 5538.6.459.400.7653.410.21.40.217.8
Jeff Hornacek 5535.6.510.538.7861.24.01.60.214.0
David Benoit 5533.4.467.440.6675.60.80.40.811.8
Antoine Carr 5022.8.452.8333.01.40.61.09.6
Tom Chambers 5012.0.500.333.6922.60.40.40.06.4
Bryon Russell 206.5.571.500.5001.01.50.50.05.5
Adam Keefe 4017.3.583.6674.30.51.30.34.5
James Donaldson 5515.2.8331.0001.80.00.00.62.8
Jamie Watson 5011.4.6670.20.60.40.22.4
Blue Edwards 408.3.3331.0001.50.80.50.02.3
John Crotty 308.0.667.6000.02.00.30.02.3

Player statistics citation: [17]

Awards and records

References

  1. ↑ 1994-95 Utah Jazz
  2. ↑ Evans, Richard (October 30, 1994). "Original Big Dawg Joins the Jazz". Deseret News. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Transactions". The New York Times. October 31, 1994. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Jazz Ships Corbin, Draft Pick to Hawks for Keefe". Los Angeles Times. Staff and Wire Reports. September 17, 1994. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  5. ↑ Evans, Richard (September 17, 1994). "Jazz Play Trading Game: Corbin for Hawks' Keefe". Deseret News. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  6. ↑ "NBA ROUNDUP: Jazz Beats Pacers for 8th in Row". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. December 29, 1994. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Denver Nuggets at Utah Jazz Box Score, February 1, 1995". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  8. ↑ "NBA Games Played on February 9, 1995". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Edwards, Humphries Swapped Again". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 4, 1995. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  10. ↑ Evans, Richard (February 4, 1995). "Blue's Back: Jazz Deal Humphries, 2nd-Round Draft Pick to Celtics for High-Flying Edwards". Deseret News. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  11. ↑ Arace, Michael (February 4, 1995). "Edwards Traded by Celtics". Hartford Courant. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Jazz 107, Magic 95". United Press International. March 15, 1995. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  13. ↑ "1994–95 Utah Jazz Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Utah Jazz". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  15. ↑ "NBA Has $5,000 Fine for Miller". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. January 14, 1995. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Spencer Re-Injures Achilles Tendon". Deseret News. March 28, 1995. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  17. 1 2 3 "1994–95 Utah Jazz Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  18. ↑ Cotton, Anthony (February 12, 1995). "New-Age NBA Reaches for the Stars". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  19. ↑ "1995 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com. NBA.com Staff. September 13, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  20. ↑ "1995 NBA All-Star Game: West 139, East 112". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Basketball". The Tuscaloosa News. February 11, 1995. p. 2C. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  22. ↑ "NBA & ABA All-Star Game Contest Winners". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  23. ↑ Mims, Bob (February 2, 1995). "Stockton Breaks NBA Assist Mark". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  24. ↑ Evans, Richard (February 2, 1995). "Passing Magic: Stockton Leapfrogs Former Laker Great on All-Time Assist List, as Fired-Up Jazz Demolish Nuggets". Deseret News. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  25. ↑ Rock, Brad (May 9, 1995). "A Season We May Not See Again". Deseret News. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  26. ↑ Howard-Cooper, Scott (May 24, 1995). "It's a Slam Dunk: Robinson Wins MVP: Pro Basketball: Spurs' Center Receives 73 First-Place Votes to 12 for Magic's O'Neal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  27. 1 2 3 "1994–95 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  28. ↑ "NBA Sixth Man Voting". The Albany Herald. May 9, 1995. p. 2D. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  29. ↑ "Lakers' Harris Is Top Coach". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 4, 1995. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Malone Gives Jazz Victory Ride". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. May 4, 1995. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Jazz 95, Rockets 82". United Press International. May 4, 1995. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  32. ↑ "1995 NBA Western Conference First Round Game 3: Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets Box Score, May 3, 1995". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  33. ↑ Friend, Tom (May 8, 1995). "1995 N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Olajuwon Leads Charge as Rockets Oust Jazz". The New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  34. ↑ "Backs to the Wall, Rockets Come Back: NBA Playoffs: Houston Plays Like a Champion to Beat Utah, 95-91, in Decisive Fifth Game". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 8, 1995. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  35. ↑ "1995 NBA Western Conference First Round: Rockets vs. Jazz". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  36. ↑ Brown, Clifton (June 15, 1995). "1995 N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Rockets Sweep to 2d Straight Championship". The New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  37. ↑ Howard-Cooper, Scott (June 15, 1995). "NBA FINALS: Two-Ring Circus Hits Houston: Pro Basketball: Olajuwon (who else?) Is MVP Again After Leading Rockets to Sweep of Magic". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  38. ↑ "1995 NBA Finals: Rockets vs. Magic". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  39. ↑ "1994–95 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  40. ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Chambers Goes to Israeli". The New York Times. October 18, 1995. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  41. ↑ "Chambers Is Israel-Bound". The Washington Post. October 18, 1995. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  42. ↑ "Chambers Is Happy with Deal to Play for Israeli Team This Year". Deseret News. Associated Press. October 19, 1995. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  43. ↑ Wise, Mike (June 25, 1995). "PRO BASKETBALL; Anthony Is No. 2 of the Secaucus 27". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  44. ↑ Heisler, Mark (June 25, 1995). "Armstrong Becomes Top Expansion Pick: NBA: Raptors Take Guard from Bulls. Massenburg Also Headed to Toronto, While Lakers Lose Harvey to Vancouver". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  45. ↑ "1995 NBA Expansion Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
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