Karl Anthony Malone is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spent his first 18 seasons (1985–2003) in the NBA with the Utah Jazz and formed a formidable duo with his teammate John Stockton. He was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a 14-time NBA All-Star, and an 11-time member of the All-NBA first team. His 36,928 career points scored rank third all-time in NBA history behind LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and he holds the records for most free throws made and attempted, and most regular season games started, in addition to being tied for the second-most first-team All-NBA selections with Kobe Bryant and behind LeBron James.
Andre Lloyd Miller is an American former professional basketball player and the current head coach for the Grand Rapids Gold. Miller has played professional basketball for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs. Currently, he ranks eleventh all-time in NBA career assists and only missed three games to injury in his 17-year career. He is the only player in NBA history to have at least 16,000 career points, 8,000 assists and 1,500 steals without making an NBA All-Star Game.
The 1998 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1998 playoffs of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the conclusion of the 1997–98 NBA season. The two-time defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls played against the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz, with the Jazz holding home-court advantage for the first 2 games in Salt Lake City. In a repeat of the previous year's Finals, the Bulls won the series 4 games to 2 for their third consecutive NBA title and their sixth in eight seasons.
Aaron Williams is an American former professional basketball player. He played at the power forward and center positions.
Howard Jonathan Eisley is an American former professional basketball player and current coach. Born in Detroit, Eisley played college basketball at Boston College and was drafted in 1994 by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Eisley spent twelve seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA): six with the Utah Jazz and the other six with seven other teams.
The 1997 NBA Finals was the concluding series of the 1997 NBA playoffs that determined the champion of the 1996–97 NBA season. The Western Conference champion Utah Jazz took on the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls for the title, with the Bulls holding home court advantage. The series were played under a best-of-seven format, with the first 2 games in Chicago, the next 3 games in Salt Lake City, and the last 2 games in Chicago.
Mack Calvin is an American former basketball player. A five-time ABA All-Star, Calvin recorded the second most assists in ABA history, and was later named to the ABA All-Time Team.
The 1997 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1996–97 season. The tournament concluded with the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls defeating the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz 4 games to 2. This was the Bulls' second straight title, and fifth overall. Michael Jordan was named NBA Finals MVP for the fifth time.
Paul Millsap is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A power forward from Louisiana Tech University, Millsap was selected by the Utah Jazz in the second round of the 2006 NBA draft and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. He played in Utah until 2013, when he became a member of the Atlanta Hawks. Millsap has also played for the Denver Nuggets and Brooklyn Nets. He is a four-time NBA All-Star.
The 1996–97 NBA season was the Bulls' 31st season in the National Basketball Association. The Bulls entered the season as defending NBA champions, having defeated the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA Finals in six games, winning their fourth NBA championship. During the off-season, the Bulls signed 43-year old free agent All-Star center Robert Parish, who won three championships with the Boston Celtics in the 1980s. Coming off of one of the greatest seasons in NBA history, the Bulls, on the backs of recording another first-place finish in their division and conference, repeated as NBA champions. The Bulls were led by Michael Jordan, perennial All-Star small forward Scottie Pippen, and rebound ace Dennis Rodman, with the former two both being selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, in which Jordan recorded the first triple-double in an All-Star Game. It was also Pippen's seventh and final All-Star appearance. Other notable players on the club's roster that year were clutch-specialist Croatian Toni Kukoč, and sharp-shooting point guard Steve Kerr.
The 1996–97 NBA season was the Jazz's 23rd season in the National Basketball Association, and 18th season in Salt Lake City, Utah. Prior to the start of the season, the Jazz changed their primary logo that more closely reflects the state of Utah, featuring purple mountains and light blue in the script, plus adding new uniforms. The new colors seemed to agree with the Jazz as they went on a 15-game winning streak between November and December after a 2–2 start to the season. With a 33–14 record at midseason, the Jazz then posted a 31–4 record after the All-Star break, where they posted another 15-game winning streak between March and April, winning 19 of their final 20 games, and finishing first place in the Western Conference with a franchise best record of 64–18. They made their fourteenth consecutive trip to the playoffs. The team also had the second best home record in the league with a 38–3 record at the Delta Center.
Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals was a professional basketball game that was played on June 14, 1998 between the visiting Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The game is widely cited as one of the most intense and iconic games in NBA history, and it is best known for Bulls superstar Michael Jordan executing a quick cross-over on Jazz forward Bryon Russell, and then hitting a jumpshot from behind the free throw line with 5.2 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter to put the Bulls up 87-86. Chicago then held on to win after John Stockton missed a 3-point field goal, winning their sixth NBA championship in eight years. Game 6 was the final game with the Bulls for Michael Jordan and coach Phil Jackson. This game earned, and still holds, the highest TV ratings of an NBA game of all time.
The 2001–02 NBA season was the Jazz's 28th season in the National Basketball Association, and 23rd season in Salt Lake City, Utah. During the off-season, the Jazz signed free agent John Amaechi. Russian basketball star Andrei Kirilenko, who was drafted by the Jazz in the 1999 NBA draft, would finally make his debut in the NBA. John Stockton continued to set new standards with 15,000 career assists and 3,000 career steals, as Karl Malone scored his 34,000th career point. However, the Jazz began to show their age as they struggled losing five of their first seven games, leading to a 6–11 start to the season. They played above .500 for the remainder of the season, holding a 25–24 record at the All-Star break, finishing fourth in the Midwest Division, and eighth in the Western Conference with a 44–38 record. The Jazz also beat the Los Angeles Lakers' record of sixteen consecutive winning seasons above .500, set between the 1976–77 and 1991–92 seasons.
William Denard Barton III is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Memphis, where he was named the Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 2012. He was selected 40th overall in the 2012 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers and played for the Idaho Stampede of the NBA G League before being traded to the Denver Nuggets in 2015, where he eventually became their franchise leader in three-pointers made. He was traded to the Washington Wizards in 2022.
Kentavious Tannell Caldwell-Pope, also known by his initials KCP, is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named a McDonald's All-American as one of the top high school basketball players in the class of 2011. He played college basketball for two years with the Georgia Bulldogs in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and was voted the SEC Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2013.
Jordan Taylor Clarkson is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for two seasons with Tulsa before transferring to Missouri, where he earned second-team all-conference honors in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). After forgoing his senior year in college to enter the 2014 NBA draft, Clarkson was selected by the Washington Wizards in the second round with the 46th overall pick and was immediately traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. Clarkson was traded to the Cavaliers in 2018. In December 2019 he was traded to the Jazz. On March 24, 2015, Clarkson along with Jeremy Lin, became the first Asian-American starting back court in NBA history. In 2021, Clarkson was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
The 2021 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2020–21 season. With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the NBA for the second consecutive year, the regular season was reduced to 72 games for each team and the start date of the playoffs was moved from its usual time in mid-April to May 22, 2021. It ended with the 2021 NBA Finals in July.
The 2022–23 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 76th season of the franchise, its 75th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), its 63rd season in Los Angeles, and its 24th season playing home games at Crypto.com Arena. On April 11, 2022, the Los Angeles Lakers fired Frank Vogel as head coach. On June 3, 2022, the Lakers hired Darvin Ham as their new head coach.
