Jerry Sloan: Where Does The Jazz Man Rank Among Coaches Of All-Time?
Honoring the Jazz Man:
If you find it hard to like Jerry Sloan, then you obviously don't watch basketball. That's really the only excuse a person can have, right?
20 years ago today—Sloan became just the seventh head coach in the Utah Jazz' 34-year existence. And things haven't changed since.
In Sloan's 20 years as Utah's head man, he has made 18 playoff appearances along with 16 consecutive winning seasons, two Western Conference titles, two Finals appearances, and 12 seasons with at least 50 wins. And after all of that, two things are missing to complete his impressive resume: an NBA championship and an Coach of the Year award.
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| While Sloan's job has been secure the last 20 years, the rest of the NBA has had 222 head coaching changes. Douglas C. Pizac/AP Photo |
Only Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich come to mind when you think of current head coaches who get more respect and loyalty from their players. Sloan is the epitome of a certified leader in the head coaching department, and arguably the greatest coach to never win a championship.
Old-fashioned and sometimes meaner than a sixth grade bully, Sloan's strategies and beliefs are still effective in today's game. He's never been the type to complain about the lack of talent around him. Instead, he examines his players and molds a system around them.
Of course, the longest-tenured head coach in any major professional sport has had his fair share of success, but it's always fun to reminisce. And by that, I mean his greatest seasons as head coach of the Utah Jazz. Only bad news, none resulted in an NBA title.
A Look Back:
As mentioned earlier, Sloan has pulled off 16 straight winning seasons and 12 50+ winning seasons during his tenure in Utah. But none were more memorable than the four mentioned below.
1991-92: Sloan had a very talented Jazz team that season, but it wasn't his best. Of course his most prominent players Karl Malone and John Stockton were in the lineup, but guys like Jeff Malone, Blue Edwards and Tyrone Corbin helped Utah win 55 games that year—which tied Sloan's career-high for total wins in a season.
It was also Utah's first season playing in the Delta Center.
Stockton led the league in both assists and steals, while Malone was second in the league in points per game and points scored. Both guys made an All-NBA Team, too.
There was parity in the Western Conference, but Portland, Golden State and Utah were the three teams to really be considered championship contenders. Golden State got tossed in the first round by Seattle, only to lose to Utah in the Conference Semis.
Portland, however, cruised to the Western Conference Finals where they squared off with Utah and eventually defeated the Jazz 4-2.
Malone and Stockton made life a lot easier for coach Sloan. Jonathan Ferrey//NBAE/Getty Images
Seattle, San Antonio and Houston were now the big boys in the wild Western Conference. Stockton and Malone were having another great season, and both made the All-NBA First Team that year.
The top seeded Seattle Supersonics were upset by the eighth seed Denver Nuggets that year, and Utah cruised past a 55-win Spurs team in the first round of the playoffs. But Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets stood in the way of Sloan's team in the Conference Finals, defeating them 4-1
1996-97: Things could not have gotten better for Utah that season. Malone won his first Most Valuable Player award, and the Jazz won 64 games. And despite that, Sloan was shafted out of the Coach of the Year award losing to Miami's Pat Riley. But in all honesty, Phil Jackson deserved it.
The first three rounds of the postseason came easy to Utah, and they finally got past Hakeem and the Rockets in the postseason. Next on the table, Michael Jordan and the 69-win Chicago Bulls for all the marbles. Utah gave Chicago all they could handle, but lost the series 4-2
2006-07: Malone and Stockton were long gone from Utah. Sloan had failed to reach the postseason three consecutive seasons after the Malone-Stockton era ended.
But in '06-07, Utah took the league by surprise with Sloan's new roster and returned to the postseason. Led by Sloan's newest dynamic duo in Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams, Utah won 50 games for the time since 2001 and surprisingly reached the Conference Finals, thanks to the Mavericks—who won 67 games and lost to an eighth seed in the first round.
Utah lost in the Conference Finals to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs, but a new era had begun for Sloan in Utah.
Runnin' With the Best:
So where does Jerry Sloan rank among the all-time best head coaches? Despite not having a ring, Sloan can easily fit in a list with names like Red Auerbach, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley.
Sloan ranks fourth all-time in coaching wins (1,102) and sixth all-time in playoff wins (93). So that definitely amounts to something.
Where does Sloan rank among the top 20 coaches in NBA history? Ninth. And that's on a list full of coaches with at least one championship ring on their finger.
Who's ahead of him you say?
1. Red Auerbach
2. Phil Jackson
3. Bill Fitch
4. Pat Riley
5. Chuck Daly
6. Jack Ramsey
7. Red Holzman
8. Lenny Wilkins
9. Jerry Sloan (Just slightly ahead of Don Nelson)
10. John Kundla
Coach Jerry Sloan has already punched his ticket for the Hall of Fame. The only thing to wonder about now is, when?
Michael Whittenberg is one of two NBA Community Leaders and the Charlotte Bobcats Community Leader for bleacherreport.com
This column can also be found here on foxsports.com
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