1995–96 Utah Jazz season

The 1995–96 NBA season was the 22nd season for the Utah Jazz in the National Basketball Association, and their 17th season in Salt Lake City, Utah.^[1] During the off-season, the Jazz signed free agents Chris Morris,^[2][3][4] Greg Foster,^[5][6] and second-year guard Howard Eisley.^[7][8] The team also released James Donaldson, who was out with a strained hamstring, to free agency in December.^[9][10]

1995–96 Utah Jazz season
Head coach	Jerry Sloan
General manager	Tim Howells
Owner(s)	Larry H. Miller
Arena	Delta Center
Results
Record	55–27 (.671)
Place	Division: 2nd (Midwest) Conference: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish	Western Conference finals (lost to SuperSonics 3–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KJZZ-TV Prime Sports Intermountain West
Radio	KCNR
< 1994–95 1996–97 >

The Jazz got off to a fast start by winning ten of their first twelve games of the regular season, then later on holding a 32–16 record at the All-Star break.^[11] The team won seven straight games between February and March, and finished in second place in the Midwest Division with a 55–27 record, earning the third seed in the Western Conference;^[12] they also made their thirteenth consecutive trip to the NBA playoffs.^[13]

Karl Malone averaged 25.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, while John Stockton averaged 14.7 points, 11.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team. In addition, Jeff Hornacek provided the team with 15.2 points and 1.3 steals per game, and led them with 104 three-point field goals, while Morris contributed 10.5 points per game, and David Benoit provided with 8.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Off the bench, Antoine Carr contributed 7.3 points per game, while Adam Keefe provided with 6.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, and Felton Spencer averaged 5.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.^[14]

Stockton had another record-breaking season, leading the NBA in assists for the ninth consecutive season, while breaking Maurice Cheeks career record in steals,^[15][16][17] and Malone moved into ninth place in all-time scoring. Both Stockton and Malone were selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game in San Antonio, Texas,^[18][19][20] and Malone finished in seventh place in Most Valuable Player voting.^[21][22]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1996 NBA playoffs, the Jazz defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in a full five-game series, which included a 38-point margin in a 102–64 home win in Game 5.^[23][24][25] In the Western Conference Semi-finals, they continued to play strong basketball as they beat the Midwest Division champion San Antonio Spurs in six games.^[26][27][28] However, in the Western Conference finals for the third time in five years, they lost to the Seattle SuperSonics in seven games.^[29][30][31] The SuperSonics would reach the 1996 NBA Finals, but would lose in six games to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.^[32][33][34]

Following the season, Benoit signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Nets,^[35][36][37] and Spencer was traded to the Orlando Magic.^[38][39][40]

Draft picks

Main article: 1995 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	28	Greg Ostertag	C	United States	Kansas

Roster

1995–96 Utah Jazz roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F 21 David Benoit 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1968–05–09 Alabama F 55 Antoine Carr 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1961–07–23 Wichita State G 10 Howard Eisley 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 1972–12–04 Boston College C 44 Greg Foster 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1968–10–03 UTEP 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 43 Chris Morris 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1966–01–20 Auburn C 00 Greg Ostertag 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 280 lb (127 kg) 1973–03–06 Kansas 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 5 Andy Toolson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1966–01–19 BYU F 15 Jamie Watson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1972–02–23 South Carolina

Head coach Jerry Sloan Assistant(s) Gordon Chiesa David Fredman Phil Johnson Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: January 23, 1996

Roster Notes

• Center James Donaldson was waived on December 4, 1995.

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-San Antonio Spurs	59	23	.720	–	33–8	26–15	19–5
x-Utah Jazz	55	27	.671	4	34–7	21–20	14–10
x-Houston Rockets	48	34	.585	11	27–14	21–20	15–9
Denver Nuggets	35	47	.427	24	24–17	11–30	13–11
Minnesota Timberwolves	26	56	.317	33	17–24	9–32	10–14
Dallas Mavericks	26	56	.317	33	16–25	10–31	10–14
Vancouver Grizzlies	15	67	.183	44	10–31	5–36	3–21

Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	c-Seattle SuperSonics *	64	18	.780	–	82
2	y-San Antonio Spurs *	59	23	.720	5	82
3	x-Utah Jazz	55	27	.671	9	82
4	x-Los Angeles Lakers	53	29	.646	11	82
5	x-Houston Rockets	48	34	.585	16	82
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	44	38	.537	20	82
7	x-Phoenix Suns	41	41	.500	23	82
8	x-Sacramento Kings	39	43	.476	25	82
9	Golden State Warriors	36	46	.439	28	82
10	Denver Nuggets	35	47	.427	29	82
11	Los Angeles Clippers	29	53	.354	35	82
12	Minnesota Timberwolves	26	56	.317	38	82
13	Dallas Mavericks	26	56	.317	38	82
14	Vancouver Grizzlies	15	67	.183	49	82

Record vs. opponents

1995-96 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	—	4–0	3–1	0–4	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	4–0	2–1	2–2	2–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–3
Boston	0–4	—	2–2	0–3	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	3–1	3–1	2–0	2–2	0–4	1–3	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–2
Charlotte	1–3	2–2	—	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	0–3	3–0	0–4	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1
Chicago	4–0	3–0	3–1	—	4–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	3–0	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	4–0
Cleveland	1–3	3–1	1–3	0–4	—	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	1–2	3–1	1–2	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Dallas	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	—	2–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
Denver	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	—	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1
Detroit	2–2	1–2	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	4–0	0–4	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	1–2
Golden State	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	0–2	—	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	4–0	1–1
Houston	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	—	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Indiana	3–1	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	—	2–0	1–1	3–0	3–1	1–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	0–2	2–0	3–0
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	—	0–4	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	1–3	3–1	1–1
L.A. Lakers	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	4–0	—	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Miami	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	0–3	1–1	0–2	—	3–0	1–1	5–0	1–3	1–3	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–1	0–2	1–1	2–2
Milwaukee	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–3	—	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–3
Minnesota	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	—	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	2–2	0–2
New Jersey	0–4	2–2	3–0	0–3	2–1	1–1	2–0	0–4	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	0–5	3–1	1–1	—	2–2	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–2
New York	1–2	4–0	0–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–2	—	1–3	3–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	3–1
Orlando	2–2	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	—	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	4–0
Philadelphia	1–2	0–4	1–3	0–4	0–4	2–0	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	—	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–3
Phoenix	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	—	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0
Portland	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	0–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	—	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–3	2–2	0–2
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	—	1–3	0–4	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2
San Antonio	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–2	4–0	0–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	3–1	—	2–2	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1
Seattle	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	0–2	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	4–0	2–2	—	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1
Toronto	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–2	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–4	1–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	—	0–2	1–1	3–1
Utah	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–3	2–0	—	4–0	1–1
Vancouver	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	0–4	—	0–2
Washington	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	0–4	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	—

Game log

Regular season

1995–96 game log Total: 55–27 (home: 34–7; road: 21–20)
November: 12–4 (home: 6–1; road: 6–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 November 3 Seattle W 112–94 Delta Center 1–0 3 November 6 Atlanta W 105–96 Delta Center 2–1 6 November 12 @ New York L 110–120 Madison Square Garden 4–2 13 November 24 Chicago L 85–90 Delta Center 10–3 16 November 30 @ Houston W 112–105 The Summit 12–4
December: 8–5 (home: 5–2; road: 3–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 17 December 5 Houston L 100–103 Delta Center 12–5 21 December 15 @ Orlando L 99–111 Orlando Arena 14–7 26 December 23 @ Chicago L 86–100 United Center 17–9
January: 9–5 (home: 5–1; road: 4–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 31 January 3 @ San Antonio L 97–111 Alamodome 21–10 34 January 12 San Antonio L 94–101 Delta Center 22–12 35 January 15 @ Houston L 99–107 The Summit 22–13 36 January 19 Orlando W 111–99 Delta Center 23–13 40 January 26 @ Seattle L 93–94 KeyArena 26–14
February: 9–3 (home: 7–0; road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record All-Star Break 49 February 13 @ San Antonio W 114–111 (OT) Alamodome 33–16
March: 12–4 (home: 8–0; road: 4–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 56 March 1 New York W 99–88 Delta Center 39–17 59 March 8 Houston W 109–89 Delta Center 42–17 61 March 12 @ Atlanta L 89–115 The Omni 43–18 71 March 30 @ Seattle L 98–100 KeyArena 50–21
April: 5–6 (home: 3–3; road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 72 April 2 Seattle L 91–100 Delta Center 50–22 76 April 8 San Antonio L 91–92 Delta Center 51–25
1995–96 schedule

Playoffs

1996 playoff game log
First Round: 3–2 (home: 3–0; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 25 Portland W 110–102 Karl Malone (33) Karl Malone (9) John Stockton (23) Delta Center 19,614 1–0 2 April 27 Portland W 105–90 Karl Malone (30) Karl Malone (14) John Stockton (16) Delta Center 19,911 2–0 3 April 29 @ Portland L 91–94 (OT) Karl Malone (35) David Benoit (11) John Stockton (11) Rose Garden 21,401 2–1 4 May 1 @ Portland L 90–98 Jeff Hornacek (30) Malone, Morris (6) John Stockton (11) Rose Garden 21,401 2–2 5 May 5 Portland W 102–64 Karl Malone (25) Karl Malone (10) John Stockton (11) Delta Center 19,682 3–2
Western Conference Semifinals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 7 @ San Antonio W 95–75 Karl Malone (23) Karl Malone (7) John Stockton (19) Alamodome 15,112 1–0 2 May 9 @ San Antonio L 77–88 Karl Malone (24) Malone, Ostertag (8) John Stockton (13) Alamodome 18,635 1–1 3 May 11 San Antonio W 105–75 Karl Malone (32) Karl Malone (11) John Stockton (7) Delta Center 19,911 2–1 4 May 12 San Antonio W 101–86 Chris Morris (25) Adam Keefe (7) John Stockton (10) Delta Center 19,911 3–1 5 May 14 @ San Antonio L 87–98 Karl Malone (24) Karl Malone (12) John Stockton (8) Alamodome 34,215 3–2 6 May 16 San Antonio W 108–81 Karl Malone (25) Karl Malone (13) John Stockton (13) Delta Center 19,911 4–2
Western Conference Finals: 3–4 (home: 2–1; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 18 @ Seattle L 72–102 Karl Malone (21) Karl Malone (8) John Stockton (7) KeyArena 17,072 0–1 2 May 20 @ Seattle L 87–91 Karl Malone (32) Karl Malone (13) John Stockton (7) KeyArena 17,072 0–2 3 May 24 Seattle W 96–76 Malone, Hornacek (28) Karl Malone (18) Jeff Hornacek (8) Delta Center 19,911 1–2 4 May 26 Seattle L 86–88 Karl Malone (25) Karl Malone (12) Malone, Stockton (8) Delta Center 19,911 1–3 5 May 28 @ Seattle W 98–95 (OT) Karl Malone (29) Karl Malone (15) John Stockton (6) KeyArena 17,072 2–3 6 May 30 Seattle W 118–83 Karl Malone (32) Karl Malone (10) John Stockton (12) Delta Center 19,911 3–3 7 June 2 @ Seattle L 86–90 Malone, Stockton (22) John Stockton (8) Malone, Stockton (7) KeyArena 17,072 3–4
1996 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
David Benoit	81	63	24.2	.439	.333	.777	4.7	1.0	0.5	0.6	8.2
Antoine Carr	80	0	19.2	.457	.000	.792	2.5	0.9	0.4	0.8	7.3
Howard Eisley	65	0	14.8	.430	.226	.844	1.2	2.2	0.4	0.0	4.4
Greg Foster	73	2	11.0	.439	.125	.847	2.4	0.3	0.1	0.3	3.8
Jeff Hornacek	82	59	31.6	.502	.466	.893	2.5	4.1	1.3	0.2	15.2
Adam Keefe	82	0	20.8	.520	.000	.692	5.5	0.8	0.6	0.5	6.1
Karl Malone	82	82	38.0	.519	.400	.723	9.8	4.2	1.7	0.7	25.7
Chris Morris	66	33	21.6	.437	.320	.772	3.5	1.2	1.0	0.3	10.5
Greg Ostertag	57	10	11.6	.473		.667	3.1	0.1	0.1	1.1	3.6
Bryon Russell	59	9	9.8	.394	.350	.716	1.5	0.5	0.5	0.1	2.9
Felton Spencer	71	70	17.8	.520		.689	4.3	0.2	0.3	0.8	5.6
John Stockton	82	82	35.5	.538	.422	.830	2.8	11.2	1.7	0.2	14.7
Andy Toolson	13	0	4.1	.364	.250	.750	0.5	0.1	0.0	0.0	1.7
Jamie Watson	16	0	13.6	.419	.429	.692	1.7	1.5	0.5	0.1	3.0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
David Benoit	14	5	18.5	.471	.500	.778	2.6	0.5	0.1	0.2	6.2
Antoine Carr	18	0	18.8	.474		.680	1.9	1.2	0.2	0.8	6.1
Howard Eisley	18	0	11.2	.381	.333	.818	1.2	2.4	0.2	0.1	2.9
Greg Foster	12	0	6.3	.500		.600	1.0	0.2	0.1	0.2	2.3
Jeff Hornacek	18	18	35.8	.502	.586	.890	3.6	3.3	1.1	0.2	17.5
Adam Keefe	17	0	10.5	.676	.500	.647	1.9	0.1	0.2	0.1	3.4
Karl Malone	18	18	40.3	.469	.000	.574	10.3	4.4	1.9	0.6	26.5
Chris Morris	18	13	17.8	.425	.270	.750	3.9	1.1	0.7	0.4	6.2
Greg Ostertag	15	0	14.1	.444		.619	3.3	0.1	0.1	1.4	3.5
Bryon Russell	18	0	25.5	.468	.472	.816	4.2	1.2	1.3	0.5	9.6
Felton Spencer	18	18	15.3	.434	.000	.556	3.0	0.1	0.3	1.2	2.8
John Stockton	18	18	37.7	.446	.289	.814	3.2	10.8	1.6	0.4	11.1

Player Statistics Citation:^[14]

Awards and records

• Karl Malone, All-NBA First Team
• John Stockton, All-NBA Second Team

Transactions

Free agents

Subtractions
Player	Date signed	New team
Blue Edwards	Expansion Draft June 24, 1995	Vancouver Grizzlies