LOOKBACK: 4 absurd NBA records held by Utah Jazz stars
MVP-CALIBER. Karl Malone (second to the right) still holds the second-highest career points total in NBA history with a staggering 36,928 markers spread across his 19-year career. Photo by Jeff Haynes/AFP
MANILA, Philippines – The Utah Jazz have historically been an NBA franchise with a good knack for finding great NBA players.
From "Pistol" Pete Maravich to Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz had always been a hotbed for developing All-Star-caliber talent despite never winning an NBA championship in its 46-year history.
As proof of their talent-hunting savvy, 4 absurd NBA records are actually held by players drafted and developed in the chilly corners of Salt Lake City.
36,928 points - Karl Malone (second all-time)
Although living legend LeBron James is fast catching up, Hall of Famer Karl Malone still holds the second-highest career points total in NBA history with a staggering 36,928 markers spread across his 19-year career.
To give an image as to how impressive that stat is, the 1997 league MVP never averaged less than 20.6 points a game in 17 straight years. The lone exceptions are his rookie and final years, where he averaged 14.9 and 13.2 points, respectively.
Good health had a lot to do with the lofty number as well, as "The Mailman" only failed to report for duty 8 times in his 1,434 total appearances with the Jazz.
As seen in other records later on, another Jazz legend will prove why the best ability is availability.
5.6 blocks per game - Mark Eaton (first all-time)
A precursor to the title-hunting stars of the Jazz in the 1990s, 7-foot-4 giant Mark Eaton molded his game straight from the giants of old with his unparalleled shot-blocking ability.
His genius instinct for interior defense was so good, in fact, that in the 1984-1985 season, Eaton averaged an absolutely mind-blowing 5.6 blocks per game, a record that has withstood the test of time.
A deeper look into Eaton’s game log will show some insane individual statlines befitting a defensive specialist like him:
- January 18, 1985 - 12 points, 20 rebounds, career-high 14 blocks vs. Portland
- February 1, 1985 - 17 points, 20 rebounds, 10 blocks vs. Dallas
- February 5, 1985 - 17 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks vs. Portland
- November 7, 1984 - 12 points, 11 rebounds, 10 blocks vs. San Antonio
- February 26, 1985 - 9 points, 15 rebounds, 12 blocks vs. Dallas
In one 10-game stretch from January 18 to February 7, 1985, Eaton went berserk and averaged 12.1 points, 13.9 rebounds and 6.4 rejections, including 3 of his 10+ block games showed above.
He then carried his historic blocking run straight into the 1985 playoffs where he averaged an even better 5.8 swats per game average, also an NBA record.
However, Eaton and the Jazz ultimately bowed in 5 games to a Houston Rockets squad featuring the twin tower duo of Ralph Sampson and a rookie Hakeem Olajuwon.
Eaton retired at the age of 36 in 1993, 4 years before the Jazz reached the first of their back-to-back NBA finals appearances.
15,806 assists - John Stockton (first all-time)
Behind every great scorer is a great point guard, and that’s exactly who John Stockton is.
As the running mate of the 36,000-point Mailman Malone, Stockton racked up an unbreakable assist total in his 19-year NBA career.
For comparison, Chris Paul is the league’s closest competition to Stockton still in active competition, with the term “closest” certainly an ill-fitting description.
Paul, a 15-year league veteran, is still 6,199 helpers short of Stockton’s record. The 34-year-old floor general would need to average 12.6 assists for 492 straight games over 6 years to even match Stockton’s mark before he turns 40.
At their peak, Stockton and Malone were arguably the most prolific pick-and-roll duo in NBA history and the numbers certainly don’t lie.
From 1988 to 1996, Stockton led the league in assists for 9 consecutive seasons, a streak that is also unbreakable even in today’s fast-paced game.
He peaked in the 1989-1990 season after averaging a video game-like 14.5 assists per game average, another NBA record, before breaking the all-time assist mark in 1995 at just 32 years old.
Paul has even admitted this himself, effectively closing the debate on who can break Stockton’s assist records.
"I don't like saying never, but ain't nobody catching that," he said in an interview with the Washington Post last year. "I don't know who did the statistics in Utah."
3,265 steals - John Stockton (first all-time)
Stockton closes out the list with back-to-back entries, this time for the other side of the floor.
Solidifying his status as an unmatched all-around legend, the Jazz floor general also holds the all-time NBA career steals record, with no viable competition in sight – not even Paul who is also the closest active competitor on the all-time leaderboards.
At his defensive peak in the 1988-1989 season, Stockton averaged a career-high 3.2 steals on top of 17.1 points and 13.6 assists.
A handful of the individual statlines really speak volumes regarding his all-around skill:
- January 3, 1989 - 26 points, 24 assists, 6 steals vs. Houston
- April 21, 1989 - 19 points, 20 assists, 8 steals vs. Dallas
- November 19, 1988 - 19 points, 21 assists, 7 steals vs. Phoenix
- February 18, 1989 - 22 points, 11 assists, 7 steals vs. San Antonio
- January 12, 1989 - 26 points, 16 assists, 6 steals vs. San Antonio
In fact, Stockton’s thievery was so prolific that he registered more steals (263) than rebounds (248) that year – a feat he never achieved before nor again in his Hall of Fame career.
As insinuated earlier, Stockton achieved both his unbreakable assists and steals records largely thanks to his incredible durability on top, of course, of his natural skills.
Across 1,504 games, all in a Jazz uniform, Stockton only missed 22 games in 19 years. The bulk of those absences came in the 1997-1998 season, where he missed the first 18 games due to a sprained MCL before recovering en route to the NBA finals.
Again, the best ability is indeed, availability. – Rappler.com
