Yeah, but no good Black players wanted to play for Utah.
Teams like Utah, Milwaukee, & OKC will always have trouble winning becaues there's ZERO reason for any real players to go there voluntarily
And any great players they draft or acquire, will be leaving soon, if they're African-AMERICAN
It's another reason I don't judge Malone & Stockton as much as others.
Imagine who they would've played with if they played in New York, L.A., hell even Atlanta.
Let's look at those rosters.
1989 Jazz:
PG: All-Star, 2nd-team All-NBA, 2nd-team All-Defensive, 7th in MVP vote, HOF and one of the greatest point guards ever
SG: former ROY and regular 20ppg scorer who was past his prime but still putting up 13ppg
SF: putting up nearly 20ppg
PF: All-Star, 1st-team All-NBA, 3rd in MVP vote, HOF and one of the greatest power forwards ever
C: All-Star, 1st-team All-Defensive, Defensive Player of the Year, 13th in MVP vote
1992 Jazz:
PG: All-Star, 2nd-team All-NBA, 2nd-team All-Defensive, 12th in MVP vote, HOF and one of the greatest point guards ever
SG: former All-Star still in his prime averaging 20+ ppg
SF: mid role player
PF: All-Star, 1st-team All-NBA, 4th in MVP vote, HOF, and one of the greatest power forwards ever
C: Former All-Star and DPOY, pretty washed but still averaging 2.5 blocks/game
1995 Jazz:
PG: All-Star, 1st-team All-NBA, 2nd-team All-Defensive, 8th in MVP vote, HOF and one of the greatest point guards ever
SG: former All-Star and 20ppg scorer, still in his prime averaging 17ppg
SF: shytty role player
PF: All-Star, 1st-team All-NBA, 3rd in MVP vote, HOF and one of the greatest power forwards ever
C: platoon between washed former All-Star and washed former 20ppg player
That's what sort of rosters they were fielding when they were struggling. Every fukking year they had 2 of the best players in the game, a 3rd player who was at a borderline all-star level, and a former all-star who was now a crafty vet.
At the time, Malone was considered the greatest PF ever and Stockton was considered a top-3 point guard of all time. If that was true, and they were both in their prime, with a good coach, together with all that continuity, and having multiple other solid players on the squad, how is that not enough to do something?
Yet in the 10-year stretch from 1986 to 1995, they lost in the 1st round 6 times, in the WCSF twice, and in the WCF twice. Only once did they reach a Game 7.
How is that possible?
Their 1997-1998 rosters were actually sad compared to what they were fielding 1988-1995. Stockton and Hornacek were too washed to be the starting backcourt for a title team and their SF and center rotations were less than mediocre. They only advanced those years because literally everyone else had aged out.