The 1995-96 Jazz team looked a lot like previous Jazz teams, scoring from Karl Malone, playmaking from John Stockton, and enough contributions from everybody else to make them once again a contender for the championship.
In fact, this Jazz squad had more depth than many previous editions. Felton Spencer, Antoine Carr and rookie Greg Ostertag had size. Adam Keefe, David Benoit and Bryon Russell added versatility, while Jeff Hornacek brought exceptional outside shooting.
It all translated to a 55-27 record for the Jazz and coach Jerry Sloan, who won his 400th game as Jazz coach on February 22 vs. Toronto. In leading the Jazz to their 13th consecutive winning season, Stockton and Malone continued to leave their mark on the NBA record books. On February 20, in a 112-98 win over Boston, Stockton broke Maurice Cheeks' record ending the season with 2,365. In April, Malone moved into ninth on the NBA's all-time scoring list, finishing the season with 23,343 points.
Stockton and Malone once again represented the Western Conference at the All-Star Game and played the entire season without missing a game due to injury. In a combined 23 seasons (1,886 possible games) each player had missed only four games.
Their depth, veteran leadership and chemistry appeared to benefit them in the postseason. In the first round, the Jazz slipped past the Portland Trail Blazers thanks to a 102-64 pounding in the deciding fifth game. In the semifinals, they got past the Spurs in six games, sending them to the Western Conference Finals for the third time in five years.
Seattle took a three games to none advantage in the series, but the Jazz rallied to force a seventh game, and was within a few missed free throws of that elusive trip to the Finals, losing 90-86 at Seattle's Key Arena.
