April 11, 2007 -- Throughout the 1980s and 90s, the Utah Jazz were a model of NBA success. With the Hall-of-Fame duo of Karl Malone and John Stockton, the Jazz made it to the postseason an astonishing 19 seasons in a row.

In 2003, however, Stockton retired after 19 years in the league and Malone defected to the Lakers, a joint departure that signaled the end of an era in Utah, and to the streak of consecutive playoff appearances.

After three years on the outside looking in, a stretch of futility that included a 26-56 record just two seasons ago, the Jazz are once again headed back to the postseason, this time led by the formidable trio of Mehmet Okur, Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams.

In a year in which few picked them to have such great success, the Jazz raced to an NBA-best 12-1 start, despite missing starting forward Andrei Kirilenko for five games.

Then, with a 101-79 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 11, Sloan captured his 1,000th career coaching win. In his 19th season as head coach of the Jazz -- the longest tenure of any coach in the four major sports -- Sloan sits in fourth place on the NBA all-time wins list.

Utah ended the season's symbolic midway point on a six-game winning streak and entered the All-Star break with a 35-17 record, good for third-best in the league.

Boozer was selected as a reserve for the All-Star game but was unable to take part due to a fracture in his leg. Okur, who was selected as an injury replacement, saw action in the weekend's main event, however. It was the first All-Star selection for both players.

Williams got in on the action, as well, starring for the sophomores in All-Star Saturday's T-Mobile Rookie Challenge. The guard finished with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and dished out seven assists.

The Jazz continued their impressive play in the second half. On March 25th, thanks to a Golden State loss, Utah clinched a playoff berth. Then, only three days later, on Jerry Sloan’s 65th birthday, they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves and earned the Northwest Division championship, the seventh division title in franchise history.

“Being able to win the division is kind of a special thing. Sometimes you take it for granted but to me it’s quite an accomplishment,” Sloan said after the win. “Hopefully, we don’t stop there.”

“It’s the first time this group has done it and the first time for this organization in a few years, so we’re excited about that. But we have bigger fish to fry,” Boozer added.

And it doesn’t seem like there is any letdown in sight for the Jazz as they prep for the playoffs. With Boozer, Williams and Okur -- who broke the Utah single-season record for 3-pointers in a season on March 11th -- all having career years, Utah has an impressive group of leaders. But the array of talent does not end there.

Paul Millsap and Ronnie Brewer have each been impressive at times in their rookie years, while 10-year veteran Derek Fisher is having another solid campaign. Kirilenko, who struggled with injuries earlier in the year, has come on strong in the last few weeks of the season.

The Jazz will finish this year with a winning record for the 23rd time in the last 24 seasons, and their playoff appearance is their 21st in 28 seasons.

Utah has also raised two conference championship banners in its history, but it has yet to earn that elusive first NBA championship. With a fine mixture of All-Stars, seasoned veterans and talented young players, and Jerry Sloan at the helm, the revitalized Jazz are hoping this is the season that will finally end with a victory.