With a 101-79 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on December 11, 2006, Utah Jazz head coach, Jerry Sloan, earned his 1,000th career coaching victory and became just the fifth coach in NBA history reach the milestone.  Sloan has coached a total of 1,663 games, posting a 1,000-663 career record.

“Jerry has been a tremendous asset to this franchise and deserves this honor,” said Larry H. Miller.  “He has worked with more than 116 players since taking on the role of head coach and has taken us to two NBA Finals and 15 trips to the NBA Playoffs.  That is a feat we are all very proud of.”

Named head coach of the Utah Jazz on December 9, 1988, Sloan is in his 19th season with the team and is just the sixth head coach in franchise history.  Sloan posted his 900th career victory with the team on November 20, 2006 and ranks first on the NBA’s all-time list for consecutive games coached with one franchise (1,447). 

“I would not have made it this far in my career without the support of those around me.  This 1,000th win is not mine alone, it is due in large part to Larry Miller’s confidence in my ability to coach.  Larry has given me an opportunity that no other coach in the league has had in terms of tenure with the Jazz.  In addition, having the opportunity to work with such talented coaches as Phil Johnson, Tyrone Corbin, Scott Layden, and the others on my team, makes milestones like this possible,” said head coach Jerry Sloan.

The 64-year-old native of McLeansboro, Ill., lets his coaching achievements speak for themselves, with the fifth most wins all-time (1,000-663), seventh best winning percentage (.601) in NBA history (500 win minimum), two NBA Finals appearances (1997 and 1998) and five Midwest Division titles.  He also guided the club to 16 consecutive winning seasons, 15 trips to the NBA Playoffs (1989-2003) and ten 50-win seasons.

He coached his 1,500th game against the Los Angeles Clippers on December 14, 2004.  Additionally, he is the longest tenured coach with one team in all of professional sports (19 seasons).  He passed Bill Fitch for fifth on the NBA’s all-time win list (945) at Golden State on November 4, 2005.

After leading the Jazz to a 53-29 mark in 2000-2001, he became just the third coach in league history to win at least 50 games in 10 different seasons (Pat Riley-16, Phil Jackson-11). Sloan’s 16 straight winning seasons (1988-2004) are second-most all-time (Pat Riley had 19 from 1981-2001) and Sloan and Red Auerbach (11) are the only two coaches in NBA history to have 10 straight winning seasons with one team.