Jazz History

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John, Karl & Jeff in the Purple Mountain Uniforms

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John Stockton in the Purple Mountain Uniform - TBT

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Mike Conley's First Look at Purple Mountain Uniform & Court

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After two trips to the NBA Finals, a pair of MVP awards for Karl Malone, and two decades of perspective, the Utah Jazz’s mountain logo now represents some of the most significant moments in franchise history. But it wasn’t always beloved. When team owner Larry H. Miller asked the Hall of Famers in the mid-’90s about changing the team’s logo, the Utah Jazz’s biggest stars weren’t fans of the idea.

“I said, Nope,” Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton recalled later. “I know my opinion. I didn’t want to change anything. The Yankees don’t’ change logos. That was my attitude. So why do the Jazz have to change theirs? Anyway, he took my advice and put it where it mattered, I guess.”

Years later, Jazz fans everywhere have fond feelings for the purple, teal and copper look the team unveiled in 1996.

Jazz art director Ben Barnes and Jay Francis, the LHM executive who led the Jazz’s marketing department at the time of the logo change, join The Note podcast this week to discuss the history of the iconic logo, and share their thoughts on bringing back the purple mountains this season.

To find past episodes and subscribe to The Note podcast through your favorite service, click here.

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The Note: The history of the Utah Jazz's Purple Mountains

JP Chunga

Like the Wasatch Range itself, the jagged mountains that graced the front of the Utah Jazz’s uniforms from 1996-2004 are truly iconic. The logo marked major shifts for the franchise on a number of fronts. The design represented a change in geography, the first time the team’s aesthetic shifted from its Mardi Gras roots to its Salt Lake slopes. It would soon come to represent a shift in fortunes, as the Jazz broke through a postseason plateau to reach the NBA Finals in back-to-back seasons in the late ’90s. And, eventually, the mountains would mark the end of an era, when the Hall of Fame careers of John Stockton and Karl Malone came to a close in Utah.

Here are a few of our favorite mountain moments:

May 29, 1997: The play call from the huddle was “Straight Line”. The clock showed 2.8 seconds left. Bryon Russell inbounded the ball. Bill Walton said, “Uh oh.” And John Stockton sent the Utah Jazz to the NBA Finals.

The Jazz won a franchise-best 64 games during the 1996-97 campaign, and they can thank Karl Malone for that. The Mailman averaged 27.4 points and 10 rebounds a game that season, edging Chicago’s Michael Jordan in MVP voting that season. Malone would win the award again in 1999.

The fireworks and screaming fans inside the Delta Center on June 6, 1997, were so loud that Chicago’s Scottie Pippen had to cover his ears during warmups. The Jazz responded by giving their fans in a Utah a 104-93 victory in Game 3 of the series, the first NBA Finals game played in Salt Lake City. 

On Dec. 5, 2000, Malone dropped 31 points in a win over the Toronto Raptors. Along the way, the Mailman made history, moving past Wilt Chamberlain for second place in NBA scoring history. Malone’s 36,928 career points are, to this day, the second-most in league history, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 

 The 2003-04 season was the mountain logo’s swan song, but Andrei Kirilenko made it count. The Russian forward averaged 16.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.8 blocks and 1.9 steals per game that season, earning the first and only All-Star selection of his career.

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Majestic Moments in the Utah Jazz's Classic Mountain Uniforms

Angie Treasure

Darrell Griffith remembers the smell from the hockey locker room next door at the Salt Palace. Mark Eaton remembers the rusty lockers when his team practiced at Westminster College.

So as the two Utah Jazz legends sat inside the remodeled locker room at Vivint Smart Home Arena this week, there was a little bit of envy.

“We only went to a couple of Finals,” Bryon Russell said and laughed. “Why didn’t we get this?”

Six former Jazz players — Griffith, Eaton, Russell, Corey Crowder, Thurl Bailey, and Mehmet Okur — got together this week to swap stories from their playing days and to talk about the future of the Jazz.

Eaton, who still has a home in Utah, has developed a relationship with the team’s star big man, Rudy Gobert. Griffith, meanwhile, is close with fellow Louisville-turned-Jazz star Donovan Mitchell.

And the retired players appreciate their connections with the current team.

“What I like about this team is they acknowledge this,” Bailey said, looking at his fellow alums. “They acknowledge us. Rudy knows how good Mark was. Donovan knows how good Darrell was. They know that we played and they respect that.”

That doesn’t mean, though, that these Jazz alums aren’t a little bit jealous.

“I would have done some damage out there in this age,” said Okur, the sharpshooting 7-footer.

“Man, you’d be averaging what?” Bailey asked.

“$30 million a year,” Okur said with a laugh. 

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Utah Jazz Alumni Roundtable: Griffith, Eaton, Okur, Russell, Bailey and Crowder swap stories from their playing days

Mark Eaton thought someone would have broken his record by now.

But all of these years later, the retired Utah Jazz center’s 456 blocks during the 1984-85 season and the 3.5 blocks per game he averaged for his career are still the NBA's gold standard when it comes to swats.

On this week’s episode of The Note, Eaton joins the podcast to talk about becoming eligible for the Hall of Fame, his time playing for Frank Layden and Jerry Sloan, and his relationship with Jazz center Rudy Gobert.

First of all, check out this Utah Jazz 10-Year Challenge. It is perfection.

OK, onto the real business: Donovan Mitchell has taken over point guard duties and, in doing so, won the Western Conference Player of the Week award. … Rudy Gobert has been terrific during this four-game win streak. … This is how to vote for Rudy and Donovan for All-Star. … Ekpe Udoh’s Book Club will be streamed live on Facebook on Thursday evening.

6:55 — How Eaton found out about his Hall of Fame eligibility; what the honor means to him; and why the former fourth-round draft pick never expected the career he had.

9:00 — Frank Layden’s impact on Eaton and the Jazz

10:25 — Adjusting to the NBA. Will anyone break his blocks record? Some of Eaton’s favorite games. 

13:40 — Salt Palace memories; favorite teammates; learning to dine like an NBA veteran.

17:45 — Why Eaton decided to make Utah his home.

18:49 — Thoughts on the current Utah Jazz team and his relationship with Rudy Gobert.

22:45 — Eaton’s friendship with Jerry Sloan

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The Note: Mark Eaton reflects on an unlikely career, his blocks record, and his relationship with Rudy Gobert

Jae Crowder and Derrick Favors opened their Christmas gifts early. The two Utah Jazz big men got a sneak peek earlier this month of the team’s Earned Edition uniforms, a green-and-gold alternate that the team will sport during its Christmas matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers.

 “The green just stands out,” Crowder said. “It pops a little more than our others.”

“I like them,” he said. “They’re something different, something fresh, something the fans can be excited about. Hopefully we look good on TV.”

The Nike Earned uniforms are a reward for each franchise that made the playoffs last season. But for the Jazz, they are also part of the fabric of the franchise.

Green uniforms have been a part of Utah Jazz history from the very beginning.

The team wore green for road games from 1979, the franchise’s first season after moving from New Orleans, through 1984.

The green jerseys were reintroduced in 2009, as part of the NBA’s Hardwood Classic Nights program. Deron Williams was wearing that retro green when he went for 35 points and 13 dimes in a win over the Rockets in 2010.

Point guard Sundiata Gaines, then on a 10-day contract with the Jazz, was in green when he hit a game-winner to beat LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers that same season.

Kyle Korver’s birthday fell on St. Patrick’s 2010. With Korver and his teammates in green, the sharpshooter scored 20 points off the bench to help beat Minnesota.

The green jersey has also been a part of two Utah Jazz dunk contest appearances: Darrell Griffith in 1984 and Jeremy Evans' contest win in 2012.

The team has had some variation of a green alternate look each season since, with the exception of the 2017-18 campaign. The Jazz wore green when they closed out their playoff series with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2017.

“It was a good luck charm for us in the playoffs,” Favors said. “Hopefully it can bring us good luck on Christmas.”

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Earned history: Look back at some of the Utah Jazz's greatest moments in green

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