Greatest moment in each NBA franchise’s history

Utah Jazz: John Stockton hitting The Shot

For much of the 90s, John Stockton, Karl Malone, and the Utah Jazz continued to find success, but couldn’t ever get close enough to winning an NBA Championship or making the NBA Finals, including three Western Conference Finals series losses in five years. However, after entering the postseason as the top seed in the Western Conference with a 64-18 regular season record, Stockton was done not having a shot at the title.

The Jazz held a 3-2 lead in the series against the Rockets as they went into Houston for Game 6. With time running out in the fourth quarter, the two teams were knotted up at 100. That’s about the time that Stockton decided he didn’t want to play the Houston Rockets in any more basketball games.

There was just over two seconds left on the clock with the Jazz inbounding the ball at half-court. Stockton broke high above the top of the key and was open to take the pass. He caught it cleanly, took a dribble, and stepped into a three-point jumper. It was money, giving Utah the 103-100 win in Game 6 and the 3-2 win in the series to move onto the NBA Finals.

Sure, the Jazz would go onto to lose that Finals and the next year’s rematch to the Bulls, but they got over the hump to get there and Stockton made sure they did it in incredibly dramatic and entertaining fashion. It’s no question that Stockton’s shot is the best moment that the Jazz have to offer.

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