The Top 5 Best Second-Round Playoff Series in Utah Jazz History

The Utah Jazz have had some great second-round battles in the Western Conference across their almost 50 years in the NBA.

Unfortunately for Utah Jazz fans, this year marks the first time in six seasons that the team has missed the postseason. An unusual situation for the Jazz, as they've managed to secure a ticket to the playoffs in 31 of their last 40 seasons.

While this year's squad won't be adding to their playoff resume in 2023, we can still look back at some of the previous years in Jazz history to reminisce. Now that the second round is officially underway, now is the perfect time to take a look back at some of the greatest semifinals in team history.

Here's our top 5 second-round series in the history of the Utah Jazz:

5. (4) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Golden State Warriors- 2007 Western Conference Semifinals

In the year of the "We Believe" Golden State Warriors, the Jazz faced off against America's underdogs in 2007. After the 1-seeded Dallas Mavericks stunningly fell in the first round, the Warriors were tasked to take on one of the deepest Utah teams in recent memory.

Some of the names on this Jazz roster included the likes of Deron Williams, Andrei Kirelinko, Paul Millsap, and Derek Fisher. With Utah also led by All-Stars Mehmut Okur and Carlos Boozer, It's safe to say this was going to be yet another tough battle for the Golden State.

While the Warriors had a great story coming into the series, it wasn't a particularly close contest in the end. They ended up losing to the Jazz in five games behind the back of a Carlos Boozer masterclass. In his five games during the series, he averaged over 24 points and 14 rebounds per game, along with a shooting average above 60%.

4. (1) Utah Jazz vs. (4) Los Angeles Lakers- 1997 Western Conference Semifinals

The eventual Western Conference champions were matched against Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, and the Los Angeles Lakers. While it would originally seem like a matchup like this would be a tall task for Utah isn't exactly how it seems. 

This was a few years before we were able to witness the best of the star-studded duo together in LA. Kobe was still in his rookie season, and while Shaq was still the dominant force we all know, he was still only 24 and hadn't exactly reached his true peak.

The series itself ended up a bit of a bore. The Lakers started the series with a 77-point outing, Shaq was locked down, managing to only average 22 points on less than 50% shooting, and it was ultimately over within five games. Karl Malone averaged over 28 points and 12 rebounds during this set of games to lead the Jazz past the dynasty in the makin

3. (2) Utah Jazz vs. (6) Seattle SuperSonics- 1992 Western Conference Semifinals

While this series ended in five games, it was definitely closer than it shows. Each game was decided by 12 points or less, with four of them having a 30-point per-game scorer. Three of those games were from Karl Malone, who averaged over 29 points for the entire series.

One of the most bizarre parts of the series is how four SuperSonics players managed to average over double digits, but none were over 20-point-per-game scorers. Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton were both nowhere near the players they soon turned to, as they were both under 24 years old at the time of the series. Instead, veterans Ricky Pierce and Eddie Johnson were the most productive pieces for Seattle.

After this series, the Jazz went on to play in their first Conference Finals in NBA history. However, they ended up falling just short to the Portland Trail Blazers, losing the series in six games.

2. (2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (3) Utah Jazz- 1996 Western Conference Semifinals

This year began the start of the team's three-year run of reaching the Western Conference Finals, but it all started with the task of taking down David Robinson and the San Antonio Spurs. Despite the Spurs entering with homecourt advantage, the Jazz did anything but back down to the Admiral 

Robinson had one of the more disappointing playoff series of his career, unable to eclipse an average of over 20 points and 10 rebounds per game in the series, along with also shooting under 50% from the field. On the flip side, Malone had the upper hand over Robinson, posting 25/9/4 averages across the board.

Unfortunately, their run was soon to come to an end, with the SuperSonics eventually getting the best of them in the next round in seven.

1. (5) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Denver Nuggets- 1994 Western Conference Semifinals

Yet another match against an 8-seed on the list, but now against the Denver Nuggets. The SuperSonics were the giant to fall this time around in the first round, allowing a Nuggets core consisting of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, LaPhonzo Ellis, and the great Dikembe Mutombo. A young team to go against, as there was not a single player on the roster above 30 years old.

This series has been the only second-round series in Jazz history to go seven games, and it was a battle in every single one. The Jazz ended up opening the series up three games behind solid performances from Malone and Jeff Hornacek, however, ended up falling the next three, taking the series to a win-or-go-home to move on.

In the end, the Jazz won game seven behind Malone's 31 points, and a great defensive performance, allowing the least amount of points in the series. However, per the usual script, the Jazz couldn't go much further on, losing the next round in five games vs. the Houston Rockets.

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