SALT LAKE CITY (April 6, 2009) – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today that Utah Jazz Head Coach Jerry Sloan and former Utah Jazz guard John Stockton have been named to the Enshrinement Class of 2009. The announcement was made in Detroit, Mich., in conjunction with the 2009 NCAA men’s basketball Final Four. Sloan and Stockton will enter the Hall as first ballot selections.

“On behalf of my family, I am very pleased to congratulate both Coach Sloan and John Stockton on their selection to the Hall of Fame. Both truly deserve the honor and exemplify the values of our franchise including hard work, a team effort and being the very best you can be each and every day,” said CEO Greg Miller. “They join fellow Jazzmen Pete Maravich and Adrian Dantley in brining this honor to our franchise and the people of Utah.”

Sloan, who reached two impressive milestones this season, celebrated his 20th anniversary as Jazz head coach and also picked up his 1,000th win with the franchise. The fourth-winningest coach in league history, Sloan became the first NBA head coach to achieve 1,000 wins with one team. He is also the longest tenured active coach in all of major professional sports, and his 21 seasons mark the longest tenure with one team in NBA history. The McLeansboro, Ill., native originally began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls. He was later promoted to the team’s head coach. Sloan also spent 10 of his 11 NBA seasons as a player with the Bulls.

“It is a privilege to enter the Hall with such a tremendous group of individuals,” said Sloan. “I’ve been very lucky to have such great players, especially John, who is very deserving of this honor. I’ve also been fortunate to be with such a tremendous organization for the past 20-plus years and extremely grateful to the Miller family for all of their support.”

Originally hired by the Jazz as a scout in 1983, Sloan was promoted to assistant coach the next season. He then became the sixth head coach in franchise history on December 9, 1988 when Frank Layden resigned. Since his hiring, there have been a total of 227 coaching changes (counting interim coaches) in the NBA. Every team has made at least two changes except for Utah. In addition five current NBA teams did not exist when Sloan took the helm with the Jazz, and two others were just over a month into their inaugural seasons. Sloan has also coached 123 different Jazz players in regular season games during his time. During his tenure with Utah, he has produced two conference championships, seven division titles, 17 consecutive winning seasons, 12 seasons with 50-plus wins and 18 playoff appearances.

The Utah Jazz are thrilled that Coach Jerry Sloan and John Stockton have been selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. They personify everything that is right about basketball and personal achievement. While Jerry and John came from different eras and from different paths, these two men each represent the importance of day-to-day work ethic, consistency and determination. We congratulate them on this incredible achievement.


Stockton, considered one of the greatest players in NBA history, spent his entire 19-year career with the Jazz and is the NBA’s all-time career leader in both assists (15,806) and steals (3,256). Finishing his career with averages of 13.1 points, 10.5 assists and 2.2 steals in less than 32 minutes per game, Stockton also led the Jazz to 19 consecutive playoff appearances, breaking the previous record of 18 held by Kareem Abdul Jabbar. In the postseason, Stockton averaged 13.5 points, 10.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 182 games.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be selected, especially when I think of the many people who have played a large part in my life and career – family, coaches, teammates and worthy opponents have all shared in the experience,” said Stockton. “This day is particularly special since Coach Sloan has been selected at the same time.”

Pairing with Jazz great Karl Malone, the two played 1,412 regular season games together including two appearances in the NBA Finals. One of the NBA’s ultimate iron men, Stockon missed just 22 games in his 19 seasons with Utah, going 17 seasons without missing a single contest. He finished his career third in league history in games played. A 10-time NBA All-Star Stockon was named to the All NBA-First Team twice (1993-94 and 1994-95), the All-NBA Second Team six times (1987-90, 1991-92, 1992-93 and 1995-96) and the All-NBA Third Team three times (1990-91, 1996-97 and 1998-99). The guard was also named to the All Defensive Second Team (1988-89, 1990-92, 1994-95 and 1996-97). The Jazz retired Stockton’s No. 12 on Nov. 22, 2004 and a statue of the guard delivering a pass to Malone stands just outside EnergySolutions Arena.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist, 1992 in Barcelona as a member of the “Dream Team” and in 1996 in Atlanta, Stockton is a graduate of Gonzaga University in his hometown of Spokane, Wash. Stockton left the school as the all-time leader in assists (554) and sixth-leading scorer, (1,340). As a senior, Stockton was an all-West Coast Conference performer, averaging 20.9 points and 7.2 assists per game, while shooting 57.7 percent from the field. He finished his four-year career with averages of 12.5 points, 5.2 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game.