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The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The team was originally the New Orleans Jazz but was financially unsuccessful and moved to Utah. The Jazz were one of the most successful teams in the late 1980s and 1990s, making it to two NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998 under coach Jerry Sloan and anchored by John Stockton and Karl Malone, a point guard/power forward combination noted for its remarkable on-court rapport. Malone and Stockton were often seen as two of the best players at their respective positions.

In 1996-97, the Jazz had their best record in franchise history at 64-18. They reached the NBA Finals for the first time after beating the Los Angeles Clippers 3-0, Los Angeles Lakers 4-1, and Houston Rockets 4-2 to meet Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals where they lost 4-2. A three-pointer at the buzzer by John Stockton in Game 6 of the 1997 Western Conference Championship sent the Jazz to the finals, and remains one of the iconic moments in team history. In the 1997 NBA Finals, the Jazz lost to the Chicago Bulls 4-2 after fighting the first four games to a 2-2 tie and losing the last two in the last seconds of the game 90-88 and 90-86.

During the 1997-98 season, expectations were high for another championship run. However, John Stockton suffered a serious knee injury before the season began and missed the first 18 games. Despite the setback, the Jazz were still able to finish at 62-20. In the playoffs they beat the Houston Rockets 3-2, the San Antonio Spurs 4-1, and the Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 to advance to their second NBA Finals appearance in a row. In the 1998 NBA Championship, the Jazz took Game 1 at home 88-85. However, the Bulls overcame a slow start to win Game 2 93-88, easily took Game 3 96-54 and won a closer Game 4 86-82 to lead 3-1 in the series. The Jazz fought back to win Game 5 83-81 at the United Center and the series swung back to Salt Lake City. The Jazz held a lead in most of Game 6, but the Bulls rallied, and in the last seconds of the game, Michael Jordan swished a jump shot to win, 87-86.