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SALT LAKE CITY — NBA All-Star weekend will kick off this Friday in Los Angeles.
The Utah Jazz will have some representation in All-Star weekend from rookie sensation Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell will participate in the Mtn. Dew Kickstart Rising Stars game and the Verizon Slam Dunk Contest.
The Jazz have been no stranger to success in All-Star weekends of the past and will look to repeat on that past success.
Let’s take a look back at some of the Jazz’s history and biggest moments in All-Star weekend.
Slam dunk contest
Jazz participants:
- Darrell Griffith: 1984, 1985
- Blue Edwards: 1991
- David Benoit: 1993
- Jamie Watson: 1995
- DeShawn Stevenson: 2001
- Jeremy Evans: 2012, 2013
The Jazz have been represented in the NBA slam dunk contest eight times by six different players.
The ABA inaugurated the dunk contest in 1976. And although the NBA and ABA merged later that year, the NBA did not implement the slam dunk contest as part of All-Star weekend until 1984.
The Jazz were represented by 6-foot-4 Jazz man Darrell Griffith in the first NBA slam dunk contest.
2001 — DeShawn Stevenson
Stevenson’s stay in Utah was relatively short, but his claim to fame while here was definitely his ability to dunk. Drafted straight out of high school, Stevenson (at the time) was the youngest rookie to ever play for the Jazz.
His most memorable dunk was one that incorporated teammate and 3-point contest participant Bryon Russell. Russell did a 180 in the air before throwing the ball off of the backboard to the trailing Stevenson, who finished the dunk by throwing down a one-handed windmill.
Stevenson finished with a score of 49 but ultimately finished second in the contest, falling to Seattle's Desmond Mason.
2012 — Jeremy Evans
Evans was a fan favorite while in Utah from 2010-15. He was known as the “Human Pogo Stick” due to his skinny stature and his gravity-defying dunks.
Evans won the 2012 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest as an injury replacement to Iman Shumpert. Evans campaigned to get into the contest using a series of YouTube videos and social media campaigning.
Evans' most memorable dunk from the contest came while jumping over Gordon Hayward. Hayward sat on a chair holding two basketballs up in his hands before throwing them up in the air. Evans jumped over Hayward, grabbing a ball for each hand and dunking both of them.
This was the first and only dunk contest that was judged exclusively by fan voting. Evans competed again the next year but finished second to Terrence Ross of the Toronto Raptors.
3-point contest
Jazz participants:
- Bobby Hansen: 1990
- John Stockton: 1992, 1997
- Jeff Hornacek: 1998, 2000
- Bryon Russell: 2001
The Jazz have only had four participants ever compete in the 3-point contest. Utah’s biggest 3-point contest moments came in 1998 and 2000.
Famous Utah marksman Jeff Hornacek was the back-to-back winner of this competition. All-Star festivities were canceled in 1999 due to the shortened NBA lockout season.
Hornacek retired after the 1999-2000 season, making him the winner of the contest in his last NBA season.
Skills challenge
Jazz participants:
- Deron Williams: 2008, 2010
- Trey Burke: 2014, 2015
- Gordon Hayward: 2017
The Utah Jazz have had only three players participate in the NBA skills challenge since its inauguration in 2003.
Gordon Hayward participated in the contest last season. The theme of the competition was big men vs. perimeter players. Hayward represented the perimeter players in the final round, after beating out John Wall and Isaiah Thomas in the first two rounds.
Hayward ultimately finished in second place, after being bested by big man Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks in the final round.
In 2014, the NBA decided to have the competition in an East vs. West team format. Each conference had two teams with two players. Trey Burke teamed up with former Weber State star Damian Lillard.
Burke and Lillard won the event by posting a time of 45.2 seconds in the final round of the competition.
Deron Williams won the event in 2008 by beating out rival point guard Chris Paul in the final round. Williams did not miss a pass or shot in the final round. He broke the record for fastest time ever by finishing in 25.5 seconds.
All-Star game
List of Jazz All-Stars:
- Pete Maravich: 1977, 1978, 1979
- Truck Robinson: 1978
- Adrian Dantley: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986
- Rickey Green: 1984
- Karl Malone: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002
- Mark Eaton: 1989
- John Stockton: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000
- Andrei Kirilenko: 2004
- Mehmet Okur: 2007
- Carlos Boozer: 2007, 2008
- Deron Williams: 2010, 2011
- Gordon Hayward: 2017
Unsurprisingly, Karl Malone and John Stockton have been selected to participate in the All-Star game more than any other Jazz players. Malone was a 14-time All-Star and Stockton was a 10-time All-Star. Adrian Dantley has the third most All-Star game selections as a member of the Jazz with six.
Malone was a two-time All-Star MVP, and was the MVP of the 1989 All-Star game in Houston. Malone scored 28 points and nine rebounds. He was also the co-MVP of the 1993 NBA All-Star game with John Stockton in Salt Lake City.
This was the first and only time that Utah has hosted NBA All-Star weekend. Malone finished the 1993 NBA All-Star game with 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Stockton finished with nine points, 15 assists and six boards.
