Editing Utah Jazz (section)

====1988–1990: Arrival of Jerry Sloan====
[[File:Jerry Sloan (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Longtime coach Jerry Sloan, who coached the Jazz over the two decades]]
During the 1988–89 season, Frank Layden stepped down as head coach of the Jazz after the first 17 games, and was replaced by [[Jerry Sloan]]. The Jazz won 51 games and the Midwest Division championship as they grew better overall. Malone and Stockton, as well as Mark Eaton, were the leaders of the team and also All-Star selections. Eaton won Defensive Player of the Year for the second time, and it appeared the Jazz were ready to take the next step toward contending for an NBA title, after having pushed the Lakers to seven games in the [[1988 NBA playoffs|Western Conference semifinals]] the previous season. However, the second-seeded Jazz were eliminated in the first round in three games by the seventh-seeded Golden State Warriors.

The following year, 1989–90, the Jazz made some changes. Thurl Bailey, who was relied on for 19 points per game the previous season, saw his playing time reduced in favor of rookie [[Blue Edwards]], who played a prominent role with the team. The result was the best win–loss mark in team history, as the Jazz finished {{Win-loss record|w=55|l=27}}, second in the division to the [[San Antonio Spurs]] (56–26). Malone had his best season statistically, averaging 31.0 points and 11.1 rebounds.<ref>{{cite web|title=Karl Malone Bio|url=http://www.nba.com/history/players/malonek_bio.html|website=NBA.com|date=February 21, 1993|access-date=February 13, 2016}}</ref> Stockton averaged 17.2 points and 14.5 assists per game, both career highs, with the assist total and average leading the NBA that season. In the playoffs, the Jazz played the [[Phoenix Suns]] in the first round, led by All-Stars [[Tom Chambers (basketball)|Tom Chambers]] and [[Kevin Johnson (basketball)|Kevin Johnson]]. The Suns defeated the Jazz 3 games to 2. Again, the Jazz were left with questions as to how they could do so well in the regular season but fail to advance in the playoffs.