Karl Malone and John Stockton never won an NBA championship. Here's what left them empty-handed.

(dramatic music) - John Stockton and Karl Malone formed the quintessential NBA tandem. The Utah Jazz drafted Stockton 16th overall in 1984 and then watched him develop into a model point guard, handling the ball firmly, distributing it intelligently, shooting it with deadly accuracy and being very annoying when trying to take it away from an opponent. Before Stockton's second season, Utah used the 13th pick on its ideal complement, Karl Malone. On his own, Malone was quite capable of making his way to boards and buckets. Committed to Stockton's timely passing, Malone's offense became unstoppable, with Mailman's elegant dunks and hard-hitting finishes impossible to contain without fouling, as well as jump shots that connected like clockwork.

Each of these two has an overwhelming statistical profile. Stockton recorded more assists and more steals than anyone. Malone scored more points than everyone but Kareem, made more free throws than everyone including Kareem, and also gobbled up a ton of rebounds. His individual NBA accolades are absurd. Two people so rare, so special, so exquisitely compatible were mostly happy, healthy teammates for 18 seasons and made the Playoffs in all of those seasons. That's 18 legitimate attempts to win a

championship

, and yet Stockton and Malone retired without a ring. So

what

happened? What stopped this perfect couple before even a perfect year? (slow, dramatic piano music) In the late '80s, Utah's previous stars paved the way for new ones.

Adrian Dantley was traded. Darrell Griffith's career ended due to injuries. And Utah's shameless head coaching legend, Frank Layden, stepped aside to let a future coaching legend take over, Jerry Sloan. Stockton and Malone developed during this gradual transition and didn't make much noise in the Playoffs with one notable exception. In 1988, the LA Lakers were the reigning champions and '87 MVP Magic Johnson led

them

to a league-best 62 wins. Los Angeles was the team to beat and Utah almost beat

them

. This was a great year for Jazz. Stockton became the full-time starting point guard. The youngster led the league in assists for the first time and helped Malone's numbers improve enough to make his first All-Star team.

With shot-blocking tower Mark Eaton under center, Utah played the most efficient defense in the league and defeated Clyde Drexler's Portland Trailblazers in the first round of the Playoffs. Clyde would remember this. That set up Utah for a second-round matchup with these powerful Lakers. Jazz turned it into a series. Stockton and Malone held their own against the league's best and actually stole one of the first two games in Los Angeles. When the best-of-seven series returned to Los Angeles, it was tied two-two. Another road win in Game 5 could have set Utah up for an incredible upset at home.

Yes, it is common to call a Utah player a Jazzman. Jazz-min? Jazz man? Stockton and Malone stood out in game five. The little guy in particular finished with 23 points, 24 assists and five steals, including some big ones. Down by two with one minute and one change

left

, Stockton ended a frantic Lakers possession by stealing AC Green's rebound, then sprinted down the court to find Malone, who fouled out. Malone blocked a big free throw, which I'm afraid will be an issue, but scored the second to get within one. Then Stockton did it again. This time, it was Magic himself that was stolen.

Stockton fed a long pass to the postman, who sent home a thunderous dunk to put the Jazz up 1 with less than a minute

left

. Michael Cooper's surprise shot finally put the Lakers back on top, but Utah still had chances, plural. Down with seven seconds left, a desperate Eaton threw the incoming pass, but James Worthy missed one of his free throws, so the Jazz had one last chance down two. This time, it was Stockton's turn to be wrong. Under the pressure of a double team, Stockton couldn't get a pass or shot off in time. They had wasted his chance.

Utah tied it again at home, but surrendered to the eventual champions due to an excellent performance by the Magic in game seven. In 1988 and 1989, Sloan replaced Layden midseason and Stockton joined Malone for their first of many All-Star Games together. Eaton too. Utah won a best-ever 51 games, but Don Nelson's Warriors absolutely swept the Jazz in one of the most notable first-round upsets in history. A seven seed swept a two seed. In Sloan's first full season, the Jazz again broke their franchise record by reaching 55 wins, but once again faced a first-round upset. In the decisive Game 5 against the Phoenix Suns, Stockton and Malone were outplayed by Kevin Johnson and Tom Chambers.

After a crucial Stockton-Johnson jumper, it was actually Eddie Johnson who put Phoenix up with just over a minute left. And when Utah regained the lead, it was Eddie again who made an absurd bank shot and won to put Phoenix up by two. The connection between Stockton and Malone tied it, but Phoenix responded. With Eaton sidelined against the Suns' small lineup, Kevin Johnson attacked, called for help, hit underused benchwarmer Mike McGee, recovered the ball and hit a hard mid-range J just before the buzzer. Stockton's half-court prayer failed and Utah had once again fallen in the first round.

It wasn't a very good feeling. Entering their prime, Utah's new core had already accomplished much in the regular season, but had suffered all the desperation of the playoffs. And thanks to these people, t

here

was more to come. Between 1991 and 1996, the Jazz lost to each of these teams twice, once each in the Conference Finals, once each in an earlier round, and they alternated almost reaching the Finals without even coming close. Strange times. The first problem was Portland. In 1990 and 1991, the Jazz added another Malone, Jeff Malone, no relation, sent John and Karl to another All-Star Game, got a big year from veteran Jazzman Thurl Bailey, won 54 games and got revenge on the Suns in the first round.

But do you remember this boy? This guy was waiting. Clyde Drexler and the top-seeded Blazers knocked Utah out of the second round, although it was closer than it seemed. After Portland dominated the first game at home, the Jazz made a huge comeback in the second game, creating a last-second opportunity to take advantage of home field advantage. The Blazers took a big lead in the fourth, but Mailman rallied Utah with 20 points in the period, including some super clutch free throws. In the final seconds of a miraculously tied game, this Drexler pass found its way through Mike Brown's fingertips to Terry Porter inside, and Porter's basket ended up being the difference once Stockton missed a tough tip-in. of bell.

Very, very close, but it was almost not enough. The Blazers avoided another comeback in Game 4 and then took the series at home in five. Until next year. Utah bolstered its forward line, adding rookie forward David Benoit and boldly trading beloved Thurl Bailey for youngster Tyrone Corbin. It was a great season. The Jazz won 55 games to lead the Midwest division and clinch a second playoff berth. They survived a scare from the Clippers in the first round and then took care of Shawn Kemp and the Seattle Supersonics in the second round. Shawn would remember this. But for the moment, it's 1992, the Jazz had finally reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.

Waiting for them was once again the only favorite, the Blazers. The first four games were pretty easy. Terry Porter fueled two wins at home for the Blazer. Karl Malone fueled two victories at the Jazz's home. That made the fifth game of this seven-game series pivotal, but the Jazz were short

handed

. Benoit, who had been promoted to the starting lineup during the Playoffs, left the team after the death of his father. Utah's lineup became even thinner as the first-half buzzer sounded when Drexler's left hand hit Stockton so hard in the eyeball that it ended the Utah point guard's night.

Ball-handling duties in one of the most important halves in Jazz history fell to Delaney Rudd, a career journeyman on the fringes of the Playoff rotation. And this was close to being Delaney Rudd's game. Both Karl and Jeff Malone shot well, and Ty Corbin had the game of his life off the bench. Rudd was moving the ball well. With seconds left and Utah down three, Delaney Rudd called his own number and did the damn thing. - Three pointers. Oh my God, right in the middle! -His decisive three-pointer sent the game to overtime, w

here

Utah had an excellent opportunity to take the lead as a visitor.

They ruined it. After the teams went back and forth a bit, Blazer big man Kevin Duckworth hit one of his nice floaters to take a three-point lead. Drexler attacked the rack to make it five, and Duckworth spread more silk to make it seven. I love that shot. Still, Rick Adelman's club didn't look back. The Jazz, demoralized and short

handed

, couldn't even bring the series to Portland. They lost at home in the sixth game. Still, a trip to the 1992 Conference Finals was something to build on, perhaps a springboard to a deeper run in 1993. It didn't happen. Jazz and Karl had career years and were actually named co-MVP of the All-Star Game.

But Mark Eaton was slowing due to injuries, Utah's defense slipped and things got particularly bad after the All-Star break — so bad that team owner Larry Miller felt compelled to squash rumors that Sloan's job could be at stake. Utah entered the 1993 Playoffs with just 47 wins, but took a two-to-one lead in their first-round series against the heavily favored Sonics. Game 4 at Utah could have wrapped up an upset series. Instead, the Jazz fell apart in the second half and couldn't recover because of this guy again. Eddie Johnson, now Sonic, commanded the last five minutes. This and another gave Seattle a 12-point lead.

These three almost froze the game, and this strange bucket to go up 17 was just unnecessarily rude. Johnson scored 10 of Seattle's final 13 points, though let's not forget Utah's self-inflicted wounds. Sam Perkins certainly didn't. After Utah missed not one, not two, but three point-blank shots on this critical possession, Perkins simply stood next to Mike Brown, pointing and taunting. Perkins was a problem throughout the series and led Sonic's comeback in the decisive fifth game. These three on the bigger, slower, and ill-equipped Eaton cut Utah's lead to four. This one narrowed it down to three. This narrowed it down to two.

And that was all the boost the Sonics needed. They came forward and held on to avoid the setback of the series. Then, after coming pretty close to the NBA Finals in 1992, the Jazz lost in the first round in 1993. They still had to battle Michael Jordan's Bulls, who had been crushing all Western rivals. But Jordan's retirement in 1993 to play baseball suspended Chicago's dynasty, opening the window for some Western team to go all the way. Utah's management took advantage of that open window with the help of John and Karl. They traded for young big man Felton Spencer, who would take on an important role as back injuries sidelined Eaton for good.

Utah also pulled Tom Chambers from the Suns to help off the bench and made a big trade at the deadline, swapping their other Malone for a different Jeff. Under Jeff Hornacek, Utah finished the season hot, entering the 1994 Playoffs with the fifth seed and beating David Robinson's Spurs in the first round. Utah's victory in the series set up a likely rematch with the Sonics, the NBA's best regular-season team. But in a surprising upset, the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets knocked Seattle out of the picture. Suddenly, Utah's path became much clearer. They took a three-O lead against Denver. They proceeded to completely blow it, but held on in game seven, advancing to the Western Conference Finals.

Back in the mix. But now the Jazz had to face a new boss. The Houston Rockets had nearly drowned their second-round series against Charles Barkley's Suns, but they survived because Hakeem Olajuwon was indomitable. Hakeem and Kenny Smith led Houston to an easy victory in the home opener against the Jazz. The second game was closer, but the same night he accepted the MVP trophy, Olajuwon easily won a shootout with Malone. Without the mammoth Eaton to at least try to guard Olajuwon one-on-one, the Jazz's frontcourt sounded beleaguered. Spencer was actively asking for suggestions on how to stop the guy.

He seemed to beIt would take divine intervention to overcome Hakeem's supremacy that spring, and the Jazz actually got something; They just wasted it. In Salt Lake City for game three, Olajuwon went cold and the Jazz players went on a two-on-one run. Malone played poorly in Game 4 and the Jazz fell behind from the start. But Stockton and Hornacek made a great comeback and, facing a narrow deficit in the final seconds, Stockton really set the pace for Stockton. First, he hit a 3-pointer in the corner to cut Houston's lead to two with 13 seconds left. Then, on the next stretch, the veteran tangled with Houston rookie guard Sam Cassell and fell to the ground convincingly enough for Cassell to be called for an offensive foul.

Utah ball, two down with time to spare. Speaking of plenty of time, here comes divine intervention. Look at the clock. So the Jazz came in with 13.5 seconds on the clock. Hornacek dribbles and dribbles and serves plates to Malone, who crosses the court to Humphries. And if he pauses it too quickly, the clock hasn't started yet. When he does, Chambers thinks time is running out and he takes a nasty shot into traffic. The Rockets chase the rebound and dribble a clock that should have expired a while ago, and that's it. The Jazz were blessed with the most atrocious comfort food, but they just got confused, blew their chance to tie the series, and then complained that they didn't get a foul other than overtime (quietly).

Houston owned Game 5 at home, won the series and won the '94 Championship. Oh well. Jordan's too-little-late return made 1995 another chance for the West to win a

championship

. The Jazz felt it would be their year. You could tell because their team motto was It's Our Year, and they played like it on both ends, recording their first 60-win season despite Spencer's season-ending Achilles tear in January. That injury would leave 37-year-old James Donaldson at Olajuwon's guard whe

never

Utah ended up rematching the Rockets, which, surprisingly, was the first round. The Rockets were coming off a season full of obstacles. They lost more than expected, even after a big midseason trade for Olajuwon's former college teammate.

Yes, that's Clyde Drexler. Houston entered the postseason with a sixth-place finish, fell even further short during the series, and looked genuinely vulnerable when the Jazz took Game 3 in Houston to take a two-to-one lead. The old Slama Jama five friends combined to score 81 points to win game four, sending the series back to Utah for game five. The favorite Jazz only needed a home victory to get revenge and eliminate the current champions. And things were looking good from the beginning. Hornacek finished the first half of game five with a wild 3-pointer, then another wilder 3-pointer to build a seven-point lead and plenty of momentum.

Utah increased that lead to 10 in the fourth quarter. But then it was Hakeem's time. For more than four minutes in which the Jazz stars were silent, Olajuwon led Houston on a 10-O run, finishing with a classy jumper from the baseline to put Houston up three under the two-point mark. minutes. The Rockets held that lead, then fouled on purpose in the final seconds to put Stockton two shots down by three. The tactic worked as Houston recovered from its deliberate mistake. Our year ended with a loss in the first round. Conference finals, first round loss. Conference finals, first round loss.

Only one thing to do in '96. The Jazz added some useful pieces, won 55 games, beat the Blazers in the first round, beat the Spurs in the second round and returned to the Western Conference Finals. More magic of an even year. This time, they would have to face the Sonics again on a card inferior to the Eastern Finals between Jordan and Shaq. It didn't start out that hot. Stockton was hurting and Seattle's elite defense swallowed Utah whole in the first game. The Jazz kept the second game much closer, but in the final minutes, their stars seemed overwhelmed.

Gary Payton set up Stockton to build a late lead in Seattle. Shawn Kemp dominated Malone to maintain that lead and then did it again. With seconds left and a win still on the table, Stockton panicked against a Payton-Perkins double team and threw the ball directly to Kemp. Utah looked great at home in Game 3, but Game 4 came down to a double-digit comeback and, well, Malone shot just 3 of 8 from the free throw line, including this late miss that would have brought Utah within one on the scoreboard. last two minutes. The Jazz defense gave their offense more opportunities, but Stockton wasted a layup on Malone, then hit a three-pointer that would have won the game at the buzzer.

This was a moody week in Jazz basketball, with Malone comparing his teammates to children and wishing out loud he could get inside their heads to tell them

what

they're thinking. But Utah bounced back. Stockton was really dragging due to a variety of injuries, but he pulled off this big steal to secure an overtime victory in Game 5 in Seattle. Malone outplayed Kemp with huge numbers to win Game 6 at home with a blowout. Just like that, another Jazz season and this time a long-awaited trip to the NBA Finals came down to a do-or-die game. And once again, his conclusion was based on key plays and free throws.

Stockton ensured a close finish by punctuating his best and bravest play of the series with this floater to cut Seattle's lead to one with 90 seconds left. Kemp made some free throws, but Bryon Russell found Malone to cut the score to one. Kemp hit some free throws again, then a gorgeous Stockton-Malone pick and roll led to a Kemp foul with eight seconds left. Malone needed two touchdowns to cut the margin to one, keep pace with Kemp and overcome the poor foul narrative that persisted in game four. He had made six of his 10 free throws in the game.

At number 11, uh uh. He's still in it, though, as long as Malone hits the second one. Oh no. Seattle rebound, game over, series over. The Sonics advanced to the Finals where, of course, he's back. So, yeah, during a six-year stretch in the 1990s that included two seasons mostly without Jordan, Stockton and Malone didn't even make it out of the West. In their next chapter, they would finally do it, only to face MJ and the reformed powerhouse of the Bulls. But Michael's fifth and sixth rings were not inevitable. This small era, the beginning of mountain jerseys, was probably the heyday of Jazz.

When he was around 30 years old, Stockton became a truly elite shooter and Malone became the NBA's MVP and signature defender. Sloan had a deeper rotation than ever, including a developing center in Greg Ostertag; the mother (bleep) big dog, also known as Antoine Carr; and a couple of guys who could at least try to protect Jordan, Bryon Russell, who became a full-time starter; and a tough rookie named Shandon Anderson. Utah owned the West in 1997, won a franchise-record 64 games, quickly dispatched both Los Angeles franchises and finally got the key play they needed in the Western Conference Finals against the Rockets.

Eddie damn Johnson did it to Utah again with the 3-pointer that won Game 4 and tied the series, but Stockton's biggest shot of his career broke a tie in Game 6 at the buzzer to send Utah to the Finals and provoke this celebration for more than a decade. the making. Then the 1997 NBA Finals. The Bulls' four-series victory included three hard-fought victories with iconic moments that totally could have been the other way around. The first game in Chicago is famous because Jordan scored a game-winning goal over Bryon Russell. You're not thinking about a game winner over Bryon Russell, but a game winner.

That shot overshadowed what came before. This Malone up and down put the Jazz up with 90 seconds left. Jordan missed his shot to give the Bulls the lead, but Ron Harper rebounded to give Scottie Pippen this three-pointer. Even then, Stockton responded to put the Jazz back on top, and Jordan missed an important free throw that left the game tied. Malone went to the line himself, needing just one point to break the tie, but he pooped his pants once again. And boom, Michael made everyone forget his own mistakes. (fast-paced dramatic music) Utah finally tied the finals all-around. Malone made it happen at the line, but MJ put the Bulls ahead in the series with his famous flu game, a brilliant 38 points despite a debilitating stomach infection.

But the flu game could easily have been a loss. Hornacek could have hit those last three to tie the score. After Stockton was fouled rebounding that miss, he could have made the first and then intentionally missed to set up a miracle tip for overtime, but Stockton missed the first. No (he speaks in a foreign language). And Chicago's close of Game 6 is famous because Steve Kerr, who had struggled throughout the series, scored the game-winning jumper off a Jordan kick. Well, that game was tied for first place because, seconds before, Anderson had finished from point-blank range. And Kerr's shot was the winner because, seconds later, two points down, Russell threw a pass to nobody.

That was it. Our guys had a better chance of dethroning the Bulls in '98. The Jazz had home field advantage and were much better rested than a banged-up Chicago team that had narrowly won a seven-game Eastern Finals against the Pacers. Stockton stood out and Pippen missed a buzzer-beater in overtime of the first game, so Utah held serve early. They could have kept it that way if Malone hadn't cooled down so much in the second game. The postman's last brick could have tied the game with 23 seconds left. In Chicago, Utah could have come back with a road victory to tie the series again if not for this strange ending to the fourth game.

With Chicago up two, MJ missed a potential dagger, but Malone and Dennis Rodman's fight for the rebound, unlike their actual fight, drew a whistle on Karl. A career 60% free throw shooter he saved both to keep the Jazz at bay. Even the legendary Game 6, which concluded with Jordan's shot over Bryon Russell, could have been the other way around. Just seconds before Jordan's last shot as a Bull, Stockton had hit a huge 3-pointer to go up three, and Malone had a chance to regain that lead before letting Michael take it away. We have a whole rewind about this and how Utah would have been a favorite in Game 7, but here's the point.

After years of coming up short in the West due to free throws and late-game mishaps, John and Karl had two very real opportunities to poke holes in Michael Jordan's legacy. They came up short not only because of Michael but because of free throws and mishaps late in the game. And they

never

managed to lead the Finals again, at least not together. Malone had one last ring chase with the Lakers, but was badly hurt and the Pistons crushed Los Angeles in the Finals. Thus Karl Malone and John Stockton retired without rings. Leaving it that way oversimplifies their incredibly successful careers.

Each one was a statistical marvel. Together, they played nothing but winning seasons. This legendary duo would surely trade that unparalleled consistency for even a title, but there's no shame in how things went down. For the better part of a decade, almost every genuine contender had to get past Stockton and Malone at some point. As far as NBA championships go, these two were the best to never make it. (soaring dramatic music)