Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz have been playing in the NBA since 1974. They were originally located in New Orleans and got their name “Jazz” from the importance and prominence of jazz music in New Orleans culture. The team kept that name when they moved to Utah in 1979. The Jazz team colors are navy blue, gold, dark green, gray, and white. The original logo used a musical note shaped like a “J” to start the word “Jazz” this was changed in 1996 to a mountain peak with the word “Jazz”across it. The current logo is a green and white mountain peak inside blue circle. The word “Jazz” is printed diagonally across the front in white, gold, and navy letters. The Utah Jazz jerseys have also changed over the years. Originally, the white home uniforms had purple, green, and gold trim and the music-note “Jazz” across the chest. The away jerseys during this time were first green with gold trim and lettering, then purple with gold and white trim and lettering. In 1996, the uniforms were changed to match the new mountain logo. The first round of new home jerseys were white with a mountain top design across the chest. The shorts were white and had a similar mountain peak design on the left leg. The corresponding away jerseys were light blue and had the mountain peak pattern in white across the chest. The 1996 jerseys had a unique slanted font for the numbers. In 2004, the jerseys were updated again. The home uniforms were white with blue piping down the sides of the jerseys and shorts. The away uniforms were the inverse: dark blue with thin white stripes. The 2010 jerseys got another update. The home uniforms are white and have a blue stripe with gold and blue trim down each side from the shirt down to the shorts. These uniforms have pulled up the retro music note “Jazz” for the team name. The new away uniforms are dark blue. A white stripe with green and gold trim runs down each side, and a white version of the note “Jazz” logo appears on the chest. The early Jazz team was not one of the NBA’s best, but with the arrival of John Stockton and Karl Malone in the late 1980s, the team made twenty straight playoff appearances. Led by these two legends, the Jazz won the conference title twice and played the Chicago Bulls in the World Championship in 1997 and 1998. After a dry spell in the mid-2000s, the Jazz began to grow again behind the on-court skill of rising talent Deron Williams and all-star Carlos Boozer. In 2007 and 2008, they have once again appeared in the playoffs.