Jerry Sloan obit

Hall of Fame coach Jerry Sloan passes away at 78

He was not on the list.

Jerry Sloan, the coach who took the Utah Jazz to the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998 on his way to a

spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame, died Friday. He was 78.

The Jazz said he died from complications related to Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia.

Sloan spent 23 seasons coaching the Jazz. The team -- with John Stockton and Karl Malone leading the way in many of those seasons -- finished below .500 in only one of those years. Sloan won 1,221 games in his career, the fourth-highest total in NBA history.

In a statement released by the NBA, commissioner Adam Silver said: "Jerry Sloan was among the NBA’s most respected and admired legends. After an All-Star playing career in which his relentless style shaped the Chicago Bulls in their early years, he became one of the all-time greatest head coaches during 23 seasons with the Utah Jazz – the second-longest tenure in league history.

"He was the first coach to win 1,000 games with the same organization, which came to embody the qualities that made Jerry a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer: persistence, discipline, drive and selflessness. His more than 40 years in the NBA also paralleled a period of tremendous growth in the league, a time when we benefited greatly from his humility, kindness, dignity and class. Our thoughts are with Jerry’s wife, Tammy, and their family, as well as his former players, colleagues and the Bulls and Jazz organizations.”

The Jazz, in their statement, said Sloan "epitomized the organization" and offered their condolences to he and his family.

“Jerry Sloan will always be synonymous with the Utah Jazz," the team said in a statement. "He will forever be a part of the Utah Jazz organization and we join his family, friends and fans in mourning his loss. We are so thankful for what he accomplished here in Utah and the decades of dedication, loyalty and tenacity he brought to our franchise."

Current Jazz coach Quin Snyder said he learned quickly about how important Sloan has been to the organization.

“Before coming to Utah, I was certainly aware of Coach Sloan and what he meant to the NBA and to the coaching world. But, upon living in Utah, I became acutely aware of just how much he truly meant to the state," Snyder said in a statement. “The clear identity that he established for Jazz basketball -- unselfishness, toughness and the essential importance of team -- has always left a palpable responsibility to strive for in carrying forward. He will be missed and mourned by the Jazz family, the NBA and beyond.”

Utah went to The Finals twice under Sloan, both times falling to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

Sloan was a former player of the Bulls from 1966-76 and his jersey hangs in the rafters of the United Center.

"Jerry Sloan was ‘The Original Bull' whose tenacious defense and nightly hustle on the court represented the franchise and epitomized the city of Chicago," Chicago Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in statement after Sloan's passing. "Jerry was the face of the Bulls organization from its inception through the mid-1970s, and very appropriately, his uniform No. 4 was the first jersey retired by the team. A great player and a Hall-of-Fame NBA coach, most importantly, Jerry was a great person. Our sympathies go out to the Sloan family and all his many fans."

Sloan entered the Hall of Fame in 2009.

Jerry Sloan delivers a speech on the values, style and competitive fire that made him a Hall of Fame coach.

“I’m not into numbers and stuff like that,” Sloan said when he passed Pat Riley for No. 3 on the NBA’s all-time win list in 2010; Gregg Popovich has since surpassed him for that spot. “I never have been. I’ve got a great organization to work for that’s given me an opportunity to stay there for a long time. I’m very thankful for that and the coaches that I have with me. It’s not about me.”

Popovich offered his condolences on Friday.

“It’s a sad day for all of us who knew Jerry Sloan," the Spurs coach said. "Not only on the basketball court but, more importantly, as a human being. He was genuine and true. And that is rare. He was a mentor for me from afar until I got to know him. A man who suffered no fools, he possessed a humor, often disguised, and had a heart as big as the prairie.” 

He spent 34 years in the employ of the Jazz organization, either as head coach, assistant, scout or senior basketball adviser. Sloan started as a scout, was promoted as an assistant under Frank Layden in 1984 and became the sixth coach in franchise history on Dec. 9, 1988, after Layden resigned.

Sloan’s longevity with the Jazz was remarkable. During his time in Utah, there were 245 coaching changes around the league and five teams -- Charlotte, Memphis, Toronto, Orlando and Minnesota -- did not even exist when he took the helm with the Jazz.

''Like John Stockton and Karl Malone as players, Jerry Sloan epitomized the organization,'' the Jazz's team statement added. ''He will be greatly missed.''

 

RIP Coach Sloan! ❤️Legend!! – Donovan Mitchell

#RIP my friend. The battle is over.  #JerrySloan @UtahJazz #JazzNation @NBA @Hoophall – Mark Eaton

Saddened to learn of the news of Jerry’s passing this morning. He was a tremendous coach and a great leader. We battled against each other throughout our careers. He will be missed. – George Karl

I loved everything about Jerry Sloan, from the way he played to the way he coached. He was a tenacious competitor who represented the Bulls of the 70s so well. Jerry became one of my favorite coaches when he was on the 1996 Dream Team staff and it was an honor to learn from him. – Scottie Pippen

Very sad to hear about the passing of Coach Sloan this am. I’m praying for Tammy and their family during this time. 🙏🏽 I know things didn’t end well between us in Utah, however I’m glad that i got the chance to sit down with him before it was too late. Definitely something that would have haunted me for the rest of my life. Blessed that i got to play for him and learn so much from him during my 5 1/2 years in Utah. You knew he always had your back when you stepped out on that court. #ripcoachsloan #legend – Deron Williams

Heaven better be ready for you Jerry. Go coach ‘em up! Thanks for the privilege of playing for you. Rest In Peace coach. – Thurl Bailey

Thank you for the opportunities, thank you for the lessons, thank you for help mold me into a great basketball player and man. I will always bring my “lunch pail” to work! RIP Coach Sloan – Paul Milsap

Darrell Griffith, who along with Eaton has his number retired by the Jazz, echoed Sloan's impact on the franchise.

"He brought a lot to the game. He knew a lot about the game, he was a student of the game, he learned a lot from [former Jazz coach Frank Layden] and as a player, he brought that to the players on the floor," Griffith said. "He brought a lot to the game and I learned a lot from him as a coach and as a human being, so it was sad news for me to hear today."

Other former Jazz stars such as Gordon Hayward, Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams took to Twitter and Instagram to pay their respects to Sloan.

'Thank you for the opportunities, thank you for the lessons, thank you for help mold me into a great basketball player and man. I will always bring my ''lunch pail'' to work! RIP Coach Sloan'' - former Utah forward Paul Millsap

'We lost a great one.'' -- former NBA guard Baron Davis

''I didn't get to spend a lot of time playing for Coach Sloan, but coming in as a rookie he had a major impact on my transition to the NBA. I'm grateful for that. Prayers to his family, friends and loved ones.'' - former Utah forward Gordon Hayward

''He was a great coach and a great player, too. You tend to forget just how good certain players were. And Jerry, for rebounding, for defense, for toughness, there weren't many players in his category for those three things.'' - longtime NBA executive Rod Thorn

fter playing college basketball with the Evansville Purple Aces, Sloan was selected by the Baltimore Bullets with the fourth overall pick of the 1965 NBA draft. He spent his rookie season with the Bullets before playing the remainder of his career with the Chicago Bulls, retiring due to injuries in 1976. Nicknamed "the Original Bull", he was a two-time NBA All-Star and the first player to have his number retired by the Bulls.

After departing Chicago, Sloan became a scout for the Utah Jazz for one season. He then became coach of the Evansville Thunder of the Continental Basketball Association for the 1984 season but never coached a game instead accepting an assistant coach position with the Jazz. After Frank Layden became team president in December 1988, the Jazz chose Sloan as the new head coach. Sloan enjoyed a successful run of 16 consecutive seasons of taking his team to the playoffs, during which time he coached future Hall of Famers Karl Malone and John Stockton, along with other players including Jeff Hornacek, Antoine Carr, Tom Chambers, Mark Eaton, and Jeff Malone.

After the retirement of long-time Jazz players Malone and Stockton, Sloan coached a younger group of players, including Carlos Boozer, Andrei Kirilenko, Mehmet Okur, and later, Deron Williams.

After leading a young team in its first year without Stockton and Malone to an unexpected 42–40 record, he finished just behind Hubie Brown of the Memphis Grizzlies in voting for the 2004 NBA Coach of the Year Award.

Sloan collected his 1,000th career win against the Dallas Mavericks on December 11, 2006, in a 101–79 victory, which made him only the fifth coach in NBA history to reach the milestone. After disappointing seasons in 2004–05 and 2005–06, the Jazz in the 2006–07 returned to contention. For this, Sloan was again on many sportswriters ballots for Coach of the Year, however he lost the award to Toronto Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell, who led his team to a franchise record-tying 47 victories and their first Atlantic Division title. Sloan lost the vote 394–301.