The NBA: Where 1000 Happens

Congratulation to Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. On 11/7/08 he got his 1000th victory with the Utah Jazz making him the first coach to notch over 1000 wins with one team (career total is about 1092 wins). To lead a team to that many victory means that you have to spend a long time with that one particular team. In Coach Sloan's case that's 21 years with the Jazz. Now those years haven't been all fun and games but his coaching style has made the Jazz offense one of the best in the league.
Over these past years he has been criticized by many Utah fans for not letting the Jazz players play basketball like the rest of the nation. His game isn't about show boating, fancy passes, live-or-die by the three, and many other style of play that's been growing in the NBA. His style of basketball isn't fancy and many times doesn't aesthetically appeal to the average viewer, but it wins games. It's fundamental basketball at its best. Setting plays for each other, constant ball movement, pick-n-roll (it worked beautifully with Stockton to Malone and now it's back with Williams to Boozer), high-lows, all lead to one thing; team play. Everyone touches the ball and has an opportunity to score. If the Jazz lose a game it's wasn't because the all-star of the team was didn't perform well but rather because they didn't play together as a team. In other words, they didn't play Sloan basketball. Two years ago when the Jazz got blown out in game 3 against the Warriors in the second round of the playoffs Sloan told the team, "OK you played the way you wanted to and lost. Next time we play my game." Anyone remember what happened next game? The Jazz blew out the Warriors at Golden State. They would later go on to win that series 4-1. So even though his coaching style might not be what the fans want to see, it gives the true fans what they want...a winning season.
When talking about Sloan you can't overlook one of the qualities he's most known for, his temper. All though it has become more under control over the past couple of years, it's still a treat seeing him up and yelling at the refs. You know he's about to get a T or thrown out when Phil Johnson gets up to calm him down. Now

Now Coach Sloan did get his 1000th victory tonight, however, those of us who went to the game knew it wasn't the victory he would've hoped for. A win is a win yes, but when you let a 31 point half time lead slip away and only win by 7 against a team that had one of the worst records last year, and only scored 29 points in the first half of this game then you know that temper of Sloan came out in the locker room. A career changing moment, a first timer in NBA history, and thousands of fans cheering his name as the seconds ticked away, Jerry Sloan walked off the court like it was just another game. That's the way he plays and coaches and that's the way he will continue to coach. It's a winning combination. So congratulations to Coach Sloan for becoming the first coach in sports history to achieve 1000 wins with one single team. The following are a few pics from that game.