Stockton to Malone

By Roland Lazenby

 

    

Ranking

First of all, I will say that I am not a fan of neither John Stockton nor Karl Malone.  Therefore, I did not go in with great expectations.  I got this book because I collect basketball books, I got it for a great price, and I like the author.

The book is brief, less than 100 pages.  It covers the rise of the Utah Jazz under the leadership of Stockton, Malone, and coach Jerry Sloan.  The in a brief background covering the futility of the franchise before Stockton and Malone arrived.  The next passage is the most fascinating, as it covers the playing career of Sloan and his road to becoming the head coach.  The last section covers the playoff futility of the Jazz during the Stockton-Malone era through 1997, with expanded coverage of the 1998 Finals.

The book had many shortcomings, though: it was not biographical concerning the players.  The coverage of their careers was also brief.  That is to be expected in a book that does not have 100 pages.  The book failed to mention the allegations that they were the two dirtiest players in the league and it failed to make me change my mind that these two players were two of the biggest post-season chokers in the history of the NBA.  This fact was mostly glossed over, mentioned briefly in a mention that Stockton had 7 turnovers in game 1 of the 1997 Finals, and a paragraph about Malone's free throw choke that cost the Jazz the same game.

Introspection:  N/A
Insight:  1
History:  1984-1997
Readability:  4

Stockton to Malone: The Rise of the Utah Jazz.  Roland Lazenby.  Addax Publishing.  1998.

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