London
Sloan had Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. A former NBA player, Sloan was the Jazz’s coach for 23 seasons from 1988-2011 until he stepped down 54 games through his final season in 2011.
The team won back-to-back Western Conference championships in 1996-97 and 1997-98 under his watch, though the Jazz and star duo Karl Malone and John Stockton famously lost to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in each of those NBA Finals trips.
The team won over 1,200 combined regular-season and postseason games with Sloan at the helm.
“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. “Our Hall of Fame coach for 23 years, Jerry had a tremendous impact on the Jazz franchise as expressed by his banner hanging in the arena rafters. His 1,223 Jazz coaching wins, 20 [total] trips to the NBA playoffs and two NBA Finals appearances are remarkable achievements.
His hard-nosed approach only made him more beloved. Even after his retirement, his presence at Jazz games always brought a roaring response from the crowd.”—AFP
