Pete Maravich takes the top spot for the Jazz as their PPG season leader.
The Utah Jazz have had a number of prolific scorers suit up for them throughout their 52 years in the NBA. This article will dig into the greatest scoring seasons in franchise history, from Pete Maravich in the 1970s to Adrian Dantley and Karl Malone in the 1980s and 1990s. Let’s check out the top five all-time seasons for the Jazz.
Pete Maravich – 1977, 31.1 PPG
In the 1976-77 season, ‘Pistol Pete’ torched the NBA with a league-best and career-high 31.1 points per game, adding 5.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.2 steals across 73 appearances. Maravich also led the league in minutes played (41.7), field goals made (12.1) and attempted (28.0), and free-throws made (6.9) and attempted (8.2), resulting in First Team All-NBA and All-Star selections for the then 29-year-old. Over the course of his 10-year career, Maravich was a five-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA, earning him a spot on the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team and a Hall of Fame induction in 1987.
Karl Malone – 1990, 31.0 PPG
Malone owns four of the top-ten scoring seasons in Utah’s history, but the career-high 31.0 points per game he tallied in 1989-90 represent his only entry in the top-five. He chipped in 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.6 blocks across 82 outings during his age-26 campaign, and led the league in free-throws made (8.5) and attempted (11.1) for the second consecutive year. ‘The Mailman’ tallied 50 double-doubles and scored 40-plus points on 11 occasions, which included two 50-point outbursts, earning him a third straight All-Star nod and back-to-back First Team All-NBA honors. The 2,540 total points he recorded that year are still the most in a single season in Jazz history. Throughout his 19-year career, Malone was a 14-time All-NBA, 14-time All-Star, four-time All-Defensive, a two-time league MVP, a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team, and a Hall of Fame inductee in 2010.
Adrian Dantley – 1981, 30.7 PPG
At 25-years-old in 1980-81, Dantley averaged a league-leading and career-high 30.7 points with 6.4 boards, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game over 80 appearances. He also led the NBA in minutes played (42.7) and field goals made (11.4), helping ‘A.D.’ finish 12th in the MVP race while being named an All-Star and Second Team All-NBA. Dantley posted seven outings of 40-plus points and had three in which he crossed the 50-point threshold. In each of his seven seasons with the Jazz, from 1979-80 to 1985-86, the 6-foot-5 forward averaged at least 26.6 ppg, including four consecutive campaigns where he put up 30.0-plus ppg (1981-1984).
Adrian Dantley – 1984, 30.6 PPG
Dantley holds down the fourth spot on Utah’s list with the 30.6 points per game he averaged in 1983-84. He led the NBA in scoring for the second and final time in his stellar 15-year career, thanks to a career-best and league-leading 10.3 free-throws made and 12.0 free-throws attempted across 79 contests. During his time with the Jazz, Dantley accumulated averages of 29.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.7 apg and 1.1 spg over 461 outings. The former sixth overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft suited up for the Buffalo Braves, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks and Utah before officially retiring in 1992.
Adrian Dantley – 1982, 30.3 PPG
In his third full season in Utah, Dantley led the NBA in made free throws (8.0) while posting averages of 30.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game across 81 starts. He earned a third straight All-Star selection and finished 15th in MVP voting that year, and he recorded 13 outings of 40 or more points, including a 53-point, 12-rebound performance in a win against the Denver Nuggets. ‘The Teacher’ averaged 24.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.0 apg and 1.0 spg over 955 total regular-season appearances. Dantley was a Hall of Fame induction in 2008, the 1976-77 Rookie of the Year with Buffalo, a two-time scoring champ, six-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection.
