Jerry "Spider" Sloan

by Patrick517 on Nov 8, 2008 3:33 PM MST

Congratulations to the most under-appreciated coach in the history of the National Basketball Association on his 1,000th win with the Utah Jazz. Not only is he a great Coach, but he was also one hell of a basketball player.

I decided to scour the resources over on basketball reference to dig up some numbers on the two time all-star's playing career. Here's what I found.

Sloan was All-NBA defensive first teamer four times and was named to the second squad twice. He led the league in steals twice and appeared in 52 playoff games. His career FG% wasn't too good (42%) but he averaged nearly 8 rebounds per game. For 6'5'' that's not too bad.

His coaching numbers are what are really amazing. Since signing on in Utah in 1988, he has only had one(!) season with a win<.500. The Jazz have won their division eight times under his leadership and have obviously appeared in two Championship series. For him to still not have a Coach of the Year trophy on his mantle is a shame.

Three Cheers for Sloan!

All comments are the opinion of the commenter and not necessarily that of SLC Dunk or SB Nation.

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Comments

What he has done has been incredible.

Almost 50 wins/season. Now that is a great season for anyone. And to take that team led by Arroyo, AK, Bell, Polynice, etc to the brink of the playoffs. Not even Phil Jackson can say he has that.

The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.

by clarkpojo on Nov 8, 2008 4:54 PM MST reply actions