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Al Jefferson had a really big game last night. There's a reason why they call him Big Al. Well, he did lose some weight since joining the Jazz. There's ANOTHER reason why they call him Big Al -- it's because of his production. He had 28 points last night, and 26 rebounds. That's huge. How huge is it? Well, no one on the Jazz has come close to those numbers this season. That much is obvious. How does it stack up against the rest of the Jazz team, all time, though? Well, look for yourself.
| Player | Season | Age | Opponent | PTS | REB | P + R Total | Mins | (P + R) / Min | Overtime | Other | ||
| Karl Malone | 1988-89 | 25 | vs. Golden State Warriors | 37 | 22 | 59 | 45 | 1.31 | Playoffs | |||
| Karl Malone | 1988-89 | 25 | @ San Antonio Spurs | 35 | 22 | 57 | 46 | 1.24 | ||||
| Karl Malone | 1990-91 | 27 | vs. Indiana Pacers | 33 | 22 | 55 | 41 | 1.34 | ||||
| Karl Malone | 1991-92 | 28 | vs. Chicago Bulls | 34 | 21 | 55 | 57 | 0.96 | 3 | |||
| Karl Malone | 1987-88 | 24 | @ San Antonio Spurs | 34 | 20 | 54 | 44 | 1.23 | ||||
| Al Jefferson | 2011-12 | 27 | vs. Dallas Mavericks | 28 | 26 | 54 | 54 | 1.00 | 3 | |||
| Karl Malone | 1987-88 | 24 | @ Los Angeles Clippers | 33 | 20 | 53 | 46 | 1.15 | ||||
| Karl Malone | 1996-97 | 33 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | 32 | 20 | 52 | 49 | 1.06 | 1 | Playoffs | ||
| Karl Malone | 1990-91 | 27 | vs. Portland Trail Blazers | 30 | 21 | 51 | 41 | 1.24 | Playoffs | |||
| Karl Malone | 1997-98 | 34 | vs. Houston Rockets | 29 | 21 | 50 | 42 | 1.19 | ||||
| Karl Malone | 1987-88 | 24 | vs. Phoenix Suns | 28 | 21 | 49 | 46 | 1.07 | ||||
| Karl Malone | 1995-96 | 32 | vs. Denver Nuggets | 26 | 22 | 48 | 44 | 1.09 | ||||
| Carlos Boozer | 2007-08 | 26 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | 27 | 20 | 47 | 40 | 1.18 | Playoffs | |||
| Karl Malone | 1993-94 | 30 | vs. Golden State Warriors | 24 | 23 | 47 | 44 | 1.07 | ||||
| Donyell Marshall | 2000-01 | 27 | vs. Houston Rockets | 26 | 21 | 47 | 48 | 0.98 | 1 | |||
| Karl Malone | 1993-94 | 30 | vs. Atlanta Hawks | 26 | 20 | 46 | 40 | 1.15 | ||||
| Carlos Boozer | 2006-07 | 25 | vs. Golden State Warriors | 25 | 21 | 46 | 40 | 1.15 | ||||
| Carlos Boozer | 2008-09 | 27 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | 23 | 22 | 45 | 35 | 1.29 | Playoffs | |||
| Karl Malone | 1995-96 | 32 | @ Orlando Magic | 24 | 21 | 45 | 40 | 1.13 | ||||
| Carlos Boozer | 2009-10 | 28 | @ Portland Trail Blazers | 22 | 23 | 45 | 44 | 1.02 | 1 | |||
| Donyell Marshall | 2001-02 | 28 | @ Orlando Magic | 24 | 20 | 44 | 42 | 1.05 | ||||
| Karl Malone | 1995-96 | 32 | vs. Indiana Pacers | 24 | 20 | 44 | 44 | 1.00 | ||||
| Carlos Boozer | 2006-07 | 25 | @ Portland Trail Blazers | 21 | 21 | 42 | 35 | 1.20 | ||||
| Carlos Boozer | 2009-10 | 28 | vs. Denver Nuggets | 22 | 20 | 42 | 45 | 0.93 | Playoffs | |||
| Carlos Boozer | 2009-10 | 28 | vs. Phoenix Suns | 21 | 20 | 41 | 42 | 0.98 |
In terms of combined Points + Rebounds, it's one of the best games in Jazz recorded history. (I'm assuming Truck Robinson has had a few 20/20 games in his career, but Basketball-reference.com's boxscores do not go back that far) Of course, Big Al wasn't super efficient (he did take 25 shots to get 28 points), and he did play 54 minutes, which equaled his points and rebounds production. So what. He played big, and we got the win. And he's in the Jazz history books for his performance.
You may notice Karl Malone's name on this list a lot. It's not an accident. He was huge. If he played in today's youtube / digital / NBA League Pass age he'd be better regarded. The unsaid thing is that in these games Karl kicks everyone else's butts in stuff not on this chart, things like assists, steals, and fg%.We could spend the entire off-season talking about how great Karl Malone is. Right now we're in the middle of our playoff push. Big Al deserves the spotlight here.