When you really break it down, the whole history of the NBA is still a relatively short amount of time. At 79 years old, there are still many people around who have a living memory of the first NBA season.

The league celebrated 50 years in 1996, with a special reveal of the top 50 players of all-time up to that point, as voted on by media, former player, general managers, and other notable figures.

For the first 50 years of the league, there were several individuals who were obvious locks to make the top-50. Michael, Kareem, Larry, Dr. J and many others easily made the list... but what if we told you that a 9-time All-Star, who at the time sat on 8th on the NBA’s all time scoring list did not make the top 50?

In today’s episode, we take the NBA time machine back to the 80s and 90s, and explore the life and times of one of basketball’s most underrated players of all time, the one and only Dominique Wilkins.

00:00 Introduction

03:43 Early Life, College Years and the Draft

13:41 Superstar Rising - 1982-90

24:50 Achilles Tear and The Trade

35:40 The Twilight Years - Gone Overseas?

45:10 The Legacy of Mr. 51st

On April 19, 2020, ESPN and Netflix released a landmark documentary series that was over two decades in the making, chronicling a behind the scenes look at the supremacy of Michael Jordan’s last years in Chicago. As Americans and people all across the globe were settling into an entirely new life of pandemic quarantine madness, The Last Dance was a much needed escape, and a fascinating glimpse into the life of one of the most popular figures in the history of sports.

But lost in the spectacle of MJ’s unprecedented greatness, and ultimately reduced to something little more than a footnote in the pages of NBA history, the Utah Jazz came away emptied handed again and again, despite fielding a team that likely could have hoisted a championship banner, had they played in any other era.

Led by a dynamic duo of John Stockton and Karl Malone, two players who still stand among the top 10 of all time at their respective positions, the Jazz had spent much of the late 80s and 90s just on the cusp of taking those final steps into championship glory. But always for one reason or another, the stars never perfectly aligned for the team from Utah, and Stockton and Malone would find themselves forever on another and far less desirable all-time list: as some of the best players to never win a ring.

In today’s episode, we take the NBA time machine back to the 1990s, and explore the rise and fall of the team that tried and failed to steal the last dance, and find out just what went wrong for the Utah Jazz.

This is Once Upon a Dribble!

(04:30) The Foundation - Background on the '80s Jazz

(18:14) The Slow Climb - The Ups and Downs of the Early and Mid '90s

(41:29) The 1996-97 Utah Jazz season

(01:08:56) The 1997-98 Utah Jazz

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Today we continue in part 9 of a 10-part series at Once Upon a Dribble!

During the 2022 playoffs the NBA began awarding MVP awards to the best performing player of each conference finals: the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award and the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award, named for the two players credited for building the league up to greater popularity in the 1980s.

This begs the question, with the award just being handed out for the first time last season, who are the deserving winners from the previous 50+ years of NBA history? Find out today as Josh tackles the Eastern Conference in the 2010s!

2010: Boston Celtics vs Orlando Magic - Paul Pierce (03:10)

2011: Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls - LeBron James (11:35)

2012: Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics - LeBron James (20:03)

2013: Miami Heat vs Indiana Pacers- LeBron James (28:33)

2014: Miami Heat vs Indiana Pacers- LeBron James (36:04)

2015: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Atlanta Hawks- LeBron James (42:35)

2016: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Toronto Raptors- LeBron James (49:28)

2017: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics- LeBron James (54:39)

2018: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics- LeBron James (01:00:22)

2019: Toronto Raptors vs Milwaukee Bucks- Kawhi Leonard (01:11:11)

2020: Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics- Bam Adebayo (01:19:35)

2021: Milwaukee Bucks vs Atlanta Hawks- Khris Middleton (01:28:16)

Recap/Outro: (01:37:04)