1999–2000 Utah Jazz season

Fox Sports Net Utah (lost to Trail Blazers 1–4) The 1999–2000 Utah Jazz season was the 26th season for the Utah Jazz in the National Basketball Association, and their 21st season in Salt Lake City, Utah. During the off-season, the Jazz signed free agent Olden Polynice, then later on signed Armen Gilliam in January; Polynice became the team's starting center this season, with Greg Ostertag coming off the bench as a backup center.

The Jazz were the oldest team in the NBA. The team got off to a solid 15–7 start to the regular season and enjoyed a seven-game winning streak; however, they then lost six straight games between January and February, holding a 29–18 record at the All-Star break. The team won nine consecutive games between February and March, finishing in first place in the Midwest Division with a solid 55–27 record, and earning the second seed in the Western Conference; the Jazz qualified for the NBA playoffs for the 17th consecutive season.

Karl Malone averaged 25.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and also reached a milestone by scoring his 30,000th career point during this season. In addition, Bryon Russell averaged 14.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, and led the Jazz with 106 three-point field goals, while Jeff Hornacek contributed 12.4 points per game, John Stockton provided the team with 12.1 points, 8.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and sixth man Howard Eisley contributed 8.6 points and 4.2 assists per game off the bench. On the defensive side, Gilliam averaged 6.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in 50 games, while Polynice averaged 5.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, and Ostertag provided with 4.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at The Arena in Oakland in Oakland, California, Malone and Stockton were both selected for the 2000 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was Stockton's final All-Star appearance. Meanwhile, Hornacek participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout for the third time, and also participated in the NBA 2Ball Competition, along with Natalie Williams of the WNBA's Utah Starzz; Hornacek won the Three-Point Shootout for the second consecutive year, and also won the 2Ball Competition along with Williams. Malone also finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while head coach Jerry Sloan finished in fourth place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 2000 NBA playoffs, the Jazz faced off against the 7th–seeded Seattle SuperSonics, a team that featured All-Star guard Gary Payton, Vin Baker and Brent Barry. The Jazz won the first two games over the SuperSonics at home at the Delta Center, but then lost the next two games on the road, losing Game 4 at the KeyArena at Seattle Center, 104–93 as the SuperSonics evened the series. The Jazz then won Game 5 over the SuperSonics at the Delta Center, 96–93, thus winning in a hard-fought five-game series.

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, and for the second consecutive year, the team faced off against the 3rd–seeded Portland Trail Blazers, who were led by All-Star forward Rasheed Wallace, Scottie Pippen and Steve Smith. Despite the Jazz winning the Midwest Division title, the Trail Blazers had home-court advantage in the series, since the team finished with a better regular-season record than the Jazz. The Jazz lost the first three games to the Trail Blazers, before winning Game 4 at home, 88–85 at the Delta Center. However, the Jazz then lost Game 5 to the Trail Blazers on the road, 81–79 at the Rose Garden Arena, as the team lost the series in five games.

The Jazz finished fifth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 801,268 at the Delta Center during the regular season. Following the season, Hornacek retired, ending his 14-year career in the NBA. Meanwhile, Gilliam also retired, while Eisley and Adam Keefe were both involved in a four-team trade; Eisley was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, and Keefe was dealt to the Golden State Warriors.