Thurl Bailey, Frank Layden Reflect On What Made 1984 Jazz Playoff Team Great

Mar 10, 2020, 2:34 PM | Updated: 3:23 pm

Coach Frank Layden of the Utah Jazz gives instructions to his players during a game. Credit: Rick Stewart /Allsport

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – During a conversation between Jazz coaching legend Frank Layden and his prodigy Thurl Bailey, Layden said that Bailey’s leadership is what took the team to the playoffs.

The 1984 season marked the first time since the Jazz arrived to Salt Lake City from New Orleans that they qualified for the playoffs. Entering the 1983-84 season, the Jazz had a 107-221 record since the state of Utah brought the team from Louisiana in 1979.

Layden joined Bailey on his podcast “Thurl Talk.”

During the five seasons of existence, the New Orleans Jazz never reached the postseason. A comment made by Bailey to his teammates during training camp ahead of the 1983-84 campaign made Layden believe that the Jazz would be a good team.

“I remember being at Dixie College for training camp and the players were gathered around me as I was talking about the second workout, I normally didn’t allow that but this occasion I did,” Layden mentioned. “All of a sudden I heard you (Thurl) say ‘shut up! The man is teaching us how to win.’ When I heard that, I thought we were going to be okay that year because we are getting some leadership and some pride. I knew we had players on our team that liked each other, who respected each other and who were willing to play as a team.”

You can listen to the entire episode below.

Layden’s 1983-84 Team Started The Playoff Standard

The 1983-84 version of the Utah Jazz started a standard of consistently reaching the playoffs. They finished the season with a 45-37 record as Midwest Division champions while receiving the No. 2 seed in the NBA Playoffs. Layden thought that team was good because they were in great shape and were durable.

“The ’84 team was interesting because we didn’t have any injuries,” stated Layden. “Everybody played all the time. I think a lot of that had to do with the conditioning. We were a well conditioned team. I think we were an intelligent team, we played hard, we were consistent and we didn’t have load management.”

“I still can’t figure out what that is (load management),” Bailey replied. “We loved to play. We weren’t about to miss a game if we didn’t have to.”

After the Jazz finally broke the playoff drought, the franchise reached the postseason 20 consecutive seasons. Since the team arrived in Salt Lake City in 1979, the Jazz missed the postseason 12 times and made the playoffs 28 times.

Have had a chance to listen to #ThurlTalk yet?

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The Playoff Run

During the successful season where Layden led the Jazz to their first playoff apperance, he received the NBA Coach and Executive of the Year awards. Layden also coached in the All-Star game that season.

Adrian Dantley led the Jazz in scoring that year, averaging 30.6 points per game. Darrell Griffith added 20 points per contest along with 4.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Bailey chipped in 8.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

National Basketball Coaches Association presents the 2019 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award to NBA coaching icon Frank Layden during Game 2 of the #NBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV. pic.twitter.com/iHgc6O50KW

— NBA (@NBA) June 3, 2019

As the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, the Jazz eliminated the Denver Nuggets in the first round by forcing a decisive Game 5 after trailing 2-1 in the best-of-five series. In the second round, the Jazz ran into a talented Phoenix Suns team that eliminated Utah in six games.