[1] After the retirement of Jeff Hornacek, the Jazz signed free agents Danny Manning,[2][3][4] and John Starks,[5][6][7] and acquired Donyell Marshall from the Golden State Warriors in an off-season four-team trade.
[14] They finished second in the Midwest Division with a 53–29 record,[15] and qualified for the playoffs for the eighteenth straight season.
[16] On a more positive note, the Jazz equaled the Los Angeles Lakers' record of sixteen consecutive winning seasons above .500,[17] set between 1976–77 and 1991–92.
Karl Malone averaged 23.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and finished in seventh place in Most Valuable Player voting;[18][19][20][21] he was also selected for the 2001 NBA All-Star Game in Washington, D.C., which was his final All-Star appearance.
[27] In the Western Conference First Round, the Jazz took a 2–0 series lead over the 5th-seeded Dallas Mavericks,[28][29] but would lose the next three games, thus the series, losing Game 5 by one point, 84–83 at the Delta Center, the Jazz's first round playoff loss since the 1994–95 season.