Marc J. Spears remarks about Jerry Sloan and his Utah Jazz were supposed to be fading away in 1993 and the Denver Nuggets, with Dikembe Mutumbo could go no where but up.

My, how things change.

Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan recently recalled when his team was expected to be overtaken by the up-and-coming Denver Nuggets.

The Nuggets' 1993-94 squad had several young stars, led by Dikembe Mutombo, and had upset top-seeded Seattle in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Jazz, on the other hand, had a supposedly aging all-star duo of Karl Malone and John Stockton. Denver gave a strong fight, but Utah won the Western Conference semifinals series 4-3.