Sloan wins No. 1000

SALT LAKE CITY (November 7, 2008) – Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan captured his 1,000th victory as head coach of the Jazz tonight with a 104-97 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder at EnerySolutions Arena. Sloan is the first head coach in NBA history to achieve 1,000 wins with one team. The Jazz head coach currently holds an overall record of 1094-717 and a 1000-596 record with the Jazz.

In his 21st season as head coach, Sloan is 205 victories ahead of Red Auerbach (second all-time wins with one team) and 367 wins ahead of the only other active coach in the top five, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich (third all-time). Sloan is also the longest-tenured coach in all of professional sports. There have been 219 coaching changes in the NBA since he was named head coach of the Jazz on December 9, 1988.

Over his first 20 seasons, he has produced two conference championships, seven division titles, 16 consecutive winning seasons, 12 seasons with 50-plus wins and 18 playoff appearances. The 5-0 Jazz are seeking the team’s third straight Northwest Division title in 2008-09.

Sloan will celebrate his 20th anniversary as head coach on December 9 when the Jazz travel to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves at 6 p.m. MST.