Utah Jazz seemed to bring out the best in Jordan

Jerry Sloan and John Stockton both have impeccable Hall-of-Fame resumes — with one glaring exception.

Neither one has an NBA title ring.

Yet both Sloan and Stockton will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame this Friday. They will enter the Hall of Fame, Class of 2009, right alongside the man almost single-handedly responsible for keeping them without NBA championship jewelry — Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

Jordan, considered by most to be the best basketball player ever, won six NBA crowns with the final two coming at the expense of Sloan, Stockton and the rest of the Utah Jazz.

"Air Jordan" played well against every NBA team, of course. Yet there is no question he was a particular thorn in the side of the Jazz. Two of his most iconic moments came in NBA Finals games played on the Delta Center court, one in 1997 and then again a year later.

But M.J. didn't just make Jazz fans miserable during the Finals. He also made a habit of producing huge, Hall of Fame-style games during the regular season in Salt Lake City. In fact, he scored 40 or more points eight times against the Jazz during the regular season, despite the fact the Jazz and Bulls would face each other only twice per season.

Here is a countdown of Jordan's top five games against the Jazz:

5. Nov. 16, 2001 — Jazz 101, Wizards 92

Jordan's two-year stint with the Washington Wizards — following his "retirement" with the Bulls — wasn't as successful as hoped. Jordan was still a quality player, but there was no question that he was past his prime.

Yet, every now and then he'd show his old form. One time — not surprisingly — came against the Jazz. Jordan looked a decade younger than his real age of 38 when he went off for 44 points for the Wizards in a loss to the Jazz in the nation's capital. It actually was Utah's first game against Jordan since he broke their hearts in 1998, but this time Malone and Stockton came out on top, led by Malone's 38 points.

"I'd still like to have him on my team," said Sloan of Jordan after the game. "That would kind of be a no-brainer."

4. Nov. 15, 1989 — Jazz 108, Bulls 107

This is the one that got away from M.J.