Boston Celtics veteran forward Gordon Hayward didn’t play under then-Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan for very long, but the impression he left was a big one.
Hayward penned a short note he shared on Twitter about Sloan after news broke that the legendary Jazz coach had passed away at age 78 after fighting Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia for several years.
The former Bulldog — fresh out of being drafted by Utah out of Butler in the 2010 NBA Draft — played only a few months for Sloan before he would resign his post in February of 2011, ending a 24-season relationship with the franchise as its head coach.
“I didn’t get to spend a lot of time playing for Coach Sloan, but coming in as a rookie he had a major impact on my transition to the [NBA], Hayward would tweet. “I’m grateful for that. Prayers to his family, friends and loved ones. May he Rest In Peace.”
Unfortunately for the former Jazz coach and basketball lifer, the high-water mark of his tenure with Utah coincided with the peak of Michael Jordan’s career, twice denied a banner by His Airness in the 1997 and 1998 Finals.
Sloan coached the Jazz to a 1,127-682 record between 1988 and 2011, and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2009.
Rest in Power, Charlie Hustle.
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