"I'm a system player, and I loved coach Sloan's system" - Deron Williams explains why he wasn't the same after his Jazz breakthrough

After the 90s era and the deadly duo of Karl Malone and John Stockton, the Utah Jazz had to adjust to a new reality. Every team, after losing such iconic figures, needs to undergo a lengthy period of rebuilding through smart drafting and quality trading.

Jerry Sloan, who led the '90s Jazz to two straight Finals where they fell to the Chicago Bulls, was figuring out how to bring the franchise back to its feet. And it happened sooner than expected.

With the third pick of the first round in the 2005 Draft, the Jazz selected Deron Williams, a player who spent three seasons at Illinois playing fantastic basketball. It should also be noted that Carlos Boozer was already on the roster after a controversial free agency period, during which, according to Cleveland Cavaliers executives, he allegedly broke their trust and signed with Utah for more money. It didn't take long for Williams and Boozer to click.

"That system (in Utah) was a great system for my style of play. I'm a system player, and I loved Coach (Jerry) Sloan's system. I loved the offense there. We could've been a really good team. We just weren't that good defensively as a group" the three-time All-Star stressed.

Williams and Boozer were one of the most dominant duos

And when we look at that Jazz team from the 2000s with Williams and Boozer leading the way, forming one of the best duos in the entire league, many were reminded of Stockton and Malone. The stats backed that up, as both were double-double machines and 20–10 players on any given night, Williams in assists and Boozer in rebounds.

After only two seasons together, Sloan led his team to a new Conference finals after beating the strong Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors teams, only to be stopped by the eventual champions, the San Antonio Spurs.

Interestingly, in that same season when they achieved their best result, Utah had the third-best offense in the entire league with a 110.1 offensive rating per 100 possessions, according to StatMuse. However, as D-Will pointed out, the problem was their subpar defense, as they ranked only 18th in the league in defensive rating, allowing 107.0 points per 100 possessions.

Even though Andrei Kirilenko was part of that team, as he was practically the only player in Sloan's system who played All-NBA-level defense, it feels as if the team would have been a borderline playoff squad without him, despite the dominance of Boozer and Williams.

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Williams was never the same after Sloan's system

And the very fact that the two of them were already playing at an All-Star level so early, with Sloan coaching them, helped create a media narrative that they were the new Stockton–Malone duo, which automatically created more pressure. Williams once talked about how he and Boozer were compared to the legendary duo.

"We didn't have to talk about it because the media was always going to talk about it; they always brought up the comparisons, of course… there was never any comparison from our end," Williams said on the 'Legends of Sports' podcast.

"Me and Booz always shot them (the comparisons) down right away," Williams added. "Those are two legends, two of the greatest of all time. We aspired to be as good as they were."

Still, the fact that they were even being compared to two Hall of Famers speaks to the potential they showed from the very beginning. And although they both had great careers and reached the Western Conference finals, the reality was that they weren't on that level.

That became even clearer later on, as neither Williams nor Boozer ever reached the same dominant heights as they did in Sloan's system, which heavily relied on the pick-and-roll, something that suited both players perfectly and brought out the very best in them.

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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Nov 28, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.