The Utah Jazz G League facility has a history with Stockton and Malone

WEST VALLEY CITY — When the Utah Jazz moved into a temporary practice facility in 1999, it didn't get rave reviews.

"I don't like it," Bryon Russell told the Deseret News. "The floor is too hard."

At least, it was compared to their old home.

For 20 years — 1979-99 — the Jazz practiced at the old Payne Gym at Westminster College. That was the training ground for John Stockton, Karl Malone and two teams that made runs to the NBA Finals.

And one with especially soft floors — is that why Malone and Stockton never missed much time to injury? But when Westminister started its own basketball team, the Jazz had to get out.

The team moved to a corner of the Franklin Covey complex in West Valley City. On the surface, it was an improvement. There was a spacious locker room made specifically for the Jazz, a large weight room, a lot more court space, and even somewhat of a player lounge.

Yet …

"I'm so used to Westminster that I feel a little lonely anywhere else," Stockton said.

Funny how perception has changed in 20 years.

The Jazz weren't at the makeshift facility for long, moving to the Zion's Bank Basketball Campus just a few years later. But now that little unassuming corner in West Valley City is back to serving the team as the home of the Salt Lake City Stars.

And its new tenants couldn't be happier.

"This is one of the best facilities I've seen in the G League," guard Jason Preston said. "Like, it might be the best one around. Honestly, it's cool. Every year you see different renovations to it, like adding these things and having as big a weight room as they do have, so it's awesome."

This offseason, the Utah Jazz organization completed renovations on what now being called the "Stars Center." And, to be fair, even Stockton and Russell might have liked how things have come together.

There's a new court — presumably softer than the last; the locker room has been redone, giving it a more professional feel; and offices and trainer spaces have been added.

The biggest difference, though, might be the look of the place (at least from the inside — you'd never notice the place driving by on I-15). It no longer looks like an office space gym; the team has painted the facility with Stars branding.

All together, it makes for a pretty impressive G League spot.

"When they walk in here, right away, they understand that this is a professional environment," Stars coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "This isn't the junior varsity. This is a professional environment that's dedicated to helping guys get better individually and as a group."

The facility is a rarity for G League teams. In most best-case scenarios, teams will simply share space at their parent NBA squad's facility. In the worst of situations, they are forced to squeeze time in at local community colleges or even recreation centers.

Either option, though, means players can't have access to court time at any time. Practices and training sessions have to come within specific time blocks.

That was the Stars' situation before they moved to the Stars Center two years ago, with the team sharing time with Salt Lake Community College. Now, they have 24-hour access to their own court and training facility.

"Most teams don't have a single place with 24/7 access to it, where their players can come every single day, get better and grow," Stars GM Marquis Newman said.

At the most basic level, that is the goal of the G League.

On the walls of the now-finished facility are odes to the team's history. There are the playoff appearances, award-winners and players who were league leaders. Maybe most importantly, there's a list of NBA call-ups — familiar names like Georges Niang, Johnny Juzang and Isaiah Thomas are highlighted there with plenty of space to add more.

But for a full list of NBA players who played in that hall, you'd have to include some guys named Stockton and Malone.

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