NBA Commitment to Service 151106-F-LS255-392

Jazz Bear is the mascot for the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

, a

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA) franchise based in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. Jazz Bear was introduced to the league on November 4, 1994. Since Jazz Bear's introduction, he has performed at over 800 Jazz home games. Utah Governor

Gary Herbert Gary Richard Herbert (born May 7, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 17th Governor of Utah from 2009 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the National Governors Association during the 2015–2016 cycle. Herbert wo ...

declared October 10, 2013 as "Jazz Bear Day" in recognition of his 20th season as the Utah Jazz' mascot, and also his countless hours of community and public service and his standing as an important citizen of Utah. In 2006, Jazz Bear was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame. Jazz Bear has been named Mascot of the Year 5 times, and has won 8 Mascot Leadership Awards. The Bear has suffered many injuries while performing, including tearing his bicep and rupturing a tendon in his calf. On October 19, 2018, it was reported that Jon Absey, who had performed as the Jazz Bear for twenty-four years, had been fired for unknown reasons.

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External links

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The Jazz Bear
at the Mascot Hall of Fame {{NBA mascots National Basketball Association mascots Utah Jazz Bear mascots