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SALT LAKE CITY — It's difficult to believe it's been 30 years since the NBA All-Star Game first came to Utah.
"Yeah, I can believe it, because I didn't go to it then," former Utah Jazz assistant coach Phil Johnson said with a chuckle. "I'm not an All-Star kinda guy."
The longtime Jazz assistant was in Idaho visiting his father at the time; it was there where he learned to love the game as a player and a coach. Though he was once an NBA Coach of the Year, he's known better as Jerry Sloan's right-hand man.
And he became known as one of the best assistant coaches in the NBA. Years after he left the coaching ranks, Johnson talks about his relationship with Sloan, the final game that ended their careers, and why he never wants to relive those two trips to the NBA Finals. Watch his story above.
Check out more Beyond The Game videos, such as the one about how a former BYU offensive lineman saved the life of University of Utah basketball star Kenny Gardner, or the unique friendship between Patti Edwards and Vicki McBride, and more.
