I do not understand how the stories of the 1950-60s are even relevant to the current Utah Jazz. It was a totally different league with 8 teams back then and it would be pretty tough to have 10 teams winning championships in a 8-team league. What is relevant to the Jazz situation is the recent history, and in the 21 century there were 6 champions in 13 years - quite a bit of turnover. Three of those champions (Detroit, Dallas and Boston) were the teams that became champions not through landing superstars in the draft, but by creating a solid front office, winning culture, managing the payroll and being smart about the trades. Not a rocket science. If they did it the Jazz could do it as well.
Well, since you decided to look at the entire history of the NBA it does not look good not including the championships won by the Rochester Royals and Syracuse Nationals. Come to think of it, the Minneapolis Lakers, Baltimore Bullets and St. Louis Hawks were not based in the metropolises either.
The not-so-distant history of our own Utah Jazz is what gives me hope. In the 1990s Utah was able to build a contender by doing simple, common sense things: establish a good, stable front office, get a good coach, draft smart, let your core grow together, learn from your mistakes... The main reason why the Jazz never won a title was the unfortunate stinginess of their owner, which prevented the team from getting good 3rd and 4th options. By the time he realized his mistake and open the purse the window has already closed.
