From death-defying Delta Center stunts to tireless community service, the man behind the fur receives the Pioneer of Progress Award for a legacy spanning far beyond basketball.
Jon Absey spent 25 years entertaining Utah Jazz fans as the original Jazz Bear.
His impact extended far beyond the court.
Absey was posthumously honored with the 2026 Days of '47 Pioneer of Progress President's Award, according to KUTV's Ron Bird.
The recognition arrives six months after Absey died following a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 58.
Absey's résumé as the Jazz Bear speaks for itself.
He completed more than 4,000 slam dunks, climbed approximately 1,100 ladders and rappelled from the Delta Center rafters before the NBA eventually banned the stunt.
Absey was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2006 and received the NBA Mascot Lifetime Achievement Award last year.
Those accomplishments help explain why the latest honor feels so fitting.
Absey didn't simply perform during timeouts.
He became a recognizable part of the franchise during an era defined by John Stockton and Karl Malone, creating his own place in Jazz history whenever the clock stopped.
Former Utah guard Jeff Hornacek described that dynamic while speaking with KUTV.
"Stockton and Malone were the stars when the clock was running, but Jon the Bear was the star when the clock was off," Hornacek said.
That may be the simplest way to explain Absey's importance to the organization.
The players generated memories through basketball.
Absey created them through everything surrounding it.
His influence also reached well beyond the Delta Center.
Absey made thousands of community appearances, helped raise millions of dollars for charity and developed programs centered on reading, preventing bullying and educating children about drugs, according to KUTV.
Former Utah football coach Ron McBride, who worked alongside Absey during several charitable events, remembered him as someone who consistently showed up when others needed help.
"Every project I've had, whether it be a golf tournament, social event, or whatever, he's always been there," McBride told KUTV.
That commitment continued after Absey stepped away from the Jazz Bear role in 2018.
It also remained evident after his cancer diagnosis in February 2025.
Community members formed "Absey's Army" to support his fight, while Absey attempted to organize the information he had gathered during treatment into a resource that could help other patients avoid starting their own journeys "from zero."
Even while confronting his own diagnosis, he was thinking about how to make somebody else's battle easier.
That's the legacy being honored.
Absey will always be remembered for the dunks, ladders and stunts that made him one of the NBA's most recognizable mascots.
But the Pioneer of Progress President's Award recognizes something larger.
The Jazz Bear entertained Utah for 25 years.
Jon Absey spent those same years serving it.
