Georges Niang, Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
Here are the traditional end-of-season awards, but for Utah Jazz members only, in the case that the NBA season is in fact over.
The Utah Jazz season is currently up in the air right now, as we wait out for the worst of the novel coronavirus pandemic to hit the nation.
Once there’s a more definitive timetable for when it will be safe to play NBA games again, the NBA has to decide how they want to finish the season, or just bag it and move on to the next season.
If this season is indeed over as we know it, then there needs to be some awards and accolades handed out for the best players in the league. And that can be broken down to a team level as well, which is what we will do here.
The Utah Jazz had one heck of a season if you look back on it, with plenty of highs and plenty of lows. Considering the expectations they had previous to the season starting, I’d say most Jazz fans including myself didn’t enjoy it as much as most NBA fans would.
They were on pace to win 52 games, and were yet to have every player fire on all cylinders. When they were hitting their 3-point looks, their offense was unstoppable. When everyone was getting along and playing hard, their defense was pretty stingy too.
While we did not want them to get a playoff seed outside of the top three in the Western Conference, they did have a pretty favorable match-up for them when the season was suddenly suspended.
They would have had home court advantage against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a tough scrappy team but most likely a lot closer to their ceiling than the Jazz.
Making it back to the second round of the playoffs and lasting more than a measly five games there would have been a huge step of growth for this team. They haven’t been able to do that since 2007-08, where they took the Los Angeles Lakers to game six of the Western Conference semi-finals.
However good this season could have ended, we will have to put those thoughts on the back burner for a while. For now, let’s discuss who the award winners are of the Utah Jazz for the 2019-20 season.
decide how they want to finish the season</a>, or just bag it and move on to the next season.</p>
<p>If this season is indeed over as we know it, then there needs to be some awards and accolades handed out for the best players in the league. And that can be broken down to a team level as well, which is what we will do here.</p>
<p>The Utah Jazz had one heck of a season if you look back on it, with plenty of highs and plenty of lows. Considering the expectations they had previous to the season starting, I’d say most Jazz fans including myself didn’t enjoy it as much as most NBA fans would.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Grading the 2019-20 Utah Jazz, Part 1 – the 6 "Starters"</p>
<p>For <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://twitter.com/ForbesSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@ForbesSports: <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://t.co/Ja91nXsirX">https://t.co/Ja91nXsirX
<p>— Ben Dowsett (@Ben_Dowsett) <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://twitter.com/Ben_Dowsett/status/1244653861991632896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>March 30, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>They were on pace to win 52 games, and were yet to have every player fire on all cylinders. When they were hitting their 3-point looks, their offense was unstoppable. When everyone was getting along and playing hard, their defense was pretty stingy too.</p>
<p>While we did not want them to get a playoff seed outside of the top three in the Western Conference, they did have a pretty favorable match-up for them when the season was suddenly suspended.</p>
<p>They would have had home court advantage against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a tough scrappy team but most likely a lot closer to their ceiling than the Jazz.</p>
<p>Making it back to the second round of the playoffs and lasting more than a measly five games there would have been a huge step of growth for this team. They haven’t been able to do that since 2007-08, where they took the Los Angeles Lakers to game six of the Western Conference semi-finals.</p>
<p>However good this season <em>could have ended</em>, we will have to put those thoughts on the back burner for a while. For now, let’s discuss who the award winners are of the Utah Jazz for the 2019-20 season.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> MVP </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-82567" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1210887751.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1210887751.jpeg 3200w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1210887751-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Most Valuable Player</h3>
<p>Who were you expecting? <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/goberru01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Rudy Gobert</a> has been having the best year of his career in year seven, receiving more minutes and defensive responsibility than ever.</p>
<p>He’s averaging a career high in rebounds per game and field goal percentage, and is a league leader in both of those metrics (second in FG%, tied for third in rebounds per game). I’d be shocked if he wasn’t a top-three <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/10/utah-jazz-dpoy-rudy-gobert-attainable/">finalist for Defensive Player of the Year</a> this season, and he was also an All-Star.</p>
<p>As usual, his impact on both offense and defense is bigger than any other Jazz player. His individual offensive rating is 130, and his defensive rating is 103. No other Jazz player who’s played significant minutes can even touch that.</p>
<p>As for games he’s completely missed this season, there are two: versus the New Orleans Pelicans on November 23rd, and against the Bucks in Milwaukee November 25th. The Jazz barely squeaked by an extremely shorthanded Pelicans squad that they really should’ve beat by eight or 10 points.</p>
<p>Against Milwaukee? <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/antetgi01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Giannis Antetokounmpo</a> dropped 50 points, and there was no answer for his attacking the rim with Gobert on the injury shelf.</p>
<div class="sister-site-content"> <h1>Rudy Gobert is the best player on the Utah Jazz</h1> <h4>by <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://hoopshabit.com/2020/02/19/utah-jazz-rudy-gobert-best-player/" style="color: #bb2c32">Lucas Miller</a></h4> <h4>More at <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://hoopshabit.com" style="color: #bb2c32">Hoops Habit</a></h4> <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://hoopshabit.com" class="site-logo-link"> <img src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_150,h_150,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.fansided.com%2Fwp-content%2Fassets%2Fsite_images%2Fhoopshabit%2Flogo_hoopshabit-com__150x150.png"> </a>
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<p><strong>Honorable Mention: </strong><a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mitchdo01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Donovan Mitchell</a></p>
<p>Earlier in the season, Don looked like he was ready to become the best player on the Jazz. On the Kia MVP Ladder for NBA.com, the writers were giving Mitchell the nod as the Jazz’s MVP representative rather than Gobert.</p>
<p>But his consistency fell of a little bit after his strong start. If he can completely erase the blunders, like the one he had in Denver on January 30th, he can cement his status as a top-15 player in the NBA. Right now, he’s floating somewhere between 15th and 30th, depending on if he has a good or bad week.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> DPOY </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-82566" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2164,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1204085059.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2164" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1204085059.jpeg 3200w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1204085059-768x519.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Jerome Robinson, Washington Wizards. Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Defensive Player of the Year</h3>
<p>Once again, this award was a gimme. How can you not pick Rudy for this award on his own team? According to Ben Simmons, you need to be able to guard multiple positions on the floor to be <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/3/20/21187833/ben-simmons-rudy-gobert-top-5-defender-nba-utah-jazz-philadelphia-76ers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of the premier defenders in the league</a>.</p>
<p>But according to me, it’s just as valuable, if not even more worthwhile, to have a player that can defend an entire zone of the court single-handedly. Whatever player decides to waltz into the paint and try to score, will have to do it over the long outstretched arms of Rudy.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter if they’re a point guard, like <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lillada01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Damian Lillard</a>, or a center, like <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/e/embiijo01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Joel Embiid</a>. Rudy can lock down the paint with the best of them, and that’s with teammates that don’t play very good perimeter defense as a whole.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="light" data-text="A Rudy Gobert appreciation post" data-url="https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/18/utah-jazz-rudy-gobert-appreciation/" data-call-to-action="Related Story"> <div class="story-link-team-logo"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: " data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/18/utah-jazz-rudy-gobert-appreciation/"> <img src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_108,h_108,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.fansided.com%2Flogos%2Fnba%2Fjazz__108x108.png"> <div class="story-link-text-box"> <span class="call_to_action">Related Story</span> <h3 class="title-text" style="color: #00265D;">A Rudy Gobert appreciation post</h3> <p class="read-now">Read now >></p> </div> </a> </div>
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<p>It’s a gift his teammates have taken for granted this season in particular. They could do a better job at feeding Rudy the ball on offense, especially when he’s wide open or has a big mis-match.</p>
<p>Or they could try harder to limit their mistakes so Gobert isn’t cleaning up after <em>everyone</em> on the defensive end of the court.</p>
<p><strong>Honorable Mention: </strong><a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/onealro01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Royce O’Neale</a></p>
<p>Royce gets the honor of taking the toughest defensive assignment of all the perimeter players most nights. He does his job well (most of the time), and my guess is that he will earn every penny of his four year/36 million dollar extension, and then some.</p>
<p>After inking that extension however, he had a bad slump on both ends of the court. Part of that may have had to do with the starting lineup troubles the Jazz had that directly involved him, but his defensive effort just wasn’t cutting it for that 15 game stretch in February.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 6MOY </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-82565" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1135,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1211689855.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1135" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1211689855.jpeg 1600w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1211689855-768x545.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Jordan Clarkson, Utah Jazz (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Sixth Man of the Year</h3>
<p>He hasn’t started a <em>single </em>game this season, for either the Utah Jazz or the Cleveland Cavaliers. In fact, he hasn’t been a regular starter since his early Los Angeles Lakers days.</p>
<p>But <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/clarkjo01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Jordan Clarkson</a> makes a big impact on the game as a scoring punch off the bench. Few teams have a guy as cool and collected as Clarkson playing with the second unit.</p>
<p>The Los Angeles Clippers have two, in Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams. The Oklahoma City Thunder have Dennis Schroeder, but outside of those three players I can’t think of one that’s more capable than JC.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">ICYMI, <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://twitter.com/ringer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@ringer: My "if the season's already over" Coach of the Year ballot: <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://t.co/Sgz24wmh46">https://t.co/Sgz24wmh46
<p>My other awards posts:</p>
<p>MVP: <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://t.co/K71a0tZphh">https://t.co/K71a0tZphh
<p>ROY: <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://t.co/PD7UxDEyC7">https://t.co/PD7UxDEyC7
<p>DPOY: <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://t.co/9BjinMOgAA">https://t.co/9BjinMOgAA
<p>MIP: <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://t.co/Nmxe4Y8RYR">https://t.co/Nmxe4Y8RYR
<p>6th Man: <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://t.co/0VMYYOCRmx">https://t.co/0VMYYOCRmx
<p>— Dan Devine (@YourManDevine) <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://twitter.com/YourManDevine/status/1244670595117322240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>March 30, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>He is so smooth when handling the ball, and can create his own shot in a pinch when a play breaks down or when the shot clock is running out. He was<a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/01/utah-jazz-needed-jordan-clarkson-needed-jazz/"> just the medicine the doctor ordered</a> for the Jazz in late December, instantly becoming a top three scorer for the team.</p>
<p>His 15.6 points per game for the Jazz is better than Gobert’s (15.1), and his 3-point shot is money despite the average looking percentage from deep (career 34 percent). And at 27 years old, he is only entering his prime years.</p>
<p>Quin Snyder really likes what he sees out of his fellow Missouri Tigers alumni, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Jazz aggressive this offseason to retain Clarkson’s services as he enters unrestricted free agency.</p>
<p><strong>Honorable Mention: </strong><a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mudiaem01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Emmanuel Mudiay</a></p>
<p>I was tempted to put no one, absolutely nobody on this honorable mention. That’s how incapable the Jazz bench is this year. They do fine with Mike Conley acting as playmaker, but not with Joe Ingles.</p>
<p>The one saving grace this year for the bench is Emmanuel Mudiay (more coming on him soon).</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> MIP </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-82564" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1202370566.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1202370566.jpeg 3200w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1202370566-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Emmanuel Mudiay, Utah Jazz (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Most Improved Player</h3>
<p>There’s been some good improvements across the board for lots of Jazzmen this season, including slight upticks in volume and efficiency for Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, who are making the most of their increased playing time.</p><div class="widget fs_ads"> <div class="fs_ad_widget-ad" style="margin:0 auto; width: 300px;"> <div class="fs-ll-ad" data-ad-type="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-vendor="minutemedia">
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<p>But Mudiay gets the honors this time. The funny thing is you would have no idea based off of his stats from last year to this year that he’s become a much more well-rounded player.</p>
<p>He was drafted as a raw, lanky point guard with lots of room for growth. Similar to when <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/e/exumda01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Dante Exum</a> was drafted by the Jazz, the Nuggets’ best plan of interest was to let him play with no leash or playing time restrictions.</p>
<p>Jazz play-by-play announcer David Locke has compared this idea before to an oreo cookie and a glass of milk. To develop a young prospect into a player, you need to expose him to making mistakes when the game counts.</p>
<p>To moisten that chocolate crust of the cookie, you need to dip it in the milk. If you dip it for too long though, the texture becomes mushy and it doesn’t live up to the potential it had as a brand new cookie from the sleeve.</p>
<p>Mudiay was on the verge of becoming mush at the bottom of this milk cup, after being yanked from top prospect on the Denver Nuggets, to a bench player, then back to full starters’ minutes on the Knicks who had poor coaching and little structure to their team EM was trying to run as point guard.</p>
<p>He recognized that he needed to get out and learn how to play the right way, and he’s done exactly that with the Utah Jazz under Quin Snyder’s tutelage. He’s decision making is better on when to attack in transition, or when to slow it down and run a halfcourt set.</p>
<p>And his favorite move, posting up in the high post, has worked against second unit defenses this year. Yes, there’s a chance this is just him playing well in a good system full of shooters. Yes, there’s a chance he can’t do this against starting unit defenses.</p>
<p>But I’m more bullish on EM, and I can see him being a steal on the 2020 free agency market for a team looking for a point guard.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">My piece on today’s starting point guard for the Jazz, Emmanuel Mudiay, who’s sudden start was reported earlier by <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://twitter.com/Tjonesonthenba?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@Tjonesonthenba and <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://twitter.com/andyblarsen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@andyblarsen. <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://t.co/1ff4Z8JIgJ">https://t.co/1ff4Z8JIgJ
<p>— tommyajohnson (@tommyajohnson) <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://twitter.com/tommyajohnson/status/1216442994343079937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>January 12, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>He can play real minutes, as in 25-30 per game, and not be a negative on the court, which is something he couldn’t say before this season. Most Improve goes to EM.</p>
<p><strong>Honorable Mention: </strong>Tony Bradley</p>
<p>The growth by Bradley this year was awesome to see, and <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/26/utah-jazz-tony-bradley-playoffs/">much needed for the Jazz</a> to remain a dangerous playoff team. Check out his stats from before and after the turn of the calendar on January 1st:</p>
<ul>
<li>Before: 4.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 61.3 FG%, -0.9</li>
<li>After: 5.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 69.9 FG%, +1.4</li>
</ul>
<p>Just the fact that he is no longer a negative on the court is a great bonus for the Jazz this season. Add in his high field goal percentage, and the Jazz should be pleased that they <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://thejnotes.com/2019/10/18/utah-jazz-tony-bradley-secures-fourth-year-contract-option/">picked up his option last fall</a>.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> ROTY </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-79833" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1180330275.jpeg" alt="Juwan Morgan Utah Jazz" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1180330275.jpeg 1600w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1180330275-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Juwan Morgan, Utah Jazz (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Rookie of the Year</h3>
<p>This award goes to <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/morgaju01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Juwan Morgan</a>. Out of the six rookies which the Jazz brought on their roster this season, Morgan was the one that stood out the most among the bunch in my opinion.</p>
<p>Although Rayjon Tucker edged him out with total minutes played (78 to 74), Morgan has made more of an impact on the game when he does get the rare opportunity to play. His best NBA game this season came on February 22nd versus the Houston Rockets.</p>
<p>He played 13 minutes, scored four points, grabbed five boards, shot 2/3 from the field, and was a +2 on the night. When looking at Rayjon Tucker’s game logs this season, no NBA game stands out from the rest where he really made an impact.</p>
<p>In fact, most of his games have too many turnovers and personal fouls and not enough traditional stats such as points, rebounds, assists and such.</p>
<p>Morgan is the more NBA-ready product of the two, and of all the rookies, thus he earns the Rookie of the Year award for the Utah Jazz.</p>
<p>His G-League stats are pretty promising too, scoring 14.3 points, grabbing 7.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game all while shooting 60 percent from the field. He gets his fingerprints all over the game as a multi-dimensional player.</p>
<div class="embed embed-video"><iframe loading="lazy" width="500" height="281" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/c6T1iFqWHQw?feature=oembed%22 frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p><strong>Honorable Mention: </strong><a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/tuckera01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Rayjon Tucker</a></p>
<p>I almost put <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/brantja01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Jarrell Brantley</a> in this spot because of <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/21/utah-jazz-grading-jarrell-brantleys-promising-g-league-season/">how he’s played with the Salt Lake Stars</a>. He’s been their best player this season, and they are first in the Western Conference as one of the championship contenders for the G-League title.</p>
<p>However, Tucker’s G-League stint was a little more dominant in my opinion, and he’s played more real NBA minutes than Brantley. I don’t blame the Jazz for picking up Tucker, despite him being so raw and undeveloped.</p>
<p>His athleticism is jaw-dropping, and once he develops a skill or two, he’s got an NBA career ahead of him.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Best aquisition: </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-82570" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1211003133.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1211003133.jpeg 3200w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1211003133-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Bojan Bogdanovic, Utah Jazz (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Best Acquisition</h3>
<p>This was an easy choice. <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bogdabo02.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Bojan Bogdanovic</a>‘s immediate impact from day one of his contract might just make him the best free agency signing in Utah Jazz history.</p>
<p><a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/boozeca01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Carlos Boozer</a> and <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/okurme01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Mehmet Okur</a> were signed off the market as well, and both became All-Stars, but they took a while to get acclimated and develop into those stars.</p>
<p>Bojan did not take long, and I can see him being a one-time All-Star in his career if the Jazz dominate enough in the next couple of years.</p>
<p>The Jazz rosters of the past couple years desperately lacked a legit second scorer to play alongside Donovan Mitchell. The opposing defenses could just load up on Donovan and focusing on stopping him, and it worked in the playoffs.</p>
<p>Bojan was the answer to that question, as he chose to sign a four year deal last summer. His defense doesn’t stand out, but he can get by as long as his teammates pick up the slack. Offensively, his shooting stroke is one of the smoothest I’ve seen in Utah Jazz history.</p>
<p>When he catches fire, the Jazz are tough to stop. In games where he scores 30 or more points, the Jazz are 9-2, good enough for a winning percentage of .818.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">As Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic go, so go the <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://twitter.com/utahjazz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@utahjazz? It's not quite simple, but both forwards need to be on the mark if the Jazz are to truly contend this season. From <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://twitter.com/andyblarsen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@andyblarsen: <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://t.co/bgEJnVLwBy">https://t.co/bgEJnVLwBy
<p>— Salt Lake Tribune Sports (@sltribsports) <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://twitter.com/sltribsports/status/1234949342093443072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>March 3, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p><strong>Honorable Mention: </strong>Jordan Clarkson</p>
<p>It’s been well-documented how Clarkson transformed the Jazz bench from <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://thejnotes.com/2019/12/12/utah-jazz-who-will-fix-broken-bench/">one of the worst in the league</a> to one that gets by, allowing the starters to get some much-needed rest.</p>
<p>If it wasn’t for the NBA hiatus, this might have been one of the best in-season trades in Utah Jazz history.</p>
<p>It always seemed like when the rest of the Jazz team was slumping, Clarkson was one of the only willing players to keep giving it his best rather than surrendering victory. I would have loved to see him play in the playoffs this year.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Best Teammate </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-82571" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1160,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1212820943.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1160" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1212820943.jpeg 1600w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1212820943-768x557.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Teammate of the Year</h3>
<p>The Utah Jazz actually already have a winner of the real Teammate of the Year award on this roster, and that is Mike Conley <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.nba.com/video/2019/06/24/2019-nba-awards-teammate-and-sportsmanship-award-c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who won it last June</a>. As for the winner of this season’s award, it goes to <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/i/inglejo01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Joe Ingles</a></p>
<p>Joe is such a great guy both on and off the court. He stands up for his teammates, <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.sltrib.com/sports/jazz/2020/02/12/can-we-talk-jazz-are-an/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">delivers messages from Coach Snyder</a> to the rest of the guys on the floor, and is practically the only guy who can run the pick and roll right with Rudy Gobert.</p>
<p>He’s serious about winning, but also has a playful side to him that make him one of the more enjoyable guys to be around in the locker room. He accepts responsibility, and doesn’t make excuses.</p>
<p>He’s been perfectly fine getting yanked <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://www.sltrib.com/sports/jazz/2020/02/26/report-mike-conley-is/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in and out of the starting lineup</a>, and he’s been willing to be experimented on with what lineups work better. There were other contenders for the award, but Joe was the easy choice.</p>
<p>https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/1241472125489168384</p>
<p><strong>Honorable Mention: </strong>Emmanuel Mudiay</p>
<p>Surprised? Don’t be.</p>
<p>EM <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://twitter.com/andyblarsen/status/1240074438231519232" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defended his teammate</a> Rudy Gobert when the rest of the team was silent as crickets. While plenty of people were willing to attack Gobert for his reckless actions in the locker room and with the microphones, Mudiay stood behind Rudy in his time of need.</p>
<p>Not only that, but he came up with the nickname of “Two Time” for Rudy Gobert. He started playing really well during the 10 game winning streak, yet when Coach Snyder opted to take him out of the rotation with Mike Conley’s hamstring healing up, Mudiay didn’t complain.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Gobert named State of Sports Male Athlete of year" data-url="https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-rudy-gobert-named-state-sports-male-athlete/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-rudy-gobert-named-state-sports-male-athlete/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Gobert named State of Sports Male Athlete of year </a> </div>
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<p>Do you agree with my takes for these awards? Let me know in the comment section below or hit me up <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"https://twitter.com/CjChaze" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on Twitter</a>, and we can talk some Jazz basketball to help us get through the boring part of this pandemic.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">