The Utah Jazz have been one of the most consistently successful franchises in the NBA for an extended duration of time. Despite their inability to claim an NBA championship, they’ve produced the second most wins in the entire National Basketball Association since 1990, behind only the San Antonio Spurs.
Many of those wins can be attributed to forwards and big men, as the Jazz have generally rostered complimentary guards during that stretch of sustained success. Nonetheless, there have been several All-Star caliber guards in the franchise’s history who have contributed towards its winning ways. From high-IQ playmakers, to elite 3-and-D ceiling-raisers, to dominant scorers, fans in Salt Lake City have been treated to a full range of guard play throughout history.
Therefore, we’ll take the question a couple of steps further: who are the five best guards in Utah Jazz history, and where does current day superstar Donovan Mitchell land among them?
was traded to Salt Lake City in the 1993-94 season.</a> The man averaged 20.1 points per night as a member of the Phoenix Suns in 1991-92. Obviously, he preferred getting wins to getting numbers, as he played out the remainder of his career for the Utah Jazz.</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/2021/10/13/utah-jazz-mitchell-guards-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 4. Pete Maravich </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-85150" src=https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/13/utah-jazz-mitchell-guards-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2357,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1214991534.jpeg" alt="Utah Jazz" width="3200" height="2357" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1214991534.jpeg 3200w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1214991534-768x566.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Pete Maravich vs Los Angeles Lakers (Photo by Ross Lewis/Getty Images).</p>
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<p>If this list were based on pure name recognition, the man they called Pistol would likely rank higher. However, one major variable holds the former face of the New Orleans Jazz back: team success.</p>
<p>Indeed, Maravich manned the point guard position for history’s more-aptly named Jazz team from 1974-75 to 1979-80, and the squad did not do a lot of winning in that time period. In fact, the Jazz’s best season with Pistol Pete came in 1977-78, when the club went 39-43 and narrowly avoided the playoffs.</p>
<p>Whether Maravich was lacking in support from teammates, or alienating them as a frontrunner to what’s now referred to as a heliocentric offense is up for debate. His best individual season came in 1976-77, when he averaged 31.1 points, 5.4 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game. The next leading scorer from that group was Los Angeles Lakers legend Gail Goodrich, who contributed 12.6 points per game for the Jazz in his age 33 season.</p>
<p>If you have enough knowledge to type more than a few sentences about any other player on that roster, you should consider petitioning FanSided to start a New Orleans Jazz page. You’d make a wonderful site expert.</p>
<p>Regardless of whether Maravich was a cause or victim of the New Orleans Jazz’s failures, they simply piled up too many losses during his tenure for him to rank any higher than fourth on this list. On the other hand, if you’re in the market for highlight reel passes, he’s number one by a wide margin.</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/2021/10/13/utah-jazz-mitchell-guards-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 3. Donovan Mitchell </a>
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Rudy Gobert the best center</a> in Utah Jazz history. We’d love to claim that the Jazz currently roster the best guard in the annals of their franchise as well, but it’s just not realistic. Instead, Donovan Mitchell will have to settle for third place overall in these rankings.</p>
<p>At the age of 24, that still qualifies as quite an accomplishment. Furthermore, Spida absolutely has an opportunity to catch the second-best guard to suit up for the Jazz. If he wants to surpass the greatest guard in Utah Jazz history, he’ll need at least one NBA championship in a Jazz uniform to distinguish himself (and frankly, possibly more).</p>
<p>Since comparison is the thief of joy, we’ll look at some of Mitchell’s accomplishments over his first four seasons in Salt Lake City in a vacuum. Last season was the star guard’s best-to-date, as Mitchell averaged a team-high 26.4 points per game on the NBA’s best regular season club. That’s the type of success that few guards in Mitchell’s age bracket can rightfully claim throughout NBA history.</p>
<p>A dynamic scorer with a wide range of dribble moves and elite shot creation, Mitchell boasted a modernized shot profile last season, taking 42.3% of his field goal attempts from three-point range and largely avoiding the much-maligned midrange jumper, taking a mere .093% of his shots from 10 to 16 feet. The midrange shots he did select more often came from 3 to 10 feet (21.9% of his total field goal attempts), which is a better midrange shot: the shorter 2 is more effective than the longer 2.</p>
<p>Utah Jazz fans should be excited to watch Mitchell develop: he has every opportunity to be regarded as the second-best guard in their team’s history. For the time being, however, two guards in Jazz history deserve placement over their beloved superstar.</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/2021/10/13/utah-jazz-mitchell-guards-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 2. Deron Williams </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-86106" src=https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/13/utah-jazz-mitchell-guards-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1117,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F107816317.jpeg" alt="Utah Jazz " width="1600" height="1117" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/107816317.jpeg 1600w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/107816317-768x536.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)</p>
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<p>The margins between active Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell and former franchise player Deron Williams are arguably narrow. The 26.4 points per game Mitchell averaged last season trump any scoring output Williams was able to produce during his tenure in Salt Lake City. Furthermore, the Jazz’s 52-20 record from last season was a comfortably more successful season than any the club managed during Williams’ time with the organization.</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>Still, advanced metrics tell us that Spida still has some room to improve before we can claim that he’s in the midst of a better Jazz prime than Williams as an individual. The latter’s edge over Mitchell in Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is narrow. The best mark Williams posted in that category over his Jazz career was 22.1, whereas Mitchell just wrapped up a season with a career-high 21.3 in that metric.</p>
<p>Williams’ more pronounced advantages come in Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) and Win Shares (WS). The 4.5 he posted in the former in 2007-08 far exceeds Mitchell’s 2.5 from last season, his highest score to date. Meanwhile, the 11.3 WS Williams posted in the same season almost double Mitchell’s career-best 6.2 from last season.</p>
<p>The advanced metrics correspond with popular perceptions of each man. There was, after all, a time when Utah Jazz fans could proudly say that <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/13/utah-jazz-mitchell-guards-history/"https://bleacherreport.com/articles/529148-deron-williams-not-chris-paul-is-the-best-point-guard-in-the-nba#:~:text=Williams'%20highest%20mark%20is%2022.1,point%20guards%20in%20the%20NBA." target="_blank" rel="noopener">only Chris Paul had even a case</a> for best point guard in the NBA outside of <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/13/utah-jazz-mitchell-guards-history/"https://thejnotes.com/2021/09/15/utah-jazz-best-trade-history-blazers/">Deron Williams</a>. Donovan Mitchell is a rising star in this league, but he simply hasn’t done enough yet to warrant that kind of consideration.</p>
<p>Deron William’s fall from grace came from a notoriously precipitous peak, but that shouldn’t impact his stature in the memories of Utah Jazz fans. After all, they traded him during that peak. The <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/13/utah-jazz-mitchell-guards-history/"https://thejnotes.com/2021/09/18/utah-jazz-best-trade-brooklyn-nets/">fall came elsewhere</a>. He was one of the best players in the entire NBA during his time as a Jazzman.</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/2021/10/13/utah-jazz-mitchell-guards-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 1. John Stockton </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-86107" src=https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/13/utah-jazz-mitchell-guards-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1162,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1202784686.jpeg" alt="Utah Jazz" width="1600" height="1162" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1202784686.jpeg 1600w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1202784686-768x558.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">John Stockton of the Utah Jazz (Photo by GEORGE FREY/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<p>There were no close calls here. We made the decision to name John Stockton the best guard in Utah Jazz history as quickly as Stockton himself found his teammates every single time they were open.</p>
<p>Since there is zero margin for debate on the issue, feast your eyes on the basic counting stats from John Stockton’s 1989-90 season: 17.2 points, 14.5 assists and 2.7 steals per contest. For context, Russell Westbrook led the NBA in assists per game this season with 11.7 per contest. Stockton averaged no fewer than 12 dimes a night for 8 consecutive seasons between 1987-88 and 1994-95.</p>
<p>In all likelihood, John Stockton’s record for the most assists in NBA history is the league’s most untouchable record: even Wilt’s legendary 100 point game feels more likely to be replicated. Stockton has a stranglehold on the all-time leader board: the gap between him and the second all-time leader (Jason Kidd) is wider (3 715) than the gap between Kidd and the 8th place LeBron James (2 395).</p>
<p>Oh, and he’s the NBA’s all-time leader in steals too. No big deal.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="The Ringer compares Jazz to NBA Champions" data-url="https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/11/ringer-compares-utah-jazz-nba-champions/" 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/2021/10/13/utah-jazz-mitchell-guards-history/"https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/11/ringer-compares-utah-jazz-nba-champions/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> The Ringer compares Jazz to NBA Champions </a> </div>
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<p>Current Utah Jazz superstar Donovan Mitchell ought not to be comparing himself to past franchise stars, but in the event that he is, he should be chasing Deron Williams aggressively. On the other hand, there are catastrophic world events that feel more likely than anybody ever taking John Stockton’s position as the best guard in Utah Jazz history.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">