The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz 2016-17 Team Awards

By Jared Woodcox

Apr 28, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) and forward Joe Ingles (2) celebrate a dunk by Hayward against the LA Clippers during the first quarter in game six of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 28, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) and forward Joe Ingles (2) celebrate a dunk by Hayward against the LA Clippers during the first quarter in game six of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 30, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) cheers from the bench after fouling out in the fourth quarter of game seven of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 30, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) cheers from the bench after fouling out in the fourth quarter of game seven of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Most Improved Player – Rudy Gobert

There were honestly several players who could have been considered for this award. George Hill came over to the Jazz and put up a career-high in points and was right around his career marks in efficiency. Joe Ingles went from a forgotten third-stringer to a playoff starter who made a name for himself as a formidable three-and-D guy. Even Gordon Hayward, Utah’s All-Star, upped his scoring average once again and improved to a degree that many had a hard time believing.

Nevertheless, even with all that improvement, I’m going to go ahead and give a second consecutive award to Rudy Gobert. His defensive prowess was already there, but he managed to improve it even further by arising as the most daunting defensive center in the league. Also, although Rudy’s fouls per game increased slightly along with his minutes played, for the most part he did an exceptional job of staying in control on defense and protecting the rim without fouling.

However, the main reason why Rudy is deserving of the Most Improved Player Award is because he transformed this season from a defense-only kind of guy, to a legitimate force on offense. He elevated his points per game from 9.1 to 14.0, his field goal percentage from 55.9 to 66.1 and his free throw percentage from 56.9 to 65.3.

On top of that, he turned into an excellent screener that helped the Jazz offense truly flow and resulted in him finishing second in the league in screen assists, and he became a mastermind at the pick-and-roll. Make no mistake about it, especially with all the injuries Utah suffered this past season, they could have never found the success that they did without Rudy’s incredible offensive strides.

Runner-up – Joe Ingles

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