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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Mar 18, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum (11) reacts to a foul call against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum (11) reacts to a foul call against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /

Sophomore of the Year – Dante Exum

Rather than give out a meaningless Rookie of the Year award to Joel Bolomboy, Utah’s lone first-year man, I’ve decided instead to make this a Sophomore of the Year award. I mean no disrespect to Bolomboy by doing so, as he showed a lot of positive things this year, but I’d rather talk about a more significant group of players with this award.

Unfortunately, none of Utah’s sophomores – Trey Lyles, Raul Neto or Dante Exum (who’s considered a second-year player given that he sat out all of 2015-16 with the ACL injury) – had an overly impressive year. Lyles was stone cold all year and failed to crack the rotation at all in the latter part of the season. Neto had a few glimpses where he appeared to be the best choice as the first point guard off the bench but unfortunately wasn’t overly impressive.

Meanwhile, Dante Exum who was expected to have a significant bounce-back year actually had a pretty frustrating season. He struggled to find meaningful playing time and appeared to have a very short leash extended to him from head coach Quin Snyder.

https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/861759303266385920

Still, he showed the most flashes of brilliance among the sophomores and clearly has the highest ceiling. He has a lot of work to do in several aspects of the game, especially his jump shot and finishing at the rim which will help him capitalize on his quickness, but he at least had some moments this season where he looked like he may be able to contribute in the future.

Although he struggled with efficiency all season long, he had a nice performance in Utah’s final postseason game of the year where he put up 15 points in 32 minutes. Considering that he logged the most meaningful minutes of any of Utah’s second year players and stepped up as best he could in those moments, he’s the most deserving of this award, despite a less than astounding season.

Runner-up – Raul Neto (Rookie of the Year – Joel Bolomboy)

More from The J-Notes

2016-17 was an incredible season for the Utah Jazz which saw several players on their roster become worthy of significant recognition. Although many of them may not get the league-wide attention they deserve, there’s no doubting the impact they had on the Jazz and how deserving they were of these unofficial team awards.

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