The Utah Jazz are movin’ on up in the Association, and the placement of Ricky Rubio, Joe Ingles and Derrick Favors in SI’s Top 100 reflects the ascension.
Three Utah Jazz players showed up in the back half of Sports Illustrated’s NBA Top 100, which dropped on Monday. Namely, point-man Ricky Rubio, forward Joe Ingles and big man Derrick Favors. Not only that — the Jazz trio only narrowly missed out on making the Top 50.
Really, that should come as no surprise. As much as anyone, Rubio, Ingles and Favors have earned the recognition.
Rubio was the first to hit the countdown, which was prepared by Ben Golliver and Rob Mahoney for SI’s vertical, The Crossover. Utah’s floor general came in at No. 57 on the list; coincidentally, one spot ahead of Jeff Teague, his successor in Minnesota.
In other words, all is right with the world.
Said Mahoney —
"You can’t just plug Rubio into any system and hope for the best. Utah gets that, and has found ways to push their point guard without missing the boat on what makes him so valuable in the first place."
While it was tough sledding to start the 2017-18 season for Rubio, he and the Jazz definitely figured things out as the year wore on. Rubio had a stellar second half overall, but he was particularly strong during the season’s homestretch.
Over his last 15 games, he averaged nearly 17 points, six assists and two steals per game while connecting on 48 percent of his 3-point shots. If he could put up that line over the course of an entire campaign, he’d hit SI’s list in the 30s.
Coming in one spot after Rubio at No. 56 was Ingles, who continues to be one of the league’s ultimate unlikely success stories. Beyond that, though, he’s a gem on the wings and one of the most underrated players in the NBA.
Mahoney put it this way —
"If you were to ask a basketball coach to describe their ideal role player, they might unknowingly profile Ingles."
I’m inclined to agree. But despite his status as the ultimate role player, Ingles possesses elite-level skills as a 3-point shooter.
After knocking down 44 percent of his triples during each of the last two seasons, Slow-Mo’ Joe now ranks 14th all-time in 3-point percentage. Not in team history, in league history. Meanwhile, his overall impact is not to be ignored. Ingles’ real plus/minus score of 3.50 ranked fifth league-wide among small forwards last season.
Clearly, the Aussie deserves to be knocking on the door of the Top 50.
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Finally, Favors entered the rankings at No. 51. Two years ago, he came in at No. 28, but his injury-plagued 2016-17 season killed his rep with hoops prognosticators. Last season, however, Favors was back in a big, bad way, putting up a 16-9 line per 36 minutes and holding down the frontcourt defensively.
He also became an elite finisher at the hoop, scoring on 77 percent of his attempts within three feet of the basket. Space and pace may be the order of the day in today’s NBA, but that’s a skill that still has incredible value.
Favors may never reclaim a Top 30 spot in this kind of list, but he clearly remains a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball.
Still to come on the list are Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. Until then, Jazz fans can take some pride that the whole of their team’s starting will be recognized as Top 60 players by SI. These kinds of lists have little bearing on what happens on the hardwood, but they are surefire proof that the Jazz band is movin’ on up in the world and basketball people are taking note.