Former Utah Jazz guard Bryce Cotton struggled when he returned to Salt Lake City earlier in preseason, but redeemed himself in Denver on Friday night.
There’s a saying among Utah Jazz fans that more often than not holds quite true – “Once a Jazzman, always a Jazzman”. While a few players that I’ll refrain from mentioning here have left scars too recently and too deep to instantly receive the approval of the Utah faithful, for the most part, if a player plays in Salt Lake City and gives their all to the team, they receive the love of Jazz fans forever.
This goes for players of varying degrees of skill and impact, from stars to 10-day contract players. Regardless of the amount of time spent in a Jazz uniform, the Jazz family is real, and fans love to see their former beloved players go on to success.
Those feelings certainly apply to former Jazzman Bryce Cotton. Although Cotton only appeared in 15 games for the Utah Jazz in the 2014-15 season, averaging a mere 10.6 minutes per game, he still remains a memorable player. Despite standing at just six-foot-one, 165 pounds, Cotton plays well beyond his stature. That was evidenced by his most memorable moment in a Jazz uniform, a breathtaking throwdown dunk against the Dallas Mavericks.
In case you needed a reminder, here you go–
Unfortunately for Cotton, he hasn’t been able to stick with an NBA team since a brief stint with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2015-16. However, he’s found great success in Australia’s NBL, playing for the Perth Wildcats. Last year he was the league’s MVP and proved himself as a dominant scorer.
Jazz fans had an opportunity to see Cotton back in action in a recent preseason contest. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the brightest of games for the former Jazzman. He struggled to find his shot and ultimately finished shooting just 4-of-16 (25 percent) from the field and 0-of-3 from deep for 16 points in a 130-72 beatdown.
While I expected and of course wanted the Jazz to win handily, I was really hoping to see Cotton tear it up in his return to Salt Lake City. Such obviously wasn’t the case. But fortunately, Bryce was able to have an extremely nice bounce-back contest in Perth’s second NBA bout. On Friday evening, Cotton absolutely exploded against the Denver Nuggets, nearly leading the Wildcats to a shocking upset.
On the night, Cotton was far and above the most electrifying scorer on either roster. He finished the game with an astounding 33 points on 11-of-21 (52.4 percent) shooting from the field and a rock solid 5-of-10 from deep. His incredible play kept Perth in the game throughout the contest. Despite a slow start, the Wildcats outscored Denver in both the second and third quarters, allowing them to be within five points heading into the final period of play.
Ultimately, the Nuggets were able to prevail by a score of 96-88, definitely a too close for comfort mark against an inferior squad, even for preseason. By all counts, Bryce Cotton certainly had the look of an NBA-level talent in the contest. It’s never wise to read too much into preseason, no matter the circumstances, but if I were a Nuggets fan, I’d be concerned that my team beat an opponent by just eight points that a division rival crushed by 58 points.
That aside, time will tell what the future holds for Cotton but I, for one, wish nothing but the best for the former Jazzman. Hopefully his astounding performance against the Denver Nuggets will be a step in the direction towards turning heads and helping him land a spot on an NBA roster in the not too distant future.
His electrifying athleticism and scoring ability held against a young and intriguing Denver squad. If he can continue to build on that consistency, there’s no telling just how high he’ll ascend.