Although he had more tough moments than bright moments during his tenure with the Utah Jazz, Alec Burks stayed loyal and professional, and deserves a classy farewell from the fans.
“With the 12th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Utah Jazz select Alec Burks from the University of Colorado,” former Commissioner of the NBA, David Stern, said on June 23rd of 2011.
Yes, the Jazz missed out on guys like Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris by selecting Burks, but he deserves nothing but a classy goodbye from Utah in route to his new home in Cleveland.
Burks battled numerous injuries throughout his career as a Jazzman. Through that, and losing minutes courtesy of other players, Burks stayed loyal to the Jazz. He signed a contract extension with the team back in 2014. When the ink dried, Burks stated how excited he was to continue to play in front of what he called the best fans in the NBA.
Excited to be apart of the @utahjazz future.Thankful to the Miller family and the best fans in the NBA #jazznation pic.twitter.com/l98WqqXGww
— Alec Burks (@AlecBurks10) October 31, 2014
That alone should bring a smile to Jazz fans’ faces. Burks is a lot of fun on the court, too. He’s a pure scorer. I’d go as far as to say that if the game were all about one-on-one offense, Burks would be a superstar. He was given the nickname Houdini by Craig Bolerjack for his ability to convert crazy finishes at the rim. For instance, take a look at this shot Burks made against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
What about Burks’ high flying dunks? His uber athletic slams got the crowd off their feet plenty of times, particularly this jam on Jon Leuer.
Injuries held back Burks from becoming the type of player he could’ve been in Utah. He averaged 14 points per game during his third year, and Dwyane Wade even called him the most underrated player in the NBA at one point. He was on the rise, for sure.
Alec Burks for Utah..he's out right now but he can play https://t.co/Pa2GHXuiF3
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) January 8, 2016
AB is still just 27 years old, though. He’s not even in his prime yet. Maybe he can regain his form and thrive with his new team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. While I’m happy with the trade for the Jazz, I wish Alec nothing but the best moving forward. He played nearly 400 career games for the Jazz and was truly appreciated by the franchise.
Join us at The J-Notes by thanking AB. Use the hashtag #ThankYouAB, mention him on Twitter and show him some love!