Utah Jazz: the three most unsung heroes of this season

Royce O’Neale

You wouldn’t know it based on his unimpressive box score (6.3 points per game), but Royce O’Neale is actually one of the most valuable players on the Jazz roster.

There have been countless times where O’Neale has been in position to deny a pass to a star player. There’s been countless times where he’s grabbed the defensive rebound that sealed a much needed stop. It was Royce who got two steals in a row in the closing minutes of the Clippers game, which helped seal the Jazz’s biggest victory of the season.

Thanks to his six-foot-10 wingspan, O’Neale can guard positions one through four. He’s able to start at power forward and guard guys up to six inches taller than him.

If it wasn’t for Royce O’Neale, how much more pressure would Rudy Gobert be under to anchor a top-notch defense? If it wasn’t for Royce, how much more energy would Bojan Bogdanovic have to expend on the defensive end guarding power forwards?

My point is that Royce makes everyone’s job easier, and doesn’t demand to get touches or minutes. He’s been yanked in and out of the starting lineup and handled it really well.

When the Jazz wanted to start Jeff Green to matchup with Anthony Davis, Royce was fine with it. When it became clear that Joe Ingles needed to start to be effective, Royce was fine with that too. Now that Mike Conley is injured, Royce is happy to start and play those critical minutes.

Rudy Gobert gets a lot of credit for being the most unselfish player on the team, but if I had to choose a close second, it would be Royce O’Neale.