Rookie of the Year
This award goes to Juwan Morgan. Out of the six rookies which the Jazz brought on their roster this season, Morgan was the one that stood out the most among the bunch in my opinion.
Although Rayjon Tucker edged him out with total minutes played (78 to 74), Morgan has made more of an impact on the game when he does get the rare opportunity to play. His best NBA game this season came on February 22nd versus the Houston Rockets.
He played 13 minutes, scored four points, grabbed five boards, shot 2/3 from the field, and was a +2 on the night. When looking at Rayjon Tucker’s game logs this season, no NBA game stands out from the rest where he really made an impact.
In fact, most of his games have too many turnovers and personal fouls and not enough traditional stats such as points, rebounds, assists and such.
Morgan is the more NBA-ready product of the two, and of all the rookies, thus he earns the Rookie of the Year award for the Utah Jazz.
His G-League stats are pretty promising too, scoring 14.3 points, grabbing 7.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game all while shooting 60 percent from the field. He gets his fingerprints all over the game as a multi-dimensional player.
Honorable Mention: Rayjon Tucker
I almost put Jarrell Brantley in this spot because of how he’s played with the Salt Lake Stars. He’s been their best player this season, and they are first in the Western Conference as one of the championship contenders for the G-League title.
However, Tucker’s G-League stint was a little more dominant in my opinion, and he’s played more real NBA minutes than Brantley. I don’t blame the Jazz for picking up Tucker, despite him being so raw and undeveloped.
His athleticism is jaw-dropping, and once he develops a skill or two, he’s got an NBA career ahead of him.