Utah Jazz: The 50 greatest players in franchise history
By Matt Giles
All-time greatest Utah Jazz players: No. 26 Derrick Favors
- Seasons with the franchise: 10 (2010-11 to 2018-19, 2020-21, active)
- Regular-season games played: 629
- Averages as a Jazzman: 11.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.3 blocks
- Shooting percentages: 52.9 from the field, 20.8 from three, 67.0 from the foul line
- Playoff games with Utah: 31
- Postseason averages: 9.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.0 blocks
Fave.
Yes, Derrick Favors, the former No. 1 overall recruit in the 2009 high school recruiting class who a year later went No. 3 overall out of Georgia Tech at the 2010 NBA Draft, still has a chance to climb a few spots on this ranking.
On the other hand, considering the 29-year-old now comes off the bench for the Utah Jazz and is averaging a career-low at 5.7 points per game this season, perhaps his only shot at doing so is if the franchise earns some significant postseason hardware shortly.
Yet to be fair, during the latter half of the 6-foot-9, 265-pounder’s first nine-year stint as a Jazzman — which began as an NBA rookie after Utah landed him as part of the blockbuster Deron Williams trade with the then-New Jersey Nets — Favors was a considerable all-around force in the paint as a full-time starting center.
Plus, considering his choice to return to Salt Lake City as a free agent after spending the 2019-20 season with the New Orleans Pelicans, Favors’ loyalty to the Jazz is definitely worth a couple of bonus points here.