The Utah Jazz entered the 2022 Summer League without any really big names. Sure, Johnny Juzang and Kofi Cockburn dominated the college level, but the expectations were not that high as they entered the Summer League and NBA.
The Utah Jazz have never won a Summer League championship (or any kind of championship), nor have they ever had a Summer League MVP. In the grand scheme of professional basketball, this doesn’t matter too much. A lot of the best summer players never pan out in the league. Jerryd Bayless, Randy Foye, and Glen Rice Jr all won Summer League MVP, but none of them ever had a spectacular NBA season, much less a career.
Summer league play is not very telling
The Jazz have had some dominant players in Summer Leagues past, but none of them ascended to win any sort of honors in the league (aside from one), so a lot of the July games have been forgettable.
Sure, Donovan Mitchell went off for 37 points in his summer debut in 2017, and Trey Lyles had some Hall-of-Fame level rebounding games, but overall most players had a somewhat forgettable summer experience, especially to fans who only follow the real season. Let’s face it, that’s most of us.
Even though it doesn’t pertain directly to NBA success, it’s fun to see which washed players and which superstars had excellent summers in a Utah uniform, and we have compiled the five best Summer League players in Utah Jazz history.
#5: Rudy Gobert
Rudy Gobert is one of the best players in Jazz history and one of only four players to ever win a Defensive Player of the Year award at least three times, but did you know he was also a Summer League legend?
Gobert is the only player in Utah Jazz history to win All-Summer League honors, being named to the second team in 2014.
2014 was his second summer stint, and the first one in 2013 was forgettable. No one watching knew the talent that he would eventually become, because in five games he only put up five points and six boards. He did, however, average 2.4 blocks that year.
In 2014 he really turned it around, doubling his scoring numbers, jumping up to nine rebounds, and he set a franchise record in Summer League block averages with 2.5 per game. That record still stands, and it was only a taste of what Gobert would eventually bring to the table.
While it was apparent early on that he would not be an elite scorer, his rebounding improved over his career. The All-Second Team mention is really what secures his place on this list, and if it weren’t for that his trophy case at home would practically be empty with only three DPOY awards in it.
#4: Alec Burks
Alec Burks, like Gobert, played two seasons for Utah in the Summer League. Burks played in 2012 and 2013 and averaged a cool 16 points on poor shooting. Burks is still in the league as a role player for the New York Knicks, and while he isn’t breaking any records he has carved out a decent career as a journeyman. His eight seasons with the Jazz were not his best, but he was an okay second option off the bench. In the Summer League, he put up a 31-point performance against the 76ers to win way back in 2012.
His 16-point average should have tipped anyone watching off that he would never be a star, but could carve out a solid role in the league. The fact that he lasted his long in the NBA shouldn’t be surprising: he added a three-point shot, which he never showed off in the summer.
Burks is fourth all-time in summer points per game for Utah, but being able to have that record with two full summers of play is fairly astounding.
#3: Rodney Hood
Rodney Hood played two summers for the Jazz in 2014 and 2015, and is still hanging on to his NBA career with the Clippers. His best years by far came with the Jazz, but in the summer he was not quite the scorer that Alex Burks was. So why does he pass Burks on the list? One word: efficiency.
Aside from total points, Hood was a much better all-around player. He could shoot, pass, and rebound better, and his defense was comparable, if not better. Hood is fifth in Utah summer scoring and fourth in minutes. He never erupted for over thirty, but he was a consistent 15ppg guy who knew how to find the open man. Despite averaging one less point than Burks, he comes in ahead simply because of his well-rounded game. Looking at his Summer League play, it’s a wonder he didn’t become a do-all starter in the league for more than two seasons.
#2 Trey Lyles
Trey Lyles was a late lottery pick for Utah in 2015 and played for an absolutely loaded Kentucky Wildcats team in college. It should be no surprise that a high pick like him would end up on this list, so let’s run down why he got here.
Lyles is second all-time in summer scoring for Utah, fourth in rebounds, and third in minutes. In two summer seasons, he averaged 17 points, but in his games in 2016 he went off, scoring 13, 26, 22, 28, then 30. He was always a double-double threat, and he could step outside to knock down the shot from deep.
Why did he never pan out in Utah? In only two seasons, he was less than great, and never appeared to be happy in Salt Lake City. Why? I have no clue. SLC is beautiful with a lot to do. I guess he prefers a career of bouncing around Denver, San Antonio, Detroit, and Sacramento. You know, fun towns like those.
Despite his poor tenure in Utah and his attitude, Trey Lyles does solidify himself as the second-best Summer League Jazzman of all time, which I’m sure is an honor he loves to have.
#1: Donovan Mitchell
You knew this was coming, right? I mean, he’s arguably the best Jazz player since the 1990s, so of course, he balled out in the Summer League. Donovan Mitchell is first in points, minutes, and steals so that alone is enough to rank number one on pretty much any list.
Mitchell played only five games over one summer season but averaged 20 points (and dropped 37 in his last game), 4.4 steals (thanks to 8, also in his last game), and he shot fairly well from everywhere. The sweet irony of Mitchell becoming one of the best players in the league and ranking first on this all-time Summer League Jazz list? He was traded to Utah on draft night in exchange for Trey Lyles of all people.
Donovan Mitchell never developed into the excellent defender he showcased in the summer of 2017, but he did become an even better scorer in his NBA career. That summer, he averaged 20.4 points per game. He has always averaged more than that in the NBA against much more talented players, even in his rookie season.
Donovan Mitchell was one of the best Summer League players ever, and the only reason he lost the MVP race for the summer is because of Lonzo Ball.
Ball averaged a near triple-double that summer, and when you factor in all the media attention he and Lavar were getting, it’s no wonder he ran away with it. Did he deserve it? Probably, but Mitchell ought to have been a close second.
At the end of the day, Mitchell is a franchise player with multiple All-Star appearances and is one of the best scorers in the game. Ball, on the other hand, never really got much better after his rookie year, so I guess Utah fans got the last laugh.