For the Utah Jazz, the 2023 season was full of surprises. Predicted to be one of the worst teams in the league, the Jazz got off to a hot start and ended the season in contention for the Play-In Tournament.
While they failed to reach that goal, it was still a great season for Utah. With how many new pieces were brought into the fold, few people predicted this level of success.
A first-time head coach in Will Hardy, new additions Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton, a rookie center in Walker Kessler, and the newly hired face of the front office in Danny Ainge.
Now, heading into next season, they have some decisions to make.
Markkanen is the clear-cut face of the franchise, and at just 25 years old, he still has room to grow. But how can the Jazz build around him?
3 internal Utah Jazz co-star candidates for Lauri Markkanen
As Utah prepares for next season, pushing for improvement should be the number one priority. Tanking could help them earn a high draft pick, but with Markkanen on the roster, losing games may not be as easy as planned.
In turn, they should set their sights on the play-in tournament once again. That should be the ideal goal with the likely addition of an upcoming top ten draft pick along with flexibility to make moves this summer.
But while their top draft pick could turn into a stud, it’s far more likely that a player already on the roster can make a more immediate impact.
The only question is, who will it be? Here are the three top candidates.
Ochai Agbaji
In the second half of the season, Agbaji earned a lot more playing time. Once the Utah Jazz’s trade deadline dealings were over, he finally earned the opportunity most assumed he would have from the jump.
When he was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Agbaji was projected to fill in as a top wing in their rotation. Yet when he was traded to the Jazz, he didn’t earn much playing time.
Predicted to be one of the most NBA-ready prospects, Agbaji only played 15.1 minutes before the All-Star break. Post-All-Star, that number jumped up to 29.6 minutes.
Sometimes, a player needs a little time to adjust to the league’s speed.
While Agbaji didn’t shoot particularly well in the last portion of the season, he finally earned a chance to get his legs under him. With a full offseason behind him and the staff (most likely) showing more confidence in him, Agbaji should be able to grow.
Second-year players are always expected to take major steps as they have finally warmed up to the NBA landscape. Who’s to say Agbaji won’t fall into that category and break out as a star?
It’s not a guarantee, but at just 23 years old, it’s certainly possible.
Walker Kessler
This is the obvious answer.
After years of having a star center in town in Rudy Gobert, the Utah Jazz stumbled into another one as Walker Kessler emerged as a promising building block.
“Stumbled their way” might be a bit disrespectful, as Danny Ainge absolutely knows what he’s doing, but not many people could have predicted Kessler to be as great as he was during his rookie season.
First and foremost, he looks like an elite defensive specimen. He may not get to the Defensive Player of the Year level Gobert was at, but at the very least, he can be a defensive star.
As far as his offensive game goes, he has an entire offseason to work on it, whether that be adding a jump shot, getting more comfortable in the post, or improving his pick-and-roll game even further.
Kessler’s stardom won’t be defined by his point totals (though getting up to the 15 PPG range could be a serious help). Instead, it will be reflected in his rebounding and block totals.
With the floor-spacing Markkanen by his side—a perfect pairing—Kessler has a ton of freedom to just play his game. If he can average a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double with two blocks, that’s pretty close to a great co-star. And he’s still only 21 years old.
Talen Horton-Tucker
Perhaps the most unconventional choice of the bunch, Talen Horton-Tucker showed a ton of promise toward the end of the season. So much so that he could be a big part of the Utah Jazz’s plans next year.
At just 22 years old, Horton-Tucker already has four years of NBA action under his belt, and post-All-Star break this year, he looked like a quality top option for the Jazz.
After the break, Horton-Tucker played 29.2 minutes per contest. He averaged 18.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game. Horton-Tucker shot 43.3% from the field and 32.1% from behind the three-point line.
He was the team’s second-leading scorer behind Markkanen in that span, averaged the third-most shots on the team, and was their second-best playmaker behind Jordan Clarkson.
It was a great stretch for the young guard, as he finally showed off some of the potential the Los Angeles Lakers saw in him when they refused to trade him for Kyle Lowry.
If Horton-Tucker can finally string together a season-long stretch of that full potential, the Jazz could be looking at a serious co-star candidate. But his inconsistency has always been the case with him. The next step for the versatile guard is to find consistency on a nightly basis.