When the topic of who the two best players to ever play for the Utah Jazz come up, the two that get named unanimously are Karl Malone and John Stockton. Not only are they the two best Jazzmen ever, but two of the best NBA players ever. Yet, it appears Jazz fans feel differently. A new poll had Malone as the franchise's best player ever, but coming at No. 2 was... Lauri Markkanen?
Nope, your eyes do not deceive you. In a recent poll made by popular fan page Jazz Lead, Markkanen was voted as the second-best Jazz player in history.
Somehow, Lauri Markkanen was voted the second-best jazz musician of all time. Who is the third Jazz fans?
— Jazz Lead (@JazzLead) August 10, 2025
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It's possible that Jazz fans are on vacation right now, as it is August, which is coincidentally the one month in the NBA where nothing too notable happens - the Georges Niang trade being the exception to the rule (not the norm) - but a one-time star getting the second overall selection when the Jazz have had a multiple Hall of Famers and perennial All-Stars on the team?
Lauri Markkanen is good. He's not THAT good.
Markkanen has definitely been one of the most impressive individual Jazz stories in recent memory. After looking like a lottery pick whose talent was palpable but production was underwhelming, Markkanen rewrote the script on his career the moment he put on a Jazz uniform.
It's all well and good, but to compare him to the likes of someone like Stockton, one of the best pure point guards to ever play in the NBA, who is the model of consistency, is downright laughable. Markkanen's got a long way to go for him to be put in the same breath as a basketball legend like Stockton. If he brings a title home to Utah, then maybe we can talk about it, but everyone knows the Jazz are pretty far away from that.
To be fair, no matter how things turn out with the Markkanen era, he may go down as one of the most exciting players to ever don a Jazz uniform. He may not be one of the league's best players, but he is pretty fun to watch. A seven-footer that can create his own shot, space the floor, and play both forward positions and center? That's a rare spectacle!
Markkanen could definitely see his name mentioned in lists involving the top 10 Jazz players ever if Utah becomes a title contender in the next few years with him leading the way. The odds of him ever being put in the same conversation as Stockton and Malone would make the most homer Jazz fans roll their eyes.