A lot should go Lauri Markkanen's way this season. The Utah Jazz star should finally be able to stretch his legs, as the team will no longer rest him for tanking purposes, which opens the door for another All-Star team and his first real shot at making the playoffs. Better than that, this could be the start of Markkanen establishing himself as a Jazz legend.
Maybe that's setting the bar a little high, but it's been well-established for years now that Markkanen is one of the NBA's most unique stars. His ascension into becoming a star is why it took a minute for Utah to decide what route to go in. They only decided to tank when their win-now options evaporated.
Anyway, now that's all done and away with. Utah isn't necessarily talented enough to be a contender, but their ceiling is ambiguous enough that this season could go any which way. If all goes right, Markkanen could be the best player a legit playoff contender no one in the West will want to face.
If he does, and things only go up from there, there's no telling what kind of legacy Markkanen can leave behind as a player. We must remember that the Finnisher was putting up numbers the Jazz hadn't seen before last season, before they inevitably had to shut it down.
No one's saying he'll put up the same numbers over the course of a season, but it is evident of just how potent Markkanen is.
The Jazz's success could also determine this
What's funny is that when the topic of Jazz all-timers come up, it goes Karl Malone and John Stockton, but then after that, it's a little difficult. The candidates at three are typically Pete Maravich, Adrian Dantley, Deron Williams, Rudy Gobert, or Donovan Mitchell.
The reason why it's hard to distinguish is that while Maravich and Dantley were the most statistiically impressive of the bunch, the Jazz didn't go far with them. Williams had an infamously bad falling out with the team. Gobert and Mitchell had notable but limited success with the team.
Ultimately, what will determine where Markkanen compares to them in the long run will be determined by how good his numbers are, how long he puts them up for, and how successful the Jazz are with him at the forefront.
Markkanen deserves to be remembered quite fondly despite the Jazz not winning that many games with him. Now that the team has turned it around, it should be fun to see what he sould now that is no longer held down by the tank.
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