Utah Jazz Mailbag: Who Is The Best NBA Comparison For Kyle Filipowski?
Nov 19, 2024, 1:49 PM | Updated: Nov 20, 2024, 2:17 pm
Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets is defended by Kyle Filipowski #22 of the Utah Jazz (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
(Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Welcome to the Utah Jazz mailbag where this week we try to figure out the best player comparison for Kyle Filipowski.
Each week we will send out a prompt on X and BlueSky asking for the questions you have about the Jazz.
Then, we’ll respond to as many as we can in that week’s mailbag.
Mailbag: What’s The Best NBA Comparison For Kyle Filipowski?
Do you have a good comp for Flip??
— Josh Chisholm (@jchizzy21) November 18, 2024
(Disclaimer: This article was written before the Jazz faced the Los Angeles Lakers on 11/19/24)
Question: Do you have a good comparison for Kyle Filipowski?
Answer: Let me start this mailbag by paraphrasing Jazz coach Will Hardy who cautioned against making player comparisons in the NBA because no two players have identical roles or skill sets.
As a result, player comps can be largely unhelpful.
With that said, as a basketball analyst, I think there is value in using some shorthand comparisons for what a player might become, as long as it’s understood that there needs to be significant wiggle room for how a player might be used.
The Olynyk/Filipowski comparisons were probably not generous enough for the Jazz rookie.
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) November 15, 2024
So, allow me to get Jazz fans overly excited about Kyle Filipowski, only to burst your bubble, and then build you back up again.
First, due to Filipowski’s unique ability to fill the box score, I searched the StatHead database for players that hit certain averages in a season, and I was admittedly generous in my projections for the Jazz rookie.
Related: Jazz Rookie Kyle Filipowski Throws Down Thunderous Poster Dunk
Basing my criteria on Filipowski’s averages over his last five games, I looked for frontcourt players who have averaged at least 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists per game, while shooting 33 percent or better from the three-point line for an entire season.
Last season, 16 players fit that criteria, and all of them except Kyle Kuzma, Tobias Harris, and Evan Mobley have been named All-Stars at least once in their career.
Of the 16, Harris most closely matched Filipowski’s averages of 12.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists on 33 percent three-point shooting over the last five games.
Tobias Harris and-one 🔥
Squad is battling right now… pic.twitter.com/fQ20WdvSDY
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) November 10, 2024
Last season in Philadelphia, Harris averaged 17.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists while shooting 35 percent from the three-point line.
But, while the numbers may be vaguely similar, their roles are not.
Harris is 6-foot-8, no longer has the lateral quickness to be a reliable defender, and is on the back end of his NBA career.
Related: Jazz Rookie Kyle Filipowski Records First Career Points
Filipowski is 6-foot-11, is one of the Jazz’s better perimeter defenders, and is just 12 games into his NBA career.
Looking beyond last season, other non-All-Stars whose names popped up in the database include former Jazzman Kelly Olynyk, Alperen Sengun, Aaron Gordon, Jusuf Nurkic, and Kyle Anderson.
Prior to the draft, I, like many saw similarities between Filipowski and Olynyk, though again, their defensive abilities are significantly different.
Alperen Sengun’s 11th assist of the night was a DIME 🔥pic.twitter.com/hCC7TCQBvE
— Rockets Nation (@RocketsNationCP) November 18, 2024
Sengun is a career 28 percent shooter despite crossing the 33 percent threshold once, but is also a much better rebounder than Filipowski.
Statistically, Gordon’s career numbers are similar to Filipowski’s recent stretch, but their physical profiles aren’t remotely close.
Nurkic is more of a plodding center, while Anderson is a wing, playing power forward, trapped in a guard’s body.
Another name I would throw out, despite their four-inch height difference, is Nicolas Batum who owns career averages of 10.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, with a 36 percent success rate from three.
Nice sequence from Nic Batum here. pic.twitter.com/Gf9bE5SqOo
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) November 1, 2024
Batum has evolved into a reliable frontcourt player over the last five seasons who at his best offers floor spacing, switchable defense, and offensive connectivity as a passer, not unlike what FIlipowski has shown in recent weeks.
Looking at the names on this list, despite their differences, each one is generally a high-level role player whose versatility has allowed them to carve out a longstanding career in the NBA.
Whether Filipowski can elevate his production to match the unmentioned All-Stars that also fit his recent statistical criteria remains to be seen, but for now, it seems the Jazz have found an NBA player with a second-round draft pick, and that’s an enormous success on its own.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.
