Jazz Mailbag: Can Jaren Jackson Jr. stay out of foul trouble?
Oct 15, 2026, 12:42 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – Welcome to the Utah Jazz Mailbag! This week, we look at how foul trouble might affect Jaren Jackson Jr. this season.
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 Jazz mailbag in the Jazz Notes podcast.
Jazz Mailbag: Can the Jazz fix Jaren Jackson Jr.’s foul problem?
@BensHoops @utahjazz @kslsports @CHoltSports How does the team help Jaren stay out of foul trouble, or is this just pre season issues and it will flow better the longer they play together mostly?
— Josh (@jstockg) October 13, 2026
Question: How does the team help Jaren stay out of foul trouble, or is this just a pre-season issue, and will it flow better the longer they play together?
Answer: Jaren Jackson Jr. has battled foul trouble throughout his NBA career, and through three preseason games with the Jazz, the issue has reached a fever pitch.
In 51 total minutes, Jackson Jr. has committed 12 fouls, or roughly one foul every 4.25 minutes.
At his current rate, the Jazz forward would foul out of every game after about 25.5 minutes on the floor, more than three minutes short of his career average of 28.8 minutes per game.
This is nothing new, of course, as Jackson Jr. ranks third among active NBA players in fouls per 36 minutes at 4.58.
Perhaps more troubling is how unique the 27-year-old’s role is compared with other foul-prone big men.
Among the top 10 active leaders in fouls per 36 minutes, Jackson Jr. is the only player who averages more than 25 minutes per game for his career and the only player on the list who would not be considered a role player.
Players ranking in fouls per 36 minutes
- Alex Len: 17.0 MPG
- Jusuf Nurkić: 24.5 MPG
- Jaren Jackson Jr.: 28.4 MPG
- Isaiah Hartenstein: 20.9 MPG
- Kelly Olynyk: 22.2 MPG
- Kevon Looney: 17.1 MPG
- Daniel Gafford: 20.1 MPG
- Dwight Powell: 17.5 MPG
- Mason Plumlee: 21.6 MPG
- Jaxson Hayes: 16.7 MPG
So how can the Jazz help?
First, it’s important to remember that Jackson Jr.’s preseason role is not an accurate representation of how the Jazz will use him during the regular season.
The All-Star big man has not appeared in the second half of any preseason game, so coach Will Hardy has not needed to manage foul trouble the same way he would in the regular season.
Similarly, Jackson Jr. has been free to play aggressively and commit fouls, knowing he will not return after halftime and that the outcome carries little significance.
JAREN JACKSON JR. 🤯 https://t.co/wdpRIOw8pd
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 13, 2026
By simply subbing out the New Jersey native when he picks up a second foul in the first quarter or a third foul in the second quarter, Hardy can put Jackson Jr. in position to remain available later in games.
It’s also reasonable to expect the forward to play with greater discipline once the regular season begins, given the value he brings on both ends of the floor.
And the good news is that his foul issues appear to be improving.
Over his first three NBA seasons, Jackson Jr. averaged 5.2 fouls per 36 minutes. Between Years four and six, that figure fell to 4.4. During Years seven and eight, it dropped again to 4.3.
That’s a positive trend, and continued improvement could allow Jackson Jr. to stay on the floor more consistently without saddling his team with excessive fouls.
Can foul-prone teams still be good defensively?
This research also revealed another trend the Jazz may struggle to navigate.
Not only does Jackson Jr. rank among the league leaders in foul trouble, but both Jusuf Nurkić and Jaxson Hayes rank among the top 10 in fouls committed per 36 minutes.
If the Jazz rely heavily on Jackson Jr., Nurkić and Hayes in their frontcourt rotation during the 2026-27 season, they could become one of the NBA’s most foul-prone teams.
Does that mean they can’t improve defensively?
The good news for the Jazz is that there appears to be almost no correlation between fouls committed and team defensive rating.
Last season, the Oklahoma City Thunder (1st), San Antonio Spurs (3rd), Boston Celtics (4th), and Houston Rockets (6th) posted top-10 defensive ratings while also ranking among the league’s 10 teams with the fewest fouls committed.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves (8th) and Detroit Pistons (2nd) both ranked among the NBA’s top 10 defensive teams despite committing the 28th and 30th most fouls in the league.
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Ultimately, keeping Jackson Jr. on the floor will be paramount to improving the Jazz’s defense. Yet even throughout his foul-prone career, the former Defensive Player of the Year has helped anchor high-level defenses.
The Memphis Grizzlies finished with a top-10 defensive rating four times during Jackson Jr.’s seven full seasons with the franchise and never finished outside the league’s top 15.
Barring a major setback in fouls per minute, Jackson Jr.’s arrival in Utah should bode well for the team’s defense.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 2-6pm with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky.
