Jazz Rookie Taylor Hendricks Arrives In Salt Lake City Following Draft
Jun 25, 2023, 12:55 PM | Updated: Jun 26, 2023, 1:22 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – Taylor Hendricks landed in Salt Lake City for the first time as a member of the Utah Jazz three days after the franchise selected him with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
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The former UCF standout touched down at Salt Lake City International Airport on Sunday, June 25.
Three days before landing in Utah as a member of the Jazz, Hendricks was drafted on Thursday, June 22.
“look who’s here!!” the Jazz tweeted from the team’s official Twitter account after Hendricks’ arrival. The post also featured a pair of photos of the new Jazz forward inside the airport.
look who's here!!#TakeNote | @tayxhendricks
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) June 25, 2023
In addition to picking Hendricks, the Jazz also drafted Baylor’s Keyonte George (No. 16 overall pick) and Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh (No. 28 overall pick) during the first round of the NBA Draft.
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About Taylor Hendricks
Before even watching Hendricks it’s easy to recognize that the Knights freshman has one of the most impressive statistical profiles in all of college basketball as a scorer, rebounder, and shooter.
Standings 6-foot-9 with a 210 lbs frame, Hendricks has the prototypical size for a modern big man and could potentially see time on the floor at all three frontcourt positions.
From day one in the NBA, Hendricks will be a floor spacer who punishes defenses that sag off of him in the corners, while finishing above the rim as a backdoor cutter and in transition.
When will the @utahjazz be playing in the Las Vegas Summer League? #TakeNote https://t.co/uSDyup9gCb
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) June 23, 2023
His smooth shooting stroke, mixed with his size will be a strong combo to keep him in the NBA well beyond his rookie contract.
Though it wasn’t his primary role in college, Hendricks showed rare flashes as a face-up threat taking his man off the dribble and finishing at the rim. With further development and improved NBA spacing, he could become more of a shot-creator than he was in college.
While he averaged only 1.4 assists per game, Hendricks has a knack for making quick passes near the rim to teammates cutting to the basket. There’s a strong likelihood that the lack of talent around him at UCF hurt his assist numbers.
Defensively, Hendricks offers excellent length, especially near the rim where he showed strong instincts as a shot-blocker swatting 1.7 shots per game. The Florida native gets off the floor quickly to challenge shots at the rim and does so with excellent verticality.
Due to his length and athleticism, Hendricks projects as a potentially high-level switch defender on the perimeter, something every team in the NBA is looking for.
