Jazz Notes Player Highlights: Utah’s Other Veterans In 2023-24 Season
May 17, 2024, 5:25 PM
Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson celebrates an in-season tournament win (Credit: Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
(Credit: Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – Although Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton stole the show for Utah, some other Jazz veterans played key roles in the 2023-24 season.
On the Jazz Notes podcast, Ben Anderson and Chandler Holt continued the process of highlighting Jazz players’ seasons.
Following the best veterans and the rookies, we took a look at the rest of Utah’s vets.
Who do you think the @utahjazz should be eyeing with the 10th pick in the #NBADraft? 👀@BensHoops and @ChandlerHoltKSL talk about this and more on this week’s episode of the Jazz Notes podcast! #TakeNote #NBA pic.twitter.com/chbe9b45up
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) May 15, 2024
Utah Jazz Player Highlights: The Other Veterans
Markkanen and Sexton were the clear No. 1 and No. 2 options for the Jazz last season but that didnt stop some other vets from leaving their mark in Utah’s 50th anniversary season.
Walker Kessler, Jordan Clarkson, Kris Dunn, and Talen Horton-Tucker were all asked to do different things last year and filled their roles nicely.
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Walker Kessler
Season stats: 8.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 65.4 FG%, 21.1 3P%, 64 games played
Kessler took a step back from his rookie campaign but it makes sense when you consider the changes to the roster.
John Collins came in and it was immediately clear that the two bigs couldn’t really share the floor together. Collins and Kessler operate in the same areas on offense and the Jazz struggled early in the season when they both were in the starting lineup.
Considering Kessler dealt with injury issues and an inconsistent role, his sophomore season wasn’t as bad as some made it out to be.
He was second in the NBA in blocks with 2.4 rejections per game and still showed flashes of being a productive interior force.
Utah still has to figure out how to maximize Kessler’s potential as he heads into year three in 2024-25.
📼 Walker Kessler’s 23/24 season mixtape 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗗𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗗 📼
Check it out now⤵️
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 25, 2024
Jordan Clarkson
Season stats: 17.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 41.3 FG%, 29.5 3P%, 55 games played
Like many other players on the roster, Clarkson had his fair share of injuries in the 2023-24 campaign.
When Clarkson was on the floor, he was the same offensive spark plug that he has been for the past five seasons in Utah. Although his percentages were down a bit, he was asked to shoot as many shots as he did.
Utah was in desperate need of three-point shooting and shot creation and Clarkson provides just that.
Maybe the best moment of the Jazz season was when Clarkson broke the triple-double drought dating back to 2008 on the new year.
“Lot of up and down from Jordan Clarkson this year,” Anderson said. “Still plenty of fun moments. The Jazz were better when he was on the floor. I won’t be surprised if he’s shopped pretty heavily this offseason.”
Averaging 5.0 assists per game on the season (the highest of his career) Sixx also kicked off 2024 by breaking the 15-year old Jazz triple-double drought ❤️🔥🤘
Let’s take a look back at @jordanclarksons 10th season in the league ⤵️https://t.co/q5hF8qHXg2 pic.twitter.com/u20mlgG2RZ
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 24, 2024
Kris Dunn
Season stats: 5.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 47.0 FG%, 36.9 3P%, 66 games played
Dunn’s stats don’t jump off the page but he was one of the most impactful players for the Jazz last season.
With one of the youngest rosters in the NBA and some more laid-back veterans in Lauri Markkanen and Clarkson, Dunn was one of the biggest voices in Utah’s locker room.
Dunn brought leadership and a gritty playstyle to a Jazz team that lacked both of those things.
Even with an inconsistent role, Dunn put his head down and got to work every day. It’s up in the air if Utah will bring Dunn back next season but Utah and most other teams would welcome a veteran presence like Dunn.
Kris brought 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 and 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘴 all season long 🔋
Let’s take a look back at his 23/24 season 📼 ⤵️
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 30, 2024
Talen Horton-Tucker
Season stats: 10.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 39.6 FG%, 33.0 3P%, 51 games played
There were a lot of questions surrounding Horton-Tucker and his role with the Jazz and those questions only became louder when he was named the game one starting point guard.
Once Keyonte George filled that spot, Horton-Tucker fell out of the rotation entirely. He started getting minutes again later in the season when the Jazz started losing most of their games.
Horton-Tucker is a skilled player but the fit was always a bit weird in SLC.
Another team will likely pick up a flyer on the 23-year-old guard but he will likely not return to Utah next season.
📼 Talen Horton-Tucker 23/24 mixtape is 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰 📼
Check it out on YouTube and JAZZ+
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) May 1, 2024
Check back next week as the Jazz Notes podcast continues the Utah Jazz player highlights.
The Jazz Notes podcast, hosted by Ben Anderson and Chandler Holt, keeps you up-to-date with Utah Jazz news from on and off the court every week. Check back on Tuesday afternoons for the latest episode!
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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.
