When you root for a team that isn’t in the playoffs anymore it’s very natural to reminisce on what you used to have. When you root for a team that didn’t make the playoffs at all that kind of thought only comes more quickly. For about three months now I’ve been coasting through this season thinking about the NBA Draft Lottery, and now that we’ve secured the #2 pick in this year’s draft, there’s nothing more we can do except wait. Or at least that’s what normal people would do.
For me and my undiagnosed AuDHD my mind can only go back in time until we officially have one of Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, or Cam Boozer on our roster. Once the draft and free agency are over I’ll be locked into what we can accomplish next season, but for now I’m thinking about the guys who aren’t here to be a part of our come up. I’ve thought about it long and hard and I now have my all-time starting 5 from Utah Jazz players who were pretty good: not Hall of Famers, not All-Stars, not even very good. Just pretty good. Be sure to tell us who you’d pick in your Starting 5, but without further ado, let’s go back to a simpler time.
Point Guard: Ricky Rubio
If you know me as a basketball fan, you will know that my favorite archetypes of players are facilitators, and in my mind Ricky Rubio was one of the best. Sure, he never lived up to hype he had coming into the league, and he was never able to justify selecting him over Steph Curry, but having a 12 year career when you’re only true skill is slinging the rock is pretty solid. He was only in Utah for two seasons but was able to give us 12 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds a night on fairly decent shooting splits.
He’s actually the catalyst for this entire article; I was scrolling Twitter and ran across a Ricky Rubio highlight reel and I couldn’t help but smile. He may have never been the point guard, but he’ll always be my point guard. I couldn’t tell you how sad I was to see him retire from the NBA, but they say to not cry because it’s over, and to smile because it happened.
Shooting Guard: DeShawn Stevenson
We’ve got a major throwback for this entry. It would be understandable if you forgot, or even didn’t know at all, that Stevenson played for the Jazz. It was a different time; we just started a new millennium, a gallon of gas was around $1.50, and NBADraft.net just announced to the entire world that Stevenson’s NBA comp was THE Michael Jeffrey Jordan.
Suffice it to say he never lived up that standard, and his three and a half season in Utah weren’t any indication that he would become anything more than his 6 points per game average, but every now and then he would display something just special enough to think that he could turn things around. In his last 54 games for the Jazzmen he averaged a career high 11.4 points per game before he was traded to the Orlando Magic.
I’m not sure why I have such an affinity for him, really. I followed his career in Washington, I was excited to see him be a part of the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks squad in 2011, and I was even rooting for him during his time in Ice Cube’s Big 3 league. By all metrics I shouldn’t care about a player with averages like his, but you can’t help who you love.
Small Forward: Joe Johnson
Yes, I do mean old man Joe Johnson. I can hear a lot of people SCREAMING at me to have Andrei Kirilenko or Joe Ingles here, and while they were certainly great players, they were much more than just role players. I’m not exactly sure what the word for a player between role player and star is, but both of them would be in that category. Some people may also be yelling at me because Iso Joe is a 7x All-Star, but when he made his way to Salt Lake City he was four years removed from All-Star status and 35 years old, so I think this selection is more than acceptable.
To quote the late great Bill Russell: “this game has always been , and will always be, about buckets.” In the case of Joe Johnson, he was able to score with the best of them. Roughly 5000 people in human history have played in the NBA and only 56 of them have ever scored more than 20,000 points; Iso Joe is one of those elite. His midrange game was always a lethal weapon for him to use, but once he got to Utah he was able to really display his post work a lot more; really a refined repertoire for someone in his position. Much like DeShawn Stevenson, I’ve always loved Joe Johnson and I’m happy to say that he’s still killing it in the Big 3 league. Johnson is one of those players who could really hoop until he’s 60, and I hope I get to witness that entire playing career.
Power Forward: Derrick Favors
This biggest knock on Derrick Favors’ entire career is that he was born about 15 years too late. For his particular skillset, being a very good post player, he would have been a multi-time All-Star if he was playing in the 80’s or 90’s. Unfortunately for him he was drafted in the 2010 NBA Draft, and just as he was entering his prime as a player, the NBA was starting to move towards a more perimeter centric philosophy thanks to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Despite the fact that he wasn’t able to mold his game with the league, he was still very effective within his niche skillset.
He and Greg Monroe both share the unique distinction of being born just a tad too late to thrive in the NBA. During Favors’ decade in Utah he had only 5 seasons averaging more than 10 points per game, but overall was very solid. If that doesn’t scream “Hall of Pretty Good,” I don’t know what will.
Center: Hassan Whiteside
In a similar story to Derrick Favors, the NBA just pasted Hassan Whiteside by. Utah was Whiteside’s last stop in his NBA career, and while his averages for a backup center were more than respectable, the NBA had fully moved into a perimeter centric offense and Whiteside, to say the least, was not equipped for that role. He was still able to secure 5 rebounds and block 1.6 shots per game during the 2021-2022 season, but with limited to no offensive bag he was phased out of the league.
This may seem like a weird selection to some people, but if I am anything, it is a homer. I grew up in West Virginia, and if you ever played for West Virginia University or Marshall, there is a great chance that I will support you until my last breath. I was actually able to be in attendance for a game between WVU and Marshall at the Charleston Civic Center where Whiteside put up 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks and ever since then I was drawn to him as a basketball player. It was a pleasure to see him play in the league, and it was an extra nice treat to see him finish his career in Utah.
Nostalgia is one hell of a drug, and it is one that I am addicted too. As we look forward to the NBA Draft it’s nice to remember where we came from. I look back at some of these years that the aforementioned players were here and remind myself that we’re onto better things. As we’re approaching the actual draft there will be A TON of draft coverage from everyone here at SLC Dunk so be on the look out for that!
Who would be in your all-time starting five? Do you think you have the most unique taste in Jazzmen role players? Sound off in the comments below!
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