In a 30-part series leading up to the start of the 2021-22 National Basketball Association season, we will take a look at each NBA franchise from a fantasy perspective. The 29th team we will review is the Utah Jazz.
Over the last five years, the Utah Jazz have been an exceptional regular season team. They have had a record of 245 wins and 145 losses for a winning percentage of .628.
However, the playoffs have been a different story. Yes, the Jazz have won three playoff series. But they have not reached the Western Conference Finals in 14 years. Last season, Utah had the best record in the entire NBA at 52 wins and 20 losses, yet they lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in six games in the Western Conference semifinals.
The top Jazz player in fantasy basketball is center Rudy Gobert of Saint-Quentin, France. The Olympic silver medalist who made NBA headlines over a year ago for being the first NBA player to test positive for coronavirus and not taking coronavirus seriously, has been the NBA defensive player of the year in three of the last four years.
In 2020-21, Gobert had a field goal percentage of .675, free throw percentage of .623, 1015 points, 961 rebounds, 89 assists, 40 steals, 190 blocked shots and 118 turnovers for 2177 fantasy points.* Gobert’s 190 blocked shots led the NBA. He had 31 more blocked shots than Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers, who was second on the list with 159 blocks. Gobert was also the NBA leader last season in rebounds. His 961 rebounds were 58 more than Clint Capela of the Atlanta Hawks, who was second with 903 boards.
Donovan Mitchell meanwhile was 10th last year among point guards and shooting guards. In 2020-21, he had a field goal percentage of .438, free throw percentage of .845, 178 three-pointers, 1401 points, 235 rebounds, 277 assists, 52 steals and 147 turnovers for 1996 fantasy points.
In the middle rounds, Bojan Bogdanovic should be considered at both forward positions. In 2020-21, he had a field goal percentage of .439, a free throw percentage of .879, 180 three-pointers, 1225 points, 281 rebounds, 136 assists, 45 steals and 128 turnovers.
The Jazz also have several other players to consider in the later rounds. They include Australia’s own Joe Ingles of Happy Valley, Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley, Hassan Whiteside, Rudy Gay, and Royce O’Neale.
*Please note: To calculate NBA fantasy points for point guards, shooting guards and small forwards, I use the formula (3PTM+Points+Rebounds+Assists+Steals-Turnovers). For power forwards and centers, I use the formula (Points+Rebounds+Assists+Steals+Blocks-Turnovers).
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