Utah Jazz: 5 Best Jazz Players since 2000
The Utah Jazz are one of the most popular teams in the NBA and are known for their stellar defense that suffocates even the best of the offenses. After going on a six-year drought where they failed to make it to the postseason, they have made it to the playoffs in their last two seasons and are on course this year too.
The Jazz play in the Western Conference, and although they have not won a championship so far, they have won two conference titles and nine division titles and it is safe to say that they are an exciting team to watch.
Some great NBA players have donned the Jazz jersey and spent their prime time with the franchise. In this article, we take a look at the five best Jazz players since 2000.
#5 Andrei Kirilenko
Andrei Kirilenko is widely regarded as the best defensive player to have ever played for the Jazz and there is a reason for it. He averaged 10.5 rebounds over his six seasons in Utah and finished in the top 10 in the association in rebounds three times.
When he was drafted in 1999, he became the first Russian player to be drafted in the first round of NBA draft and the youngest European player ever drafted. In his rookie year, he earned All-Rookie First Team honours after averaging 10.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.
In 2005, he led the league in blocks per game with 3.3 BPG and made it to the All-Defensive Second Team for the second straight year. In his 10 seasons in Utah, he averaged 12.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.