For the entirety of the Utah Jazz’s current rebuild, the sentiment has been that the front office, led by Danny Ainge and Justin Zanik, had to find the guy: The star who could be the difference-maker nightly, the one who could conceivably carry the franchise on a championship run.
That thought should no doubt still exist in the collective minds of Jazz fans. The more the merrier should be the mantra here, and the Jazz certainly have the assets to take home run swings. But, ask yourself this question. What if the Jazz already have a guy? What if that guy is already on the roster? And what if he’s been emerging in plain sight?
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This story couldn’t have been written about Lauri Markkanen last season. And it says a lot that last season, Markkanen was every bit the All-Star starter caliber player that he ended up being. But last season, Markkanen was correctly pegged as a No. 2-level guy on a championship team. Without question, he was terrific. He probably should have gotten more All-NBA consideration than he did. But, he was a good player who had a career season. And certain things separated him from the elite guys in the league.
But what people don’t always understand is that players improve. They work on the weak parts of their games and they are fully capable of improving, even significantly, past a certain age. Those who claimed Markkanen to be who he is at 26 years of age are wrong. And people, important people, are starting to take notice.
“He’s the closest thing I’ve seen to Dirk (Nowitzki),” said Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, who coached Nowitzki, a Hall of Famer, in Dallas for 11 seasons.
“He’s doing things now that he wasn’t doing last year,” Utah head coach Will Hardy said. “That’s a big credit to him. He’s watching a ton of film.”
On Monday night, the Jazz defeated the Pacers 132-105 to win their 15th game in 19 tries. Utah is on a six-game winning streak. The Jazz are now 22-20 on the season.
Markkanen dominated in almost every facet. He scored 32 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, handed out four assists and he did all of this in three quarters. Defensively he was the primary assignment on Pacers center Myles Turner. Markkanen scored 17 points in the third quarter, a 12-minute masterpiece that effectively ended the game. But more important than the numbers, Markkanen is putting his imprint on games, and doing it in many more different ways than he did last season.
In Utah’s Saturday night win over the Los Angeles Lakers, Markkanen defended Anthony Davis almost as well as anyone has all season. Markkanen is playing all over the floor, fitting into whatever lineup or scheme or rotation that Hardy needs to put him in on that specific night. He’s starting to make plays for others when previously, playmaking qualified as maybe his biggest weakness. He’s progressed significantly on the defensive end.
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Utah’s starting lineup that features John Collins at center is viable defensively because of Markkanen’s versatility. There are big men that Collins can’t handle due to his size, but Markkanen with his 7-foot size and strength are fine to match up against. And his impact on games are starting to mirror the numbers he’s putting up in the box score.
In the NBA, especially in this era, putting up numbers is often the easy part. But making winning plays, putting an indelible print on games is what separates the good from the great. Markkanen is starting to go from good to great. He played at an All-Star level last season. He’s beginning to play at an All-NBA level this season.
“It helps that we’re playing solid basketball,” Markkanen said. “It starts with the defensive end, and getting stops allows us to focus on getting out in transition and getting easy ones. Once the defense collapses, it opens up things for others.”
Two plays on Monday night encapsulate the leap Markkanen has taken this season. On one, he isolated against Turner, one of the elite defensive big men in the league. He dribbled once left and went up to finish. But knowing how good a shot blocker Turner is, Markkanen decelerated at the rim, which caused Turner to fly by, and Markkanen completed an easy finish with Turner having taken himself out of the play.
On the second, Markkanen faced up against rookie Jarace Walker and drove hard right. Walker, who has a chance to be a monster NBA defender, moved his feet and impressively cut Markkanen’s drive off. But feeling the contact, Markkanen Euro stepped, his footwork taking him into the lane, and he finished a floater.
A 7-footer completing those two moves is borderline insanity. There are very few people Markkanen’s size that could have put together those combinations of drive and footwork at the point of contact. Markkanen himself couldn’t do that last season, and that serves as one of his big improvements. He’s no longer deficient off the dribble. He’s turning it into a strength.
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Watch Markkanen grab and go on rebounds and get out in transition off the dribble. Watch how his size and athleticism are creating mismatch after mismatch as teams struggle to get back. That and his gravity are big reasons the Jazz guards have had carte blanche off the dribble lately. Teams know they can’t come off Markkanen and Collins, and the driving lanes are wide open as a result. Speaking of Nowitzki, that was a byproduct of why those Dallas teams were so good in his prime.
“It’s nice of coach to say, to compare me to Dirk,” Markkanen said. “It feels good to hear that because he’s obviously a Hall of Famer. But there’s still a long way to go, and it gives me more motivation to keep getting better.”
Because of the improvements Markkanen has made to his game, he’s truly becoming one of the league’s unicorns, and it gives him so much added value. He can play every position in the frontcourt on both ends. He’s one of the best shooters in the league. He moves off the ball like Kyle Korver, Richard Hamilton and Klay Thompson in their respective primes. Oh yeah, he’s one of the most athletic guys in the league, plays above the rim and puts significant pressure on it.
The irony to all of this is that he is going to have a harder time making the All-Star game this season than he did last season as the Western Conference is deep with talent. But whether he does or doesn’t shouldn’t change or offer commentary on just how good he’s been this season.
The evolution of Lauri Markkanen is changing the trajectory of the Utah Jazz in real time.
We thought the Jazz had a star. But they may have a borderline superstar.
(Photo of Lauri Markkanen: Alex Goodlett / Getty Images)
Tony Jones is a Staff Writer at The Athletic covering the Utah Jazz and the NBA. A native of the East Coast and a journalism brat as a child, he has an addiction to hip-hop music and pickup basketball, and his Twitter page has been used for occasional debates concerning Biggie and Tupac. Follow Tony on Twitter @Tjonesonthenba
