This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The month of September. In NBA circles, those are the weeks preceding training camp where the prognostications begin churning.

Different media outlets start predicting, social media starts rumbling and generally the NBA world begins to awaken from the proverbial slumber started at the end of summer league in late July.

Sports Illustrated has started an intriguing yearly practice ranking the top 100 individual players. And this year, the Jazz were well represented.

How well represented? They are one of only six teams across the league with five players ranked in the top 100. To go one step further, the Jazz are the only team in the Western Conference — not even Golden State or San Antonio can make this claim — with all five projected starters making the cut. The Warriors and the Spurs both had five players, but Andre Iguodala and Manu Ginobli are both sixth men who come off the bench for Golden State and San Antonio.

So here are the respective rankings: Third year shooting guard Rodney Hood comes in at number 85; Point guard George Hill registers at 56; Rudy Gobert is 33rd; Derrick Favors comes in at 28, and Gordon Hayward tops the Jazz list at 27.

In Sports Illustrated's reasonings for the rankings, Hood was lauded for a strong sophomore season, where he graded out as well as any second year shooting guard in the league. Hill's shooting and defense garnered him a strong rating. Gobert was described as one of the best defensive centers in the NBA, Favors' two-way ability earned him his spot, and Hayward's all-around versatility earned him the highest ranking on the team.

All five Jazz players improved on their rating from a year ago, with Hood making his debut in the top 100.

In a big way, the rankings suggest what most people think about the Jazz headed into this season: It's a deep team, but one without a true superstar.

So the Jazz are truly looked at as a team that will rely on strength in numbers. They are looked at as a team with a bunch of good players, but without that truly great player. The last team to win a title under that description was the Detroit Pistons back in 2004. Every other title winning team since has had a dominant player. Utah won't have that this year. And while the Jazz aren't expected to be championship good, they are expected to make the leap into the postseason. If nothing else, SI showed the Jazz significant respect. Now, it's up to the Jazz players to go out and validate that respect.

— Tony Jones

Twitter: @tjonessltrib