What is your favorite Utah Jazz player really like? Here’s a personality scouting report

When folks find out what I do for a living, there’s one question I hear more than any other: “What is my favorite player really like?”

The truth is that beat writers spend more time than you might think with NBA players. On game days, there are multiple opportunities to interview them: after the morning shootaround or in the locker room before tipoff, and then after each game — either in the locker room or on the dais. On off days, there’s usually a practice in which players are made available to the media too.

And while formal interview sessions can be the stodgy performance art displays you see on TV, there’s a lot of gap time before and after these in which we get to just chat with the players, have real human conversations with them. In the pandemic era, that wasn’t always the case, so I don’t take these opportunities for granted now.

I thought it’d be fun to share those thoughts in old-school, Sports Illustrated scouting report style — just some ellipsis-separated notes for each player on what comes to mind if you asked. Here’s what to know about each of the Jazz’s major players.

Jordan Clarkson

The Jazz’s most famous player by a landslide ... extremely Hollywood cool on the outside — he briefly dated Kendall Jenner ... but somehow maintains a down-to-earth personality while wearing Big Red Boots ... he actually does drink Coors Lights, even when he’s not paid to ... takes basketball really seriously ... gets as down on himself as any player I’ve ever seen when he’s not playing well ... will just sit on the bench and kind of just stare into space in those moments, even in timeouts during a coach’s talk ... very coachable in practice, though — when coaches told him threes, then passing were priorities, he added those elements to his game ... hugely respected by his teammates.

John Collins

Extremely friendly ... a classic people-pleaser, which makes him great to work with for media, teammates, and coaches alike ... was born in Utah, moved as a baby, but still said he felt a kinship to Utah when the Jazz traded for him from the Hawks ... was as emotional as any player I’ve seen in any situation when he returned to Atlanta for the first time in a Jazz uniform ... there’s a mutual admiration from and to Collins with seemingly everybody in Atlanta except for Trae Young ... has good rapport in the locker room with the young players, especially Keyonte George.

Kris Dunn

The Jazz’s loudest voice ... he daps up every player in the locker room after games, saying goodbye to each individually instead of just walking out the door ... a jokester, to be sure ... played football growing up before eventually moving over to basketball, which disappointed his father until he started getting scholarship offers ... that football-esque toughness is evident in his on-court and off-court persona ... after being signed last year, would flex at coach Will Hardy after baskets, just to emphasize his presence ... locker sits next to Keyonte George, and has been very vocal to Jazz young players about not repeating the mistakes that saw him falling out of the G League.

Keyonte George

A rookie who felt he belonged on and off the court from day one ... at first, there was worry among both team and media that it was born from arrogance, but George won over both with his on-court play and work ethic ... has this Cheshire cat smile out the side of his mouth when he speaks which shows off just how much he believes in himself, but also how much fun he’s having out there ... likes to sing in the locker room ... carries his iPad with everywhere he goes, and spends as much time as anyone watching his own film and games from around the NBA generally.

Taylor Hendricks

A very quiet young man who just hadn’t known much outside of Florida before he was drafted by the Jazz last summer... his mom moved out to Utah with him to begin his career ... opens up a bit more on his TikTok and when he’s around those he’s comfortable with ... coaches love that he’s a great listener and very good at applying the advice he’s given ... said his favorite restaurant he’s tried in Utah is Cupbop.

Talen Horton-Tucker

Experienced much more tragedy than anyone deserves by the time he made it to high school stardom ... his father, his grandmother, a close friend, and an important mentor all passed by the time he was 17 ... has handled his up-and-down minutes this season and last with professionalism ... Hardy said Horton-Tucker and teammate Collin Sexton “fight like brothers” on the court, but the two do like one another ... reads the criticism he receives on his game and will talk to reporters about it.

Walker Kessler

Legitimately just a very nice guy who was trained in big man fundamentals, footwork, and Mikan drills for his whole life ... is absolutely his own toughest critic ... sometimes it feels as if whether he plays well or not is determined by the outcome of his first play of the game, because his confidence can so easily come and go ... holds court with reporters as well as any rookie I’ve encountered ... loves Waffle House and misses it in Utah quite badly ... relatedly, has an absolutely voracious appetite.

Lauri Markkanen

One of, if not the most, approachable stars in today’s NBA ... at 26, already a family man with longtime wife and two kids ... just an absolutely huge nerd ... loves Harry Potter so much that when he went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando for the first time, he wanted to buy the whole store, but limited himself to just a few items ... when Jazz visited Orlando this year, he went to Harry Potter World with disc golf world champion Paul McBeth, Lauri loves the sport ... loves Marvel as well, used to own a 7-foot tall Iron Man figure ... growing into himself as a leader, and has been more vocal in his second year in Utah.

Luka Šamanić

Wasn’t the most professional in his first experience with Will Hardy after being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round ... by his account and others’, simply didn’t handle the adversity well ... but in his second stint, now with the Jazz, has turned that around to be a quiet but respected figure in the locker room ... is extremely curious about how reporters get from city to city without flying on the team’s charter plane, with frequent questions about our travel itineraries.

Brice Sensabaugh

Relatively quiet in the Jazz’s locker room, but has a self-confidence thanks to his strong play at Ohio State as a freshman ... actually played with Taylor Hendricks in AAU ball in Florida, so the two have a good relationship ... he’s into clothes and fashion, but has most experience getting his creative looks from thrift stores and flea markets rather than designer brands.

Collin Sexton

The most determined individual I’ve ever come across ... what you see on TV during games, where he displays just an insane level of intensity, is not an act, and is not just his inside-the-lines persona ... his parents frequently attend his games, especially his father ... during the pandemic, actually truly struggled finding things to do with his newfound time that weren’t about basketball ... he just wants to be a successful NBA player more than anyone else ... as a result, Collin stories are frequently shared among Jazz coaches and players, because he’s such a delightfully dedicated and unique presence.

Omer Yurtseven

A really thoughtful guy who is really insightful about what it takes to be an NBA player ... a psychology graduate at Georgetown and it shows, though he started his collegiate career as a computer science major ... who has had to adapt his game significantly at his various NBA stops, and so has a unique perspective on his role and his place in the team.

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