Jazz Rank: Jordan Clarkson is the 2nd Most Valuable

Nov 23, 2022 - 9:08 PM

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Jordan Clarkson’s career renaissance under Will Hardy has been nothing short of miraculous. The fan favorite and one-time 6th Man of the Year is averaging career highs basically across the board with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. He’s also shooting 37.5% from downtown and has been a vital piece to the Utah Jazz overperformance thus far this season.

But he’s not the most valuable player on the roster. I made the executive decision to rank him 2nd. Now, I could try and explain this away, like how multiple people told me that they misinterpreted the last poll and thought the question was who was the MVP and thereby misplaced their vote. Or how a Twitter poll I ran brought the final tally to a near tie. All of which is true. But at the end of the day, this isn’t the All Star Game voting. This isn’t a popularity contest or who your favorite player is. This was to rank the most valuable player on the Utah Jazz roster.

And in my mind, that’s pretty unquestionable. I mean no disrespect to Clarkson and the joy it’s been watching him this season. But Markkanen comes out significantly better in all of the advanced metric catch-alls, he’s significantly younger, and under contract for much longer. There’s a reason an All Star campaign was launched by his teammates on his behalf.

All that said, Clarkson really has been fantastic this year and climbing up into the top end of #JazzRank has been incredible. Will Hardy has him playing such a better role than the ultimate green light gunner off the bench from years past. He’s a facilitator and leader now rather than just a volume scorer. He’s still got that ‘on a heater’ mode occasionally, but he’s playing more controlled and team-centric. He seems to love it here in Utah and the fans love him right back! (and I’m prepared for the outrage I might get because of my decision)

Jazz Rank Results

2. Jordan Clarkson

3. Mike Conley

4. Collin Sexton

5. Jarred Vanderbilt

6. Kelly Olynyk

7/8. Malik Beasley and Walker Kessler

9. Simone Fontecchio

10. Talen Horton-Tucker

11. Ochai Agbaji

12. Nikeil Alexander-Walker

13. Udoka Azubuike

14. Leandro Bolmaro

15. Rudy Gay